On April 30, 1598 Don Juan de Onate led Spanish colonists living in Mexico north across the Rio Grande River. He claimed all of New Mexico beyond the river for Spain when he did. Their party brought over 1,000 horses with them, and for a time, their main settlement was in the Abiquiu and Las Piedras areas.

    The exploits of the Spanish Horse in North America had begun in earnest.  It is hard to overstate their impact on the exploration of the American West and the lives of Native Americans over the next centuries.  Read more about this history.  The horses that comprise the Monero Mustangs herd are descended directly from the animals that accompanied Onate as he crossed the Rio Grande River in 1598. 

    The colonists settled up and down the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico, introducing the horses to the American Indians.  There are a few small groups of horses on western public lands which are believed to have the genetic strains of the original Colonial Spanish horses.  One such group lives on the Jarita Mesa Wild Horse Territory, Carson National Forest, in the mountains of Northern New Mexico.  Local residents have subjected these horses to being shot for recreation, captured using horrendous methods, i.e. roped, dragged, trailered with broken legs, and sold for slaughter.

    In 1998 due to the monumental pressure from ranchers holding cattle grazing permits within the Jarita Mesa Wild Horse Territory, the USDA Forest Service began gathering these horses to avoid over-grazing and subsequent starvation.  The Forest Service offers these horses for adoption on an individual basis, therefore causing or contributing to the depletion or complete loss of the original DNA of the Jarita Mesa Spanish horses.  It was estimated there were only 60 horses remaining from the original band.

    It was at this time that Sandra Claypool, Founder of Monero Mustangs, adopted Katzman Dancer (photo at bottom of page).  Katzman Dancer is now considered to be the foundation stallion, having been DNA tested and ranking very high with the original Spanish markers.  Through subsequent breeding, Monero Mustangs was established.