Etymology and Usage
Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses but, since all free-roaming horses now in the Americas descended from horses that were once domesticated, the more correct term is feral horses.
The English word "mustang" comes from the Mexican Spanish word mestengo, derived from Spanish mesteño, meaning "stray livestock animal". The Spanish word in turn may possibly originate from the Latin expression animalia mixta (mixed beasts), referring to beasts of uncertain ownership, which were distributed in shepherd councils, known as mestas in medieval Spain. A mestengo was any animal distributed in those councils, and by extension any feral animal.
Read more about this topic: Mustang Horse
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