Sacred Dogs

When the Spanish came to the New World in the 1500s, the horses they brought with them were returning to the land of their ancestors. The last of the prehistoric North American horses died out more than 10,000 years ago, but not before many of these animals crossed the Bering Strait land bridge that once connected Alaska to Siberia. Horses eventually populated Asia, China, northern Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

- Christine Craf

Native Americans were initially terrified of the horses the Spanish brought to their land. The horse and rider appeared to be some type of mythical or God-like being with two heads and six legs, “a monster that could uncouple itself into two parts.” With their horses and guns—sticks that spit fire—the Spanish easily asserted control over the native people and forced them into slavery. Native Americans learned to care for, train, and breed horses while working as slaves for the Spanish. They also learned to make saddles and bridles, but it was against the law for them to own or ride horses. Horses represented power, and the Spanish wanted to keep that power for themselves. Some Spaniards broke the law and secretly sold horses to members of groups such as the Apache.

Native American ownership of horses did not become widespread until after 1680, when the Pueblos successfully revolted against the Spanish. The Spanish fled so quickly that they left thousands of horses behind. The Pueblos began breeding, selling, and trading horses, and within 100 years, horse ownership was common among tribes throughout the Southwest and the plains.

Some natives captured horses that had escaped from the Spanish and bred in the wild in New Mexico and Texas. They were very fast and difficult to catch and train, so most were left to run wild. By 1800, there were more than one million of these horses in North America.