Stout Ranch Horse

Prior to 1786, when a peace treaty was concluded with the Comanches, Spanish settlements in New Mexico were confined to the Rio Grande valley and nearby. The reduced threat from the Comanches, the most numerous and dangerous of the Indian peoples surrounding the New Mexican settlements, permitted the expansion of the Spanish eastward into the Pecos River valley and onto the Great Plains. The motivation for the Pecos Valley settlements was the growing population of New Mexico plus the need to defend the Spanish and Puebloan settlements in the Rio Grande valley from raids by Apache and other Indian peoples. In 1822 the government of New Mexico created the Anton Chico Land Grant, 378,537 acres (153,188 ha) in size. Salvador Tapia and 36 others petitioned the government for the grant.