The Spirit of the Old West

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is a new animated feature film from DreamWorks Pictures about Spirit, a wild mustang. A free-spirited horse, Spirit is captured, tamed, and forced to serve humans. The story is told from the horse's point of view, letting people know how animals might feel when someone takes them from their home. 

Horses can be difficult to animate in film. They have so many muscles and are such large animals that animators have to pay very close attention to the animal's slight movements to make sure that the animation looks real. In order to capture the beauty of these magnificent animals, DreamWorks sent their animators and artists back to school to learn all about horses. 

To help the animators and artists even more, DreamWorks found a Kiger Mustang to serve as the inspiration for Spirit. The artists and animators watched the mustang, who they also named Spirit, so they could make slight adjustments to their drawings. However, the animated horses do differ slightly from the live horses, mostly in their faces. Real horses' eyes are on either side of their head. For the movie, the artists drew the horses with their eyes closer together to allow the horses to express more human-like emotions. Spirit and his animated counterpart were alike in nearly all other ways. 

Kiger Mustangs: A Link to the Past 
During Spirit's journey, one thing remains the same - his desire to be free. This is a trait commonly found among Kiger Mustangs. 

The Kiger lineage traces back to the early 16th century Spanish Conquistadors. The approximately 700 Kigers that exist today are genetically linked to these early ancestors and descend from the legendary Kiger, Mesteño, the lead stallion for the Spanish herd. In general, the breed is physically smaller than most horses. Many Kigers also have primitive dun markings on their legs or as a dorsal stripe on their back that look like zebra stripes. The Kiger Mustang purchased by DreamWorks and used as a model for the horse in the movie has these unique markings. 

Kiger Mustangs embody the spirit of the Old West, and keep it alive by remaining in the wild. The real Spirit now resides at a horse sanctuary in California, where he runs free, but is still cared for daily. AHA recently visited Spirit at his new home and says that he is living a healthy and happy life. 

If you would like to learn more about horses and see Spirit up-close, visit him at the Return to Freedom Ranch in Lompoc, California. To learn more about the ranch, e-mail info@returntofreedom.org.