An expert in horse population genetics claims to have found laboratory evidence of historical ancestry in samples taken from Arizona’s Salt River Alpine horses found slaughtered on federal land in 2022.
“So far, I can say that there is evidence of Spanish ancestry in the Salt River horses,” Gus Cothran, a retired professor and consultant in animal genetics at Texas A&M University, said in a statement.
In October 2022, volunteers with the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group found dozens of horse carcasses within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests in eastern Arizona. All the horses were shot with what appeared to be a high-powered rifle….