Firefly Fields
. . . Kiger Mustangs & Performance Horses
Discover a living legend...
We hold the survival of the Kiger in our hands. We can make a difference before they become only a memory in time. The Kiger Mustang has a genetic code worthy of every effort to keep alive. They are timeless, and it is up to us to ensure their survival.
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Firefly Fields is a member of the International Alliance of Kiger Breeders and the Kiger Horse Association and Registry. We work with other breeders around the world to promote and preserve this living legend.
In 1977, in the remote area of Beaty Butte in the Steens Mountains of southeastern Oregon, a small band of 27 previously unknown wild horses was discovered. These horses proved to be direct descendants of the Spanish horses the Conquistadors brought to the Americans in the 1500's. This small band is an incredible testament to American history - a heritage that has endured on its own for centuries of hardship and adverse circumstances.
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Now, there are precious few of these unique, pure examples of the Spanish origin horses left in the BLM herd management areas of the Steens Mountains. At last count, there were fewer than 150 Kigers left in the wild.
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Renowned for its captivating beauty, intelligence, athleticism and gentle nature, the Kiger Mustang is a living genetic treasure of old-world Iberian ancestry. The Kiger Mustang has two unique genome clusters that are identical to the Lusitano and the Andalusian proving their direct relation to the Sorraia, the Iberian native horse. These Iberian horses were highly prized by the Native tribes, the Spanish Vaqueros, and the early American Cowboys for their intelligence, agility, courage, and endurance on the battlefield, in bull fighting, and working cattle on the open ranges. Many of the prized qualities of today’s American Quarter Horse came from their Iberian influence.
The Kiger retains many traits unique to the Spanish horses of their ancestry:
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Kigers are typically 13.2-15.2hh with a short back, an Iberian neck, and elegant head. They are muscular without being bulky, have full manes and tails, and have hard feet.
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Kigers almost always have dun factor coloration (grulla, classic dun, red dun, and claybank) with minimal white markings. Primitive markings are extremely common.
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Kigers are versatile and can be trained to perform just about any equine sport. It is not unusual for a single Kiger to routinely participate in multiple disciplines such as cattle sorting, western pleasure, dressage, and endurance.
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Kigers are willing and loyal once trust is earned. They are typically highly intelligent and have a strong sense of self-preservation. They partner with loyalty, engage with relationships, and involve you as a herd member and friend. They are nothing like a domestic horse.
Preservation of the Kiger breed is being carried out by a small number of private breeders in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Norway and New Zealand. Firefly Fields' focus is to preserve the prized characteristics of intelligence, courage and athleticism of the Old-World Iberian horse and the captivating beauty, trainability and hardiness that nature created in the Kiger Mustang.
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If you are interested in owning a living legend, please contact us to learn more.
"Mustangs are an afterimage of the West, no better then ghosts, hardly there at all. No one really wants them, not ranchers, not city people - that's their destiny.
Let them disappear once and for all, along with all the other misfits, loners, and relics of a wilderness no one cares about anymore.
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Lucky for us a few mustangs survive, hidden away in the mountains. We need to protect them, for they are the hope of some kind of living memory of what the promise of America used to be - and could be again.
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I believe there is a force in this world that lives beneath the surface, something primitive and wild that awakens when you need an extra push just to survive, like wildflowers that bloom after fire turns the forest black. Most people are afraid of it, and keep it buried deep inside themselves. But there will always be a few people who have the courage to love what is untamed inside us."