Horses were reintroduced to North America by the Spanish in the 1500s. Native groups
began to use horses in the Southwest soon after, and within 150 years most groups in
the western United States had horses. For thousands of years Native Americans
walked from place to place
North America was the original home of the horse species. They evolved here, and
thrived here for millions of years. The plant and animal communities of North American
ecology evolved with horses playing an integral role. About 8,000 - 10,000 years ago
(coinciding with Human settlement) they became extinct.
It was long believed that the pre-extinction American horse was a more primitive form
and not the true horse of today. But that changed in September of 1993, when some
placer miners in the Yukon uncovered a horse and paleontologists were called in.
Initially, nobody thought too much about the well preserved, brownish red horse in the
permafrost layer.
It didn't look different from any other horse that had died and been buried in the mud.
Even the stomach contents were still in the gut, and the flaxen mane hung over the
neck of the hide covered skeleton. Scientists might have been looking at a near carbon
copy of some of the smaller wild horses in the West. Analysis revealed it was about
25,000 years old! proving that the horse is a true native species.
When the Spanish explorers brought horses to the continent, the horses were returning
home. When given the opportunity, the horses simply took up residence in the
landscape their ancestors had helped to form.
"Although the basis of legends, escaped horses from the early Spanish expeditions
were not the seed stock of the wild horse herds of the American West. Only after the
mission system in New Spain was established did horses begin to populate North
America. Native groups, like the Apache, raided the missions for horses, and
undoubtedly a few horses would have escaped.
Since the Indian hunting horse had different duties than that of a war horse, a different set of
symbols were used to aid the hunting horse and his rider.
Designed to help the Indian hunter in finding the buffalo herd, many of these symbols also
brought favor from the Great Spirit.
The Indian hunting horse obtained his speed and the stamina necessary for buffalo hunting
from his Spanish and Barb breeding.
The Indian hunting horse could gallop alongside an unpredictable buffalo until his rider had
shot an arrow into the beast's side and dodge the angry animal in an instant if it chose to
charge the horse and rider.
The inborn courage from this Spanish breeding aided these horses with courage to "cut" the
dying buffalo from the herd to prevent his being trampled by the others.
An Indian hunter prized a good buffalo horse as it meant sudden death if his horse panicked in
fright.
The Indian hunter's wife had the privilege of painting his hunting horse, and if he was
unmarried, that privilege was his mother's.
The woman would take her honor seriously and would meditate on the meaning of each
symbol before she would draw it on the hunting horse.
These are just some of the symbols an Indian woman would use:
Sun of Happiness, a most important symbol, was used to insure blue skies. Indians never
hunted during a rainstorm because they considered it unfair to the Great Spirit and to the
buffalo.
Circle of Vision was the symbol painted around the horse's eye to give keen sight and let him
be the first to see the distant buffalo.
A Fence symbol was placed on the horse's jaw to help keep in the good luck.
The Sacred Buffalo symbol was to show the Great Spirit that the hunter was thankful for his
past kills.
An Arrow of Swiftness was painted on the horse's legs to give him speed.
Buffalo Tracks were painted over the horse's hips symbolizing other good hunting times.
An After placing her hunter's symbols on the hunting horse, the woman would draw a "secret"
prayer on the horse's hindquarters. This prayer was never explained prior to the hunt, and if
her hunter came home successful, she proudly would tell the meaning of her symbols.
She would probably use this "lucky" prayer again and again.
Should her hunter return unsuccessful, she would be humiliated because the prayer she had
painted was the wrong one. Then the other women of the tribe gossiped about her and would
say that she was of little help to her provider,which would add to her embarrassment.
The hunter would sometimes spank her for drawing a bad-luck prayer, but sometimes he would
feel sorry for her and share in the disgrace. If the woman's hunter did the latter, he might
explain that the prayer would bring double the luck to him on the next hunt.
Though tribal tradition dictated how and why an Indian painted his horse, the color preference
of the horse was left to the individual.
HISTORY OF NATIVE AMERICAN HORSES AND SYMBOLS
Decorative Carousel Horses, 3 , 4, or 6 Feet Tall! Order from the gallery or design your own!
