The Registries--HOA, AIHR, SMR, and SSMA--Circles Within Circles

Sorting out the registries is complicated. While I have little patience with experienced riders not knowing the history of the various strains of Colonial Spanish horses, I do understand the confusion about the registries.

I am not going to get into the history behind the registries, nor am I going to get into the various personalities and conflicts behind the development of each registry.

The Spanish Mustang Registry is the oldest of the registries for these horses. In order for horse to be registered in the Spanish Mustang registry both parents must be registered in that registry.

The American Indian Horse Registry was formed a few years later. The American Indian Horse Registry seeks to recognize horses of the type used by American Indians and modern breeds whose genetics go back to those horses. There are several categories within the American Indian Horse Registry. For a horse to be classified as "o" it must be an original Colonial Spanish horse. That means that it must be registered, or its parents must be registered, with the Spanish Mustang Association, the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association, or the Horse of the Americas registry. Horses in the "m" category are those from modern breeds whose roots are traced back to Colonial Spanish horses. The most obvious example of such horses are Paints.

The Horse of the Americas Registry is an umbrella registry that seeks to bring together all Colonial Spanish Horses. A horse may be registered with the Horse of the Americas registry if it is registered with the Spanish Mustang Association, the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association, the American Indian Horse Registry as an original, or if both of his parents were registered with the Horse of the Americas Registry. Of vital importance to the strain the conservation movement, the Horse of the Americas registry recognizes that there are still small pockets of colonial Spanish horses existing wild or in isolated breeding programs. As an umbrella registry the horse of the Americas registry recognizes the Marsh Tacky, the Florida cracker, and the Galeceno.

The Southwest Spanish Mustang Association recognizes colonial Spanish horces with Tobiana markings. As such, many of the Choctaw and Gilbert Jones horses are in the the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association registry.

Now to take a few simple examples from our herd, Snow on Her is a Spanish Mustang Registry horse. That means that she is also eligible to be registered with the Horse of the Americas registry and the American Indian horse registry in the  "original" category.

Hickory wind is a Marsh Tacky. Therefore she is eligible to be registered with the Horse of the Americas registry. By doing so she also becomes eligible for registration in the American Indian Horse Registry as an "original". The same is true of our Galeceno.

Joey, a Choctaw, is registered in the Southwest Spanish Mustang Association, the Horse of the Americas registry, and as a result is eligible to be registered with the American Indian horse registry as an "original".

Chincoteague's started out as pure colonial Spanish horses but over the centuries have had many several modern breeds mixed in with them. As a result, a Chincoteague is eligible for registration with the American Indian horse registry but not as an "original". All of our half Chincoteague horses are eligible for registration in the American Indian horse registry but are not eligible for registry in any of the other colonial Spanish horse registry.

Legacy's father is a pure Corolla and his mother was a registered modern Appaloosa. As such his mother would have been eligible for registration with the American Indian horse registry in the "modern" classification and his father is registered as an American Indian horse registry "original". This means that he is eligible for registration with the American Indian horse registry but none of the other colonial Spanish horse registries because his mother was a modern horse.


I urge everyone to go to the websites for the various registries in order to study their histories and understand the purpose of each registry.

I also urge everyone, before the end of this month, to join both the Horse of the Americas Registry and the American Indian Horse Registry. I also hope that each of you will make sure that your horses are registered in every registry for which they are eligible and to seek awards from those registries.