Choctaw Horse
Colonial Spanish horse bred by the Choctaw people, critically endangered.
The Choctaw Horse is an American breed or strain of small riding horse of Colonial Spanish type, strongly associated with the indigenous Choctaw people. It derives from horses brought to the Americas by the Conquistadores in the late fifteenth century and later introduced into what is now the United States. The breed is endangered and listed as 'critical' by the Livestock Conservancy.
Quick Facts
- Country
- United States of America
- Use
- Riding
- Height
- 13.2 to 14.2 hands (52 to 56 inches)
- Weight
- 700 to 900 lb / 408 kg
Facts from the source article.
History
The Choctaw Horse originated from horses brought by the Conquistadores in the late fifteenth century and introduced into what is now the United States in the seventeenth century. The Choctaw people originally acquired them as trade goods in the late 1600s, which improved their efficiency in the deerskin trade. Horses that died were used in rituals and eaten. By the early 1800s, the Choctaw owned tens of thousands of these animals, which they called “isuba” (meaning “deer-resembler”) for spiritual reasons. Some bloodlines of the extinct Chickasaw Horse are preserved in the Choctaw breed.
Characteristics
Height at the withers usually ranges from 137 to 147 cm. Coat color is highly variable, including bay, black, brown, chestnut, sorrel, buckskin, dun, palomino, leopard blanket, spotted, varnish roan, pinto, and sabino patterns. The horses often have additional gaits such as a fast running walk, particularly strong hooves, and are known for toughness, durability, and great endurance. They have broad foreheads and narrow chests that allow for greater lung capacity.
Conservation
By the mid-1800s, bigger horses like the Thoroughbred had mostly taken over the roles of colonial breeds such as the Choctaw Horse in farming and the military. The breed came close to vanishing in 1950 and remains critically endangered. In 2009, Monique Sheaffer, who is Choctaw, started a family breeding project to protect the horses' genetics and teach people about them. As of 2018, a farm in Poplarville, Mississippi, had been selectively breeding Choctaw Horses for thirteen years. Breeders can identify horses with minimal outside genetic mixing, which helps with effective conservation.
More in Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy
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