America's Spanish Horse
"The Kiger Mustang"

About SpringWater Station's
Kiger Mustangs

It is all about our Kiger Mustang breeding program, and the type of Kiger Mustang we are striving to produce and what qualities you are looking for… in your Kiger Mustang.

There are a number of breeders of good quality Kiger Mustangs; you can find them on the internet. Some have breeding programs and many have no breeding program planned at all. So how is SWS different?

How are our Kiger Mustangs unique? First we have spared no expense in acquiring the right Kiger Mustang brood mares and Kiger Mustang stallion that will fulfill the goals of our breeding program. Today SWS has one of the largest breeding herds of Kiger Mustangs in captivity.

So what has SpringWater Station accomplished so far. We wanted to develop a breeding program that produced a superior sports horse, but in two different sizes. A Kiger Mustang with exceptional confirmation, and athletic ability, suitable for performance classes demanding intelligence, endurance, durability and above all a comfortable ride. An equine athlete that is user-friendly horse not flighty and high-strung. A tough, easy keeper with feet that are extremely sound and thick walls, which resists bruising. Canons that are short, but having a larger circumference than other breeds of comparable size and weight with a long upper foreleg. We have develop two distinctive matriarchal lines; one that will finish between 14 14.2 hands and the other that will finish between 14.3-15.3 hands. We have spent ten years in developing Kiger Mustangs that meets these requirements, but they all have one thing in common, a comfortable ride!

Second we believe that the Kiger Mustang should have little to no white and that it’s phenotype should exhibit its’ genetic code for the primitive dun coloration and markings include a dark distinctive dorsal stripe, ears with dark outline and fawn colored interior, bi-colored mane and tail, zebra stripes on the legs etc. We Noticed that when bred in captivity these primitive marking begin to diminish over generations of captive breeding . It took us many years to decipher the primitive markings code and reverse the loss of the Kiger Mustangs Primitive markings. Today our Kiger Mustangs are primarily grulla or duns with little or no white.

And as breeders of Kiger Mustangs, will made it our responsibility to maintain the desirable characteristics that mother nature has created in the Kiger Mustang. After all, Mother Nature is the best breeder of tough, smart horses, that are able to thrive under extreme and often hostile conditions. We believe it imperative to breed our Kiger Mustang in a natural herd environment and to regularly introduce into our breeding program outstanding individuals from the wild. Wild mare have a wisdom unattainable in captivity. This wisdom (street smarts) is passed from one generation to the next. .

 Kiger Mustangs are believed to be descended from the horses brought to North America by Spanish explorers in the early 1600's. To understand the importance of this statement you have to appreciate, that the Spanish Charger of the 1500 and 1600’s were considered by horse enthusiasts in Europe to be the finest horse in the known world and their genes more valuable than gold. . The conformation of the Kiger Mustang is distinctive, smooth and elegant, with chest of good depth, moderately muscled, dense bone and extremely hard hooves. The Kiger Mustang has a lively, light action, tending toward higher than average leg action. Many tend to be gaited.

The last piece of the program came from the natural selection done by the hands of the bull owners of Spain and Portugal . The progenitors of the Kiger Mustang earned its reputation as the greatest stock-working animal in the equine world. In the valley of the Guadalquiver River Spanish Vaqueros used this horse in handling temperamental bulls. Few horses would feel comfortable working these dangerous animals, yet these horses appeared to delight in the work. With incredible speed and handiness, they maneuver an anger bull, dodging in and out barely missing the hooking horns when the bull charged Today the Kiger Mustang posses a cow sense unsurpassed by any other bred. A perfect combination of desirable characteristics; agility, strength, beauty, great intelligence and courage. For three hundred years, in the wild interior of the American west, this great horse tested its mettle, as a tailor-made buffalo horse and later an ideal cow-pony for the American cowboy and it never lost it cutting edge.

In 1992 Kiger Cougar proved they had not lost their edge. We select for this trait.

Full of intelligence, "fire", and endurance, the Kiger Mustang is a breed onto their own. In two decades of horse breeding experience, I have never been so captivated by a breed as I am with the Kiger Mustang! With their calm yet proud nature, work ethic, and versatility, the Kiger Mustang is once again winning its place in the modern equine world.