Conformation & Characteristics    (back to Buffalo Runners)

     The Buffalo Runner is a unique and extremely hardy horse. It is characterized by a compact, well-muscled, yet smooth form. The tail is set quite low and the neck, especially in stallions, can be deeply crested. Hooves have thick walls and the feet resist bruising. The cannon bones are more round than in other breeds, which makes the legs less prone to injury.
     The most striking aspect of the breed is the coloration. Every color possible presents itself in this breed. It is very common to have roans, pintos, medicine hats, grullas, cremellos, and appaloosas, along with the more common solid colors. But even in the duns and bays, the mane and tail can carry as many as 5 different shades. All of the horses have a dorsal stripe from their mane to their tail, even if it doesn't necessarily show through the hair. Many sport tiger stripes on their legs. Eyes can be brown, yellow, or blue. Some horses even have two different colored eyes. 

This is a dun mare (left) with tiger striping on her legs. Note, also, the striped hooves and her multi-colored mane. She currently has her winter coat, so she looks a bit shaggy in this photo. Belowleft is Blue Boy who actually gets much bluer in the spring. Next to him are a cremello medicine hat filly and a medicine hat colt with blue eyes. (He was curious about the camera.) The Red Roan mare (bottom right)  is especially striking since her tail starts out white, yet ends  in black. Her mane and tail are very long, which is a common trait in many of the horses.  Ears can be slightly curved towards each other creating a very alert look. Many of the foals, as they grow, change color a number of times. A solid bay yearling can end up becoming a vibrant brown roan upon achieving adulthood. Even adult horses can change their shading as they shed their winter coats.

     

      Buffalo Runners are highly intelligent. They are not "push button" horses, and respond best when you build a relationship with them. They are protective and will not put themselves, or those around them, in peril. After all, they have survived in the wild for centuries. Yet, they are gentle. Children, with the correct training, can work with free roaming ponies, without fear. The horses can teach gentleness, strength, self-reliance, and responsibility.
     Spanish Mustangs have shown great versatility in all areas of horsemanship. In addition to their more common usage as cow ponies on ranches throughout the West, they compete in dressage, endurance trials, and can become carriage horses. Buffalo Runners have proven their worth in the annual buffalo roundups on the Northern Plains.

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