Question 1: Are Nokotas a type of mustang? No. The word "Mustang" technically refers to a horse of Spanish origin. The Nokota horses do exhibit varying amounts of Spanish characteristics, but certainly not to the exclusion of others. Some "Ranch" type Nokotas are just as reminiscent of Percherons as Spanish Mustangs, and certain "Traditional" Nokotas resemble Scandinavian horses more than Iberian ones. These observations all add fuel to the competing theories on the origin(s) of the wild horses of the Northern Plains. Most believe that the Spanish alone reintroduced horses to North America, but a few believe that the Vikings successfully established horses centuries before the Spanish ever arrived, and still others insist that the horse, which evolved in the Americas, never really was extirpated. Of course, the truth may actually be a combination of these. Either way, the Nokota horses, the last of the Northern Plains wild horses, resemble, but certainly are not, mustangs. The Nokota is a type of wild horse all its own, intimately evolved to a unique habitat far different than that of either the Southern Plains or Spain.

Question 2: But I thought that BLM horses were protected and could only be adopted into good homes? The BLM, or Bureau of Land Management, is bound by entirely different laws than the National Park Service. Thus, since the Nokotas come from Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), they can be rounded up and sold at a regular public auction to the highest bidder, which for adult horses is usually a kill buyer. Their welfare is of little concern to TRNP, unless it incurs excessively bad publicity.

Question 3: Can Nokotas still be purchased from the Park? The Park has periodic roundups, usually every three to four years, and removes dozens of horses at each. Unfortunately, the vast majority of horses remaining in the Park are Part Bloods who look just as much like domestic grade horses as Foundation Nokotas. The Nokota Horse Conservancy does track the remaining horses of importance and attempts to purchase them at the Park sales, but even this can be tricky. The horses usually develop some form of sickness from the sales barn, as they have never been exposed to many of the pathogens that are common where so many horses from so many different places are concentrated, and although young ones may tame fairly quickly, mature horses will most likely always remain extremely wild. And they certainly have the athleticism to back up their instincts to remain free; to wild Nokotas fences are little more than recommendations.

Question 4: How rare is the Nokota? At their low point during the 1970's there were only 18 known Nokotas in existence, anywhere. Thus, we are still very concerned with the stability of many bloodlines. Some lines have been completely lost, and others are only represented by one or a few horses. Fortunately, although, Nokota numbers have increased dramatically and purposefully over the past few decades. There are now approximately 170 fully Foundation Nokotas. Most of these reside at the Kuntz Ranch in North Dakota, although more and more preservation breeders across the country are joining the effort to save and promote this rare and incredibly useful breed.

Question 5: What is the ultimate goal? We want the Nokota horses to be both protected and appreciated, and these two goals are intimately intertwined. If we can get the Nokota horses out into the world, they can easily prove for themselves their value. Furthermore, we are working to help Native Americans regain this integral fragment of their lost culture. Meanwhile, we are striving to create a sanctuary for the Nokota horses where they can once again exist as a wild, self sustaining, and naturally evolving population that can also serve to educate and enthrall.

Question 6: So what exactly is meant by Traditional, Ranch, Cross, Part Blood, and Foundation? It all started in the wild with an isolated population in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). TRNP is very rugged, and although repeated attempts were made to eliminate wild horses across the plains and were ultimately successful for hundreds of miles in every direction, TRNP's badlands proved to be just rugged enough to hide a viable population of fugitive hold-outs from a past when wild horses could be found across the Dakotas. Thus, these horses were relatively buffered from genetic exchange from others, although some mixing occurred with local ranch stock, much as it had since "settlement". But this was relatively insignificant, and the population remained distinct until the very deliberate and selective introductions and removals by TRNP that began in the 1980's. Thus, Nokotas with no infusion of these introduced bloodlines, which included a part Shire bucking horse, an Arabian, and a few Quarter Horses, are considered Foundation, the original base upon which the entire breed was built.  All Nokotas now, no matter what type, are measured with a percent foundation, an indicator of how similar they are to these original wild Nokotas. 

