Why Texans Love Their Horses

By Ann Bush

There are an estimated 767,000 horses in Texas according to a September 2022 study by internet resource AZ Animals. It’s no surprise that Texas ranks No. 1 in the nation for having the most horses..

Historical records show there were no horses in North America when European settlers began to colonize the continent in the early 15th century. However, horses’ fossils have been found around North America. The ancient horse was a much different creature that roamed beside mammoths and mastodons feeding on megafauna. They all disappeared along with their food source millions of years ago. How horses returned to Texas is an interesting story.

Spanish explorers brought the first horse into the terrain that is now Texas in 1542 with the Moscoso Expedition. At this time Spain owned land stretching from Florida to California and as far north as Kansas. They were anxious to settle and secure ownership since the French and English were moving westward rapidly.

Horses were game changers for Texas’ Native Americans who had never seen such fine animals. Chronicles of the La Salle expedition in 1686 records purchases of five horses from the Caddo tribe located in East Texas.

Maps of the early 1800’s show large areas designated as a wild horse desert. Estimated in the millions, wild mustangs roamed in large herds likely left behind by Spanish expeditions to be gathered again when they returned to build homesteads. However, after Mexico won its independence, Mexican settlers struggled to tame these wild creatures effectively and left many behind after the Texas revolution.

By the 1850’s hunting brought the herd numbers close to extinction and mixed breeding all but destroyed wild mustang herds in Texas. Mustang Island

State Park along the coast of Texas was named for these majestic wild horses which are now only ghosts.

Horses brought a flux of immigrants to Texas either horseback or in a wagon pulled by horses or mules. When cattle entered the region, horses were crucial to keep track of and herd the animals along the many cattle trails leading to the Kansas stockyards.

Why a large number of horses remain in Texas long after the invention of trains, automobiles, and planes is an easy answer: Texans simply love their horses.