OklahomaHorses Magazine September 2023

20 OklahomaHorses • September / October 2023 Forerunners of Quarter Horses Chickasaw Horses’ Bloodline Survives Indian Removal and Change by Casie Bazay H istorically, horses played a vital role in Native American culture be- cause they were used for day-to-day activities, including hunting, transporta- tion, trade, farming, and warfare. That is especially true for the Chickasaws, original- ly a Woodlands tribe from the Southeast. However, the Chickasaws are one of the few tribes whose horses later became recog- nized as a breed all their own. Brad Lieb, Ph.D., director of Chickasaw archaeology and cultural resources specialist with the Chickasaw Nation Division of Historic Preservation, said, “[These horses] came from Texas, basically, which was Mexico back then, and they were wild horses of Spanish origin that had been captured by tribes like the Caddo who traded them east into Mississippi in the late 1600s.” Historical accounts note that the Chickasaws also might have gained horses through raids of other tribes, and the Chickasaws were also known to trade with the English. From whatever manner the horses came into the Chickasaws’ possession, they began to breed and develop them to maintain desirable traits. In their war with the French in the early 1700s, the Chickasaws traded French war captives for horses, introducing new bloodlines into the Chickasaw horse breed. Standing between 13 and 14 hands tall, the Chickasaw horse was described as having a short head and neck with a compact, muscular body. Their temperament was described as intelligent and hardy, and they became renowned for their speed and stamina. According to Dan Littlefield, Ph.D., director of the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas and author of books on Native American history, Chickasaw horses were smaller than thoroughbreds. “They were quick and had a lot of stamina and could go long distances without as much food as other horses could,” he said. After the American Revolution, the Chickasaw horse became popular with American settlers. By that time, racing had become a favorite pastime throughout The Chickasaw horse developed from Spanish horses and is an ancestor of the modern quarter horse. Artwork by Jeannie Barbour. Digital image provided by the Ada Times.