Equines And The Americas – A Legacy

Brooke USA is proud of our mission to “Significantly Improve The Welfare Of Working Horses, Donkeys And Mules And The People They Serve.” We work throughout Asia, Africa, The Middle East, The Americas And The Caribbean.

So how does this tie to our presence in the United States? Our legacy comes from deep within the history of the USA, as people living here have depended on equines for the entire history of the country.

Although fossil evidence indicates that prehistoric horses lived in the Americas, none had been here for thousands of years until they were re-introduced by Spanish conquistadors in the early 1500s. After a perilous voyage across the Atlantic, horses that survived the trip were unloaded from cargo holds and swum ashore. Weak and frightened as they must have been after months inside the dark hold of a ship, they were brought to dry land and after a few weeks would have regained their strength.

It was then that they began their journey into the mythology of the New World, as the Native Americans viewed horse and rider and, having never seen such a thing before assumed it to be one creature, perhaps even a god.

Experience soon led to the discovery of the truth, and after their awe of these animals subsided it was quickly replaced by curiosity, then the desire to have horses of their own. Indeed, nearly as soon as Europeans began to travel to the Americas, Native American tribes began to use horses as well.

The 1500s and early 1600s were times of sporadic but ever-increasing settlement on both the east and west coasts of North America, as well as Central America. Some settlements failed entirely, and their population decimated by disease or famine. In other cases, explorers returned to Europe. Their horses were of course left to fend for themselves – or become Indian ponies.

The settlers who left the New World to return to Europe certainly would not have transported their horses back with them, there being plenty of horses there and the ships’ cargo holds better filled with treasure or food for the voyage home.

Thus, the American mustang got its start, as horses were abandoned and began to breed and increase their herds. The Great Plains and indeed much of the American continent were ideal environments for horses, with plentiful forage and water. Mustangs flourished and became part of the legends of the Americas.

By 1650, Spain had established itself as a formidable power in much of what is now the southwestern US, Mexico, Central America, much of the Caribbean, and the northern shore of South America. By comparison, the settlements claimed by France (along the St. Lawrence River); England (the northeast from what is now Maine to the Carolinas) and the Dutch (in what is now New York) were far smaller in area. As permanent settlements became established in all those areas, the horse and its equine relatives the donkey and the mule were essential to colonial life. Donkeys were better suited to the arid conditions in the Spanish territories, while horses and mules were preferred further east.

All of the animals served their owners much as the animals do today in the countries where Brooke USA works. They carried people and goods, pulled vehicles, and provided power for farm implements and even for industry. Life without this power source was inconceivable. Oxen (castrated bulls) were also used to pull heavy loads, but they rarely worked at anything faster than a walk. Horses and their kin were far more versatile.

Mules played a very important role in American life. They are hardier than horses and require less food, making them ideal for farm labor on smaller and less prosperous farms. They also pulled barges along the burgeoning canal network that linked many parts of the new nation in the decades right before the Civil War. The canal era was a short one, displaced by railroads, but mules continued to be used by the hundreds of thousands in the cotton plantations of the South up until the 1920s.

It was not long before uniquely American breeds were being developed. First among these was the Narragansett Pacer, the breed’s name coming from the Narragansett Bay area of Rhode Island. According to the International Museum of the Horse, George Washington owned a Narragansett pacer which he raced in 1768, and a Narragansett Pacer is reputed to have served as Paul Revere’s mount on his famous ride.

The breed no longer exists, having given way to more specialized horses that either pulled wagons or farm implements (the light draft horse type) or lighter and more elegant horses that were used for riding and racing.

But all-round horses were still treasured in some areas. Most famous of these American breeds is probably the Morgan horse, bred from a foundation sire owned by Justin Morgan of Vermont. Justin Morgan’s stallion pulled a plow some days, a wagon on others, and raced on the weekends. He had many offspring and lived for over 30 years, an astonishing lifespan in those times and even today. He also had the ability to “stamp his get,” that is, to pass his appearance and temperament on through many generations and by way of many mares. Morgans are still ridden and driven today and are known for their strong bond with people.

Other American breeds originated in the southern part of the country, including the Saddlebred and the Tennessee Walking Horse, both bred for their versatility and smooth gaits for riding miles a day on the farms and plantations of the American South.

Another uniquely American breed is the Standardbred, also prized as both a riding and a driving horse. The Appaloosa, with its spotted coat, was developed by the Nez Perce Indians and named after the Palouse River in the Pacific Northwest. On the opposite coast, legend has it that the Chincoteague Pony originated as the offspring of horses that survived shipwrecks of Spanish galleons off the coast of southern Virginia. Whether from the survivors of shipwrecks or the more mundane (if perhaps more likely) idea that they are descendants of animals turned loose by colonists, the ponies are the subject of a beloved series of books and are known to millions of horse-loving little girls.

The American Quarter Horse has the largest registry of any breed in the country. Originally developed as an all-around horse for herding cattle, the breed’s name comes from it’s exceptional speed at short distances, often a quarter mile or a little more – the sports car of its era, and still a racehorse as well as an all-around riding horse.

So many other horses, mules, and donkeys are part of American history – circus horses, children’s ponies, milk wagon horses, the Pony Express, race horses such as Man O’ War and American Pharaoh, and the horses and mules of World War 1, serving the cavalry and the soldier in the mud of France.

With all these equines in the history, legends, and hearts of Americans, is it any wonder that Brooke USA is leading the way as part of the Brooke family of charities, the largest equine welfare organization in the world? Americans have generous hearts, and their generosity is helping animals and the families they support, worldwide.