Colored bright blue, with illuminated glowing red eyes, it is notable both for its striking appearance and for having killed its sculptor, Luis Jiménez, when a section of it fell on him at his studio.

[7] The piece was partly modeled on Jiménez's own Appaloosa stallion, Blackjack, a horse he bought in fulfillment of a childhood desire after becoming a successful artist.

Prior to creating the 32-foot Blue Mustang, Jiménez completed five similar horse sculptures at a smaller scale.

[10] On top of existing health issues, Jiménez suffered a heart attack and required surgery on his hands.

[11][12] Jiménez was killed in 2006 at age 65 in his studio in Hondo, New Mexico, when one of the sculpture's three sections came loose from a hoist, pinning him against a steel support beam[13] and severing an artery in his leg.

[16] At 32 feet (9.8 m) and approximately 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) including its steel armature,[16] the statue is by far the largest of Jiménez's career.

[17] In a 2016 April Fools' Day joke, DIA held a Facebook poll to choose a new color for the horse.

[5] There had also been a push to put the sculpture inside the terminal, but the space was needed for the Transportation Security Administration.

[19] A Facebook group made in 2009 garnered national attention for requesting that the sculpture be removed, but the creator of the page eventually decided she wanted the statue to stay.

[27] Colorado Public Radio quoted an Aurora, Colorado resident as saying “The mustang is very Colorado, and then it takes a hard left turn with the red eyes and the blue.” The article quoted Dale Kronkright of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico as calling the sculpture "brilliant" adding that "My takeaway from Mustang is defiance, this absolute expression of identity, of having a place, standing strong, being fiery, being gigantic."