In the past I’ve spent a great deal of time researching how cows came to New Hampshire, but gave little thought to horses. It might surprise you to know that several ancient species of horses WERE native to North America–however they went extinct way before New Hampshire was settled by Europeans. In 1519 the Spanish explorer Cortez imported Iberian horses to Mexico (the first to do so to mainland America). Descendants of these creatures were the origin of the American Mustang breed.
In New Hampshire there were no known native horses until they were imported from Europe. Most likely the first New Hampshire horse was from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. According to the International Museum of the Horse, in an article on colonial horses, “English and Dutch horses . . . arrived in Massachusetts between 1629 and 1635.” Continue reading
