Colonial Spanish horse is a term for a group of horse breed and feral populations descended from the original Iberian horse stock brought from Spain to the Americas. The ancestral type from which these horses descend was a product of the horse populations that blended between the Iberian horse and the North African Barb. The term encompasses many strains or breeds now found primarily in North America. The status of the Colonial Spanish horse is considered threatened overall with seven individual strains specifically identified. The horses are registered by several entities. The Colonial Spanish horse, a general classification popularized by D. Philip Sponenberg, is not synonymous with the Spanish Mustang, the name given to a specific standardized breed derived from the first concerted effort of conservationists in the United States to preserve horses of Colonial Spanish Type. Colonial Spanish horse blood markers have been found in some mustang populations. Small groups of horses of Colonial Spanish horse type have been located in various groups of ranch-bred, mission, and Native American horses, mostly among those in private ownership. Characteristics Colonial Spanish horses are generally small; the usual height is around , and most vary from . Weight varies with height, but most are around . Their heads vary somewhat between long, finely made to shorter and deeper, generally having straight to concave (rarely slightly convex) foreheads and a nose that is straight or slightly convex. The muzzle is usually very fine, and from the side the upper lip is usually longer than the lower, although the teeth meet evenly. Nostrils are usually small and crescent shaped. They typically have narrow but deep chests, with the front legs leaving the body fairly close together. When viewed from the front, the front legs join the chest in an "A" shape rather than straight across as in most other modern breeds that have wider chests. The withers are usually sharp instead of low and meaty. The croup is sloped, and the tail is characteristically set low on the body. From the rear view they are usually "rafter hipped" meaning the muscling of the hip tapers up so the backbone is the highest point. Hooves are small and upright rather than flat. History in the Americas Horses first returned to the Americas with the conquistadors, beginning with Columbus, who imported horses from Spain to the West Indies on his second voyage in 1493. Domesticated horses