Horses populated the United States many thousands of years before Columbus discovered America.  However, this early form of the horse disappeared about the time of the extinction of the larger mammals such as the Wooly Mammouth.  Ancient remains of the early horse suggest that they were possibly hunted by early man.  This early disapperance was never even chronicled by Native memory or stories.

By early 1500, the Spanish explorers brought horses back to the continent.  These small, hardy horses were the progenitors of the Mustang.  The Anduluz Mustangs spread from Mexico to the U. S. western areas by the expansion of the Mexican/Spanish populations.  As a result of horses escaping the settlers, Natives were able to utilize the animals as early as the 1600's.  Trading and aquisitions through wars among the Native populations aided in the spread of horses across the U. S. 

As the country became a melding pot for humans, so did it become the same for horses.  Thoroughbreds brought by the English and French were crossbred with animals brought from Russia and eastern countries.  These breeds became known as the "American Breeds".

The horse figures prominently in the history of the United States.  The vastness of the country could not have been explored without the utilizaton of the horse.  From pulling a plow to herding cattle, the horse was the major mode of transportation and a companion to the western settlers.  One only has to picture the American cowboy to see the prominence of the horse and the rich history it shares in the United States.