Horse Breeding
This article describes how horse breeding was used among the Native Indians as a trade. Bear in mind that during that time they didn’t have any special equipment like battery powered microscopes to aid them. At that time battery powered microscopes have not been invented yet, and they solely relied on what the Spaniards taught them about breeding. Nowadays, breeding of horses can be studied closer with the help of these microscopy equipments like the battery powered microscopes. In the past, Native American Indians utilized dogs to bear their goods and load during travel. When the Spanish settlers arrived and introduced horses to the Native Indians, this was the time the Indians had ever seen a horse. In the beginning the Native Indians were afraid of the horses, but in time they were able to ride and handle the animals well. The Spaniards were not allowed to give the Native Indians horses because they were, at the time, slaves, but got around the law and instead gave them horses in order to help them with the work they did. Eventually when the Spaniards left the area, they left behind many horses. These were gathered up by the Native American Indians to use and guide as their own.
Contrary to what has been told to us, the horses were not owned by the whole tribe but rather owned by the individuals in the Indian tribe. Often enough, the Native American Indians were divided into those who owned horses and those who didn’t own any. Those with horses got the most advantage when it came to horse breeding, because this only provided them with additional horses. Those without horses on the other hand, were forced to trade for the horse or had to go to Mexico to steal a horse. Eventually, the Native Indians would steal horses from tribes who had horses, and especially those tribes who were involved with other tribes in the horse breeding process so they can get the best of both tribes and have the best horses.
In those days, the buffalo horse was the prized horse. A buffalo horse would run alongside a buffalo during a hunt, making it easier for the Native Indians to load their guns and ride at the same time, which they found quite difficult to do. Their guns needed to be loaded from the muzzle or front area, which can be complicated to achieve when atop a moving horse. Without a buffalo horse, they Native Indians opted to hunt buffalo with bows and arrows instead. With the buffalo horse, the Indian warrior found no difficulty bringing down a buffalo. The Indian warriors also were responsible for breeding the buffalo horse and received great praise and honor.
A great deal many changes came upon the Native American Indian way of life as soon as the horse entered their lives. The tribes now lived in open farmland with the abundant pasture that would be the source of food for the horses. Although horses brought about some many advantages regarding hunting and farming, they also brought about disadvantages. As they lived in open farmland, they were easy targets by the Cavalry, or the part of an army made up of soldiers trained to fight on horseback and were ordered to victimize Native American Indians. Nevertheless, the introduction of horses has made tribes gather and hunt food more effectively and made them better warriors when it came to dexterity and agility on the horse. More on this topic