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Kiger History & AncestryNecks arched, manes flying, feet dancing — portraying the "essence of the horse" — the Kiger is renowned for majestic beauty and surefooted athletic ability. Kigers are a modern recognized breed — yet very old, rooted in both fact and legend. The Kiger is best understood from a view of recent history as well as Iberian ancestry. The Kiger is true "Living History", a genetic storehouse. Experts in Spain and Portugal have documented the Kiger as a vast resource of ancient Iberian bloodlines. HistoryGet a glimpse at the importance of the Iberian horse during the dynamic phase of expansion to the New World. The horses from Castilla of the late 15th and early 16th century formed the foundation of today's South and North American horse population. These same war horses were the ancestors of the Andalusian, Lusitano and other breeds of Iberian ancestry. Most modern horse enthusiasts thought the vast herds of pure Spanish horses — those of the Spanish Conquistadors — had become extinct. By the late 19th century, most purebred Spanish American horses had been reduced to near extinction by crossbreeding, and extermination by ranchers who protected the vital grass for cattle. The few remaining American Mustang herds of the 1930's were vastly different, both in appearance and ancestry, from the pure Iberian horse introduced by Columbus in the 1400's. The Spanish explorers and Conquistadors brought more Iberian horses in the years following. Tucked away, hidden for hundreds of years, the Kiger has survived as a near-pure breed, molded by war and conquest, and culled by nature, the cruelest hand of all. A small herd of spanish horses were discovered in the 1970's by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They had survived in isolation, for hundreds of years — undetected and unchanged — protected from the destructive forces of mankind. Imagine the delight of Ron Harding, BLM wildhorse specialist, when in 1977 — in the rocky, rugged semi-arid desert of a remote area of Southeastern Oregon — he noticed a group of twenty-seven horses that carried the color, conformation and primitive marking of the true Spanish Horse. All the horses in the herd were some shade of Dun ranging from buckskin to claybank and Grulla. All had the dorsal stripes and zebra stripping on their legs and the classic barb head. This herd of twenty-seven horses were gathered and held in the Burns district facility until a suitable area was found to release these horses. To prevent losing all the horses to a natural catastrophe, two Herd Management Areas (HMA) were established in a remote area of Southeastern Oregon. Twenty were let loose in the Kiger Gorge area and the remaining seven were released in the Riddle Mountain HMA. Today, the BLM protects and manages these special horses (named the Kiger Mustang after the Kiger gorge in the Steens Mountains area) so that they can maintain this gene pool. Blood tests done at the University of Kentucky have found genetic markings with clear evidence tying the Kiger to the Iberian horses ridden by early Spanish Explorers (the Andalusian and Sorraia). For thousands of years, the horses of the Iberian Peninsula have been considered the ideal "essense" of horse. The Iberian equine has been documented throughout European history and was praised as the finest horse of war by the Romans and Greeks in ancient times. It has always been spoken of with respect for its uncanny agility, courage, presence, tractability and beauty. The Greeks used the Iberian horse as a model for Pegasus; the Romans conquered and ruled the European world with Iberian stallions. Spain conquered the vast empires of the New World riding the greatest war-horse. The Spanish horses had highly prized qualities — nobility of heart, kindness and beauty — sought after by the American Indian and the American cowboy. Centuries ago, the Spanish Conquistadors sailed to the "New World" with these horses. Since this majestic Iberian equine set foot in America, it has become "history in the flesh", a proven legend intertwined with the conquest of a nation and expanding territories. The disposition of the Kiger displays a unique combination of hot blooded Spanish temperament, combined with a gentle calm willingness to please. The Kiger matures slowly and has a long, useful life-span. Broodmares continue to produce well into their mid and late-twenties. It is not uncommon to find Kigers in their mid-twenties with the appearance, action, and ability of an eight-year-old. They are typically easy keepers, thriving on grass alone, even under working conditions. The Kiger is very intelligent, learns extremely fast and is noted for its stamina and toughness both in modern fact and Spanish legend. What can Kigers do?Sound mind, combined with beauty, intelligence and versatility, choose the Kiger. The Kiger is a versatile athlete — dressage, driving, pleasure, trail, performance, endurance, cutting — they can do it all. Kiger horses show excellent-type, exhibiting the baroque movement of the horses of the Conquistadors, with natural suspension, smooth knee action and correct conformation. The blood lines are DNA tested to be closely related to other ancient Iberian breeds.
For a complete Breed Standard list, visit the Kiger registries at: Kiger Spanish AncestryMy thanks to Hardy Oelke, Germany, for his research and valued contribution in defining Iberian ancestry and the Iberian heritage of the Kiger Breed. Published with permission, c 2008. << Excerpt from www.sorraia.org, resp. www.spanish-mustang.org, by Hardy Oelke, author and researcher. >> Sorraia Horses are a remnant population of an indigenous, South Iberian wild horse, which survived almost pure in the inaccessible lowlands of the Portuguese river Sorraia until the early 1900s. The Iberian scientist and horse expert DR. RUY D'ANDRADE discovered these horses in 1920 and is responsible for their preservation. His studies convinced him and others that the Sorraia is an ancestor of the Andalusian and Lusitano. It was HARDY OELKE who discovered that the Sorraia also lives on in certain American mustangs, and who proved this through mitochondrial DNA sequencing. The mtDNA analyses show that the amazing similaritiy of some mustangs and the Sorraia horse isn't incidental, but prove their genetic relatedness. Evidence suggests that Columbus already shipped Sorraias to the New World. More information on this is available in Hardy Oelke's book "Born Survivors on the Eve of Extinction" resp. "Das Vermächtnis des Columbus". Sorraia-type mustangs have been found in several BLM Herd Management Areas (HMA) and also among horses bred within mustang registries like the SMR and SSMA. The BLM herds that have produced the most, and most typical, Sorraia Mustangs are the Kiger herd in Southeast Oregon, the Sulphur Springs herd in western Utah, and, to a lesser degree, the Pryor Mountain herd on the Montana/Wyoming state line. Hardy Oelke writes:
"Going back to the Kigers: Not surprisingly, our mtDNA tests results show
that most Kigers have the Iberian/Barb genotype, which is also found in most
other mustangs of Spanish type. This clearly shows that the Kigers are of
Spanish ancestry. It also shows the Kiger's relationship to other Spanish
mustangs, such as the Sulphurs, or many SMR horses — there is a common
ancestry of all these horses.
Hardy Oelke |