Horses
Stories and articles about the horse; its history and impact
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The Battle to Save Roosevelt’s Horses
https://dakotahorsemagazine.com/articles/the-battle-to-save-roosevelts-horses/ Update: On April 25, 2024 Senator John Hoeven announced that he had “secured a commitment” from the National Park Service to maintain the wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park Sierra Schmidt grew up visiting and getting to know the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). She says the memory is still in her mind as clear as the day she first saw ‘Cloud’ and his band walking down the road near the prairie dog town in the park. She was ten and had been coming to the park since she was three to see the horses. Cloud was an amazing stallion with a big white face…
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Rex
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The Last Cattle Drive II
This story was written and posted with many pictures in Writin’ for the Brnd’s Tales of the Ranch in 2022. North Dakota Horizons magazine has published an edited version in their last summer issue; sadly this is the last year of the magazines publication. I am grateful for the numerous times they published a story of mine. They always brought my articles to life with beautiful layouts. It’s fitting that my last article for them is The Last Cattle Drive. Author note: This story was told to me by Lloyd Lester in 2017. He typed the original story and in subsequent conversations added details. Lloyd worked on the Martell ranch…
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Pioneering Women in Rodeo
Published in the Cowboy Chronicle; Publication of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame June 2023 Theodore Roosevelt, attending the Wild West show that was part of the entertainment for his Rough Riders reunion, graciously bowed to the diminutive teenage girl and applauded her success. Roosevelt had watched in awe as she roped a running steer and beat all the cowboys for first prize. He told her none of his Rough Rider troops could have done a better job. It was 1900 and the vice-presidential candidate had put together the second Rough Riders reunion in Oklahoma City. Roosevelt’s brief but transformative ranching career in North Dakota set in him an…
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The Last Cattle Drive
Up ahead Lloyd saw a rattler taking in the morning sun. Rattlesnakes were common out here in the summer so you “listened real close” for the rattles when you were out in the pasture. The Prairie Rattler may be smaller than other rattlesnakes, but it maintains a nasty disposition none the less. Here they were, about ready to cross one’s path with over hundred head of cattle and men on horseback. Before he could say a word out came Oliver’s lariat with a snap, catching the rattler and Lloyd by surprise. Oliver finished off the snake and gave Lloyd the rattles. What a day, and it had only just begun!…
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Just a Bit About the Bit
A good relationship between the horse and his rider is all about communication. A horse can sense fear, anger and competence, and will react accordingly. However, a good ride whether for work or pleasure, requires effective communication between the horse and rider. Since ancient times the bit, in one form or another, has been the instrument to help send these messages. The horse is the only animal we control by putting something inside their mouth. The ancient man’s experience of controlling a pack or riding animal before the domestication of the horse, was by various forms of nose pressure. This method would not work for the equine as its…
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Rex
https://dakotahorsemagazine.com/articles/rex/ This story was published in the online edition of Dakota Horse Magazine, April 12, 2023 and in the Fall 2023 hard copy edition. Rex: Latin for “king” Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy or beauty without vanity? Here, where grace is laced with muscle and strength by gentleness confined