The American Sulphur Horse Association's goals are to protect, preserve, promote, and educate people about the Spanish / Iberian American Sulphur Horse.
Hidden in the juniper valleys of Utah's remote Mountain Home Range lives a herd of wild Spanish horses. The horses were discovered in the 1980’s, researchers believe the Sulphur herd is one of the purest existing gene pools of Spanish Horses in America. The Spanish Sulphur Horse is usually 13 to 15.HH. Colors are duns of all shades, some are black, bay, chestnut, Palomino, Buckskin, Blue and Strawberry Roan.
Years of fending for themselves in some of Utah's harshest conditions has created a horse with strong legs, a sound mind, and hooves of steel. Their need for human companionship makes the Sulphur Horse an easy horse to have in your corral. This ancient Iberian-Sulphur Horse is preserved from man’s past.
Dr. Gus Cothran, UoKy, has done extensive studies on the Sulphur horses and is well known for this research: Herein he states, "the Sulphur herd clusters within the Iberian breeds. Genetic marker data indicates the Sulphur herd has a clear Spanish component in its ancestry and analysis of (Sulphur) wild horse populations can provide valuable information about current levels of genetic variation. Genetic analysis can be a useful tool in the overall management of wild horse populations on public lands. I can tell you is that the Sulphur horses have the highest similarity to Spanish type horses of any wild population in the U.S that I have tested".
Wild born and registered captive bred, American Sulphur Horses are Spanish in type with dun factors. Base colors of the mane, must be darker for the horse to be considered a true dun. Markings are darker than the body color and most often the same color as the mane and tail. The most common dun factor marking is the dorsal stripe. The dorsal stripe usually runs from the base of the mane to the base of the tail along the spine, however some duns have belly stripes! . Dark leg stripes up to the knee, ears are pointed with a dark rim, neck and shoulder stripes (barring), facial cob webbing, chest bars, fishbone marks along the dorsal, dark "eye liner" encircles the eyes, hooves are thick-walled, and extremely tough. These Spanish / Iberian horses are found in the American West.
The American Sulphur Horse Association was the first Sulphur Registry that is preserving the true Spanish Horse. ASHA has a breed standard, conformation inspections and proof of the horse coming from Utah’s Sulphur Horse HMA. The goal is to protect the Spanish Sulphur gene pool by purposeful breeding of this type.
You can educate people about the Spanish American Sulphur Horse and the ASHA through email, web sites, trade shows, someone seeing you with your Spanish American Sulphur Horse and they ask "What breed is that?"
ASHA is well on it's was to fulfilling its goals, which are to preserve, protect, promote, and educate people about this rare Spanish / Iberian breed.