The Nokotas that are entirely 100% Foundation are subdivided into two types, the Ranch (NPR) and the Traditional (NPT).  The original intention was to ensure that the Native American type horses, the Traditionals, did not disappear.  The initial division of these two types from amongst those removed from the Park was made based upon appearance and appearance of offspring, and the intention was and is good, but also somewhat flawed as there was obviously no distinction while the horses were managing themselves in the wild.  These two "types" naturally intermixed, and to the consternation of simplified human categorization, most fully Foundation Nokota horses lie somewhere between these two extremes, and foals often seem to cross the blurred line.  The distinction between Traditional and Ranch is difficult to maintain and may even be abolished with time.  It is surely awesome for individuals to strive to maintain either the Native type horses or the equally historic Ranch types, but these divisions are just too simplified and overlapping, and every breeding of these rare horses warrants careful, individual attention. Regardless, as it stands now, the only way a foal can be registered NPT is if both of its parents are NPT, although some NPR Nokotas appear just as Native American.  Thus, the important thing to remember is that these two types, the NPR and NPT, are both 100% Foundation, nothing but Park breeding prior to the introductions, as pure of living history as you can find. 

Now we need to add another category, the National Park Cross (NPC), and some new heritage. The Kuntzes were originally ranchers and competitors, and all that they sought were great performance horses.  Breed meant little to them while ability meant everything.  Therefore, they used and bred the best of what they could acquire, wherever they found it.  Thus, at first they mixed Park horses with their other horses for purposes like the Great American Horse Races.  Then, as they realized they really had stumbled upon something entirely different and researched to learn more, they at first followed the advice of "experts" to cross the Park horses to avoid inbreeding depression.  Time and testing would later show that this worry was largely unwarranted, but during this time they used horses from elsewhere, like the reservations, that where as similar to the Park horses as possible.  As more NPC horses were produced it became apparent that they had certain advantages, for example the speed and refinement leant by the Blue Haymaker running QH stallion, that combined very well with the advantages of the Park horses, like disposition, durability, and endurance.  Furthermore, there were frightfully few fully Foundation horses, and outcrossing allowed the Kuntzes to expand an endangered and limited population more quickly to more sustainable numbers.  According to the laws of population dynamics, 500 is commonly cited as the minimum number for a population that is truly viable over time. The Kuntzes and Nokota supporters have always feared that one epidemic that could annihilate the entire breed.  Thus, the NPC Nokotas actually became the breadwinners for the others, the horses that for many people are the best choice as they combine the benefits of both worlds, the modern and the wild west, in addition to the safety net just incase things go terribly awry. They are fully registered and recognized Nokotas, just like the Foundation horses.  Meanwhile, the fully foundation horses could be kept for preservation breeding to expand this essential and far too limited base. 

To accommodate one more scenario, the NPPB, or National Park Part Blood, category was created.  The initial horses that spawned the crosses (who have since all moved on to greener pastures) were carefully hand selected, as the Kuntzes surely did not want to dilute into oblivion the unique characteristics that make the Nokotas so distinct.  Thus, if anyone breeds a Nokota to something else, like the neighbor's Morgan, the offspring are registered as NPPB, and they are tracked with a percentage Foundation to indicate how representative of the original wild Nokotas they truly are. 

Which type is best for you all depends upon what you want to do.  If your heart is set on preserving history through breeding, then maybe NPR and NPT is in order.  Otherwise, NPC Nokotas are typically cheaper, boast some unique advantages thanks to their diverse heritages, and offer far more options, as they are much more numerous. Therefore, they very well may be a better choice.  Many of the NPC (and even some of the NPPB) horses have been bred back to be 75% and more Foundation, and some that are well into the 90% range are essentially indiscernible from the fully Foundation Nokotas (or at least unless you are really, really good at judging horses, like Leo Kuntz).