[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING ARIZONA'S WILD HORSES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL 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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