What is the Difference Between Wild and Feral Horses?

Horses are known to be domesticated and are kept by people for various purposes from working the land to the enjoyment of sport. However, there are wild horses which are untamed and don`t stay among human beings. Long ago horses were found in the wild before they become extinct, but were reintroduced by the Spanish and other settlers.� They reproduced as they were not castrated and became a big herd in North America. They are referred to as Mustangs in North America and Brumbies in Australia. There are the wild horses, and there are also the feral horses.

A wild horse is any horse that is born in the wild and has never been domesticated or lived with a man. Feral horses are horses that previously had owners, but they either escaped, were abandoned or got loose and they just run around. The feral horses will form a herd of themselves, or even join a herd of wild horses, and they quickly adapt to the wild due to the natural survival instincts which cause them to revert to wild behaviors, size and body type. They don`t look like they had been domesticated for riding or driving.

A feral horse will have a tattoo or brand of the previous owner while a wild one doesn`t have one.� The feral horse hooves will have holes due to shoeing or bridle path has been cut while for the wild horse, the hooves are really grown.

It may be difficult to tame a wild horse if you want to own one as it doesn`t feel comfortable being restrained or confined. It may see other animals such as the dog as a threat and will take time to learn to adjust.� A feral horse may be easy to time because it will feel comfortable with people as it was used to before and will adapt to the home setting quickly.

Horses were domesticated by human beings more than 5,000 years ago, and they were used in various ways like in wars. Since then the number of feral horses has increased all over the world. Most of the wild horses are actually feral horses that have adopted the life in the wild. Feral horses are aggressive, and they will compete for water and grazing land with other animals because they beat out natural species for their territory and resources. The mutangs are seen as rugged, and a nuisance and most people would wish to see them eradicated to be controlled.

For the wild horses, they have a one color with no markings on them which make it a prominent indicator of their origin. For the wild horses most have a variety of colors such as chestnut, palomino, sorrel, dun or even bay with white snips, blazes or stars.

Whether a horse is wild or feral, they deserve to be protected because they are a species of cultural importance.