The Indian pony had a large head, strong feathers, and weighed approximately seven hundred pounds. He stood about fourteen hands in height. He was a tough, rugged, [and] energetic animal. He came in a wide range of solid and mixed colors. The most familiar and most valued was the pinto or spotted pony.

This little horse had amazing speed and stamina. He could outrun most of the white man's larger horses and could double the distance other burdened horses could travel in a day. Some say as much as sixty or eighty miles. The Apache have driven their horses as much as one hundred miles a day.

The horse herds were taken care of by the young boys of the tribe during the good months. The lead mares were hobbled when the horses were pastured except on snowy nights. The hobbles were made of twisted rawhide or rawhide rope ties. The wawrrior, however, kept his best buffalo or war horse tied outside the tipi from dark to dawn. If the owner suspected that enemy raiders might be nearby, he slept with the horse tied, by a long rope, to his wrist.

The Indians practiced horse breeding to an excellent degree. This is evident by the Nez Perce and their Appaloosa horses. The Indians bred for size, task, swiftness, and color. They developed horse medicines and general care, and were excellent trainers of buffalo and war horses. They used many of their sacred items as aids in doing this. The warrior loved his buffalo and war horse as a dependable friend. The warrior's success depended on how closely he and his worked worked. They had to work and move as one if they were to survive.

Young Indian boys learned to ride by their 5th or 6th year. They mounted their ponies from the right side until they were able to obtain white man's saddles in the late nineteenth century. They practiced with their horses until they could start or stop theym with a verbal command. They worked with the horse until they could ride and turn the horse strictly by knee pressure. They were seldom thrown if the horse made a sudden, twisting stop.

The Plains boys and warriors could drop to either side of their horse, holding on by only their heel. They were able to ride hanging under the horse's belly of under the neck. They learned to lean down and pick up small objects at a full gallop and how to ride by and lift up a fallen warrior alone or with the help of another warrior as a team effort. Hence the rope around the war horse's neck. The horse became so well trained he was an extension of the warrior.

The warrior often painted his war horse with the same patterns and colors he used for his own face and body. When he prepared for ceremonies [and] journeys into enemy territory, he painted his horse at the same time he painted himself. Society members used designs depicting their society. A painted horses always carried a message about his owner. The total effect of a painted horse and rider could leave a stunning impression on those who saw them.

Different tribes had their own symbols and employed some common symbols with other tribes, only painted in a different color. The Sioux used red paint for hand prints; the Crows used white. There are eight standard marks which are painted on Plains horses for specific war achievements. A rectangle showed the owner had led a war party. A hand print indicated an enemy killed in hand-to-hand combat. A circle, the warrior had fought an enemy from behind a rock or log barrier. A cluster of large dots indicated hail; this was usually revealed to a warrior in a dream that hail would fall at just the right time on the enemy. Short horizontal lines, one above the other, on the horse's front legs and muzzle are coup marks. A rounded or square hoof track indicated a successful horse raid. Blotchy or abstract shaped marks indicated a horse painted as mourning for the death of his owner. Horses were painted the same on both sides. Each side told the same story and you did not add both sides together to count the warrior's accomplishments.

Individual tribes used additional markings on their horses in addition to the standard markings. [To] the Sioux, [a] long line of circles and dots showed the owner had participated in a large tribal battle using many entrenchments. A string of horse tracks showed the number of horse raids a warrior had been on. Long zigzag lines were lightning and was to speed the warrior and his horse into battle and to terrify his foes, since they would realize his vision gave him lightning powers. Blackfoot, Crow, and Sioux warriors also painted red and white circles around the horse's eyes "to improve the animal's vision" for hunting and warfare.

Golden eagle feathers were often tied to the mane and/or tail of the war horse when the warrior was going out on a mounted war party. The warrior tied his horse's tail up when preparing for battle. The warrior wanted the tail out of the horse's way. Sometimes it was tied in a knot. Sometimes the tail was folded and tied together with buckskin strips and in trade days with red blanket cloth. Feathers and fringes were often added for a more spectacular effect. The warrior would parade his warhorse and himself in full regalia during ceremonies [and] war dances, whooping and hollering to draw the attention of their guardian spirits. They would brag about previous war accomplishments and bolster their egos and their bravery to a fine pitch. They rode their war horses to sites close to where they were going to wage war. Once there, they took off all their finery and stripped down to a breech clout, moccasins, a bone hair pipe breast plate, if they wore one, and their weapons and shields. If they had long hair, it was braided close to their head of a passing enemy could not grab their hair and jerk them off their horse or break their neck. Their horses were stripped to a jaw strap and a rope around the neck. War wounds from an arrow, a lance, [or] a hawk could be minor or seriour. Without clothing for the weapons to go through before reaching the skin, there was less chance of contamination from leather fibers of cloth fibers.

Ropes were made out of a rawhide, braided horse hair, and braided buffalo hair. The ropes were used for hobbles, [and] to make bridles and halters for the horses. They made their saddles out of carved wood or horn framework. Everyone used saddles for general travel because things could be hung on the saddle and draped over the saddle. The commonest saddle was the pad saddle. Before the Indians began to use cinches, the pad saddle was secured to the horse with a single hide strap which passsed over the pad and under the horse's belly. Male and female saddles were made of bone, horn, and wood, [and] covered with wet rawhide and stitched. Once dried, it was extremely strong. The male saddle had both a pommel and cantle, and [was] decorated with brass tacks aroudn the pommel; beads and fringes were used also. However, the pommel and cantle were not as high as [on] the female saddle. The pommel of the female saddle had an up-turned hook to hand things on.

The Indian rope bridle was used extensively until around 1870. This is not to say the Indians did not use the white man's bridle, but it would stand to reason that a war horse trained with a rope bridle would not work off a metal bit.

The Indians beaded their bridles and saddles and began to add other pieces to their trappings. They added cruppers and horse collars to cover their [the horse] chests along with fringes and bells. The more elaborately decorated tack was used for ceremonies and festivals. Men and women decorated their horses with beads, quill work, bone hair pipe, brass, shells, and elk teeth. The decorated horse trappings are worth many thousands of dollars and can take up to five years to complete one whole outfit.

The warriors often roached the manes of their horses and their best buffalo and war horses had a v-shaped notch cut in their ears.

The buffalo and horse played an enormous role in the life of the Indians. They were both available in abundance and the Indians enterd a century of great happiness and prosperity. They felt they were living in divine favor and they went forward to make the most of their blessings. Their arts began to flourish and their cereminies celebrated their joy. What they produced would be able to take its place alongside the most spectacularly dressed and equipped nomads of the world.

• GaWaNi Pony Boy
• Bibliography

Some notes and verification from Mystic Warriors of the Plains by Thomas E. Mails.