The Conquistador Equine Rescue & Advocacy Program (CERAP)

HONORING ARIZONA 'S WILD HORSES -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 06, 2007)

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SPEECH OF

HON. RAÚL M. GRIJALVA

OF ARIZONA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2007

·                     Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Arizona 's wild horses living in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

·                     The residents of the State of Arizona deeply value these magnificent wild horses.

·                     These beautiful wild horses are truly the ``Living Symbols of the West,'' as described by the Wild Horse and Burro Act passed by Congress in 1971 to protect the wild horses of the United States .

·                     The Rim Country wild horses date back to mounts brought by Father Eusebio Kino, who began his 1653 mission to eastern Arizona by setting out from the lands of my constituency in southern Arizona and traveling across our State northeast to the ``borders of the lands of the Apacheria which border on New Mexico.''

·                     These original Spanish horses are the great ancestors of the Mogollon Rim country wild horses. They were the mighty Andalusian war horse, whose origins go back more than 28,000 years to the original Iberian horse; the magnificent Spanish Barb; and the graceful and fluid Spanish Jennet, the mount of many of the great kings of Europe; and the strong bloodlines of these original horses appear almost unchanged in our Rim wild horses 400 years later.

·                     Our Arizona Rim wild horses are the direct descendents of the Spanish horses prized by the conquistadors so highly that the foals were carried in hammocks to protect their legs until they were old enough to travel on the forced marches; and prized by the early cattlemen for their endurance and heart and were the very mounts of the U.S. Cavalry as they rode to protect and expand the American west.

·                     The Arizona Rim Country wild horses living in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests are a most precious natural resource to be preserved for our children and grandchildren who will be able to see them for generations to come.

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