Indian’s manner of living was greatly changed. He 
hunted the great herds of bison and he fought the 
white man on horseback. 
The Indian pony, or Mustang, was a small horse be¬ 
cause of his hard life and dependence on grass for 
food. To grow large and strong, a horse must have 
hay, oats, bran, and other foods besides grass, and he 
should be protected from the weather. In spite of this 
hard life, however, there were many very fine speci¬ 
mens to be found among the wild horses. 
The Mustang usually resembled his Spanish ances¬ 
tors, being black, bay, chestnut, dun, or gray. There is 
also the pinto type of Mustang, which is white with 
large spots of colored hair, or just the reverse. 
Because of having to look out for himself, to find 
food and shelter, the Indian pony was very intelligent. 
He was extremely hardy, with great endurance for use 
in the plains and mountains of the West. He was sure¬ 
footed, and well able to defend himself from the at¬ 
tacks of the horse’s most dangerous enemy, the moun¬ 
tain lion. 
18 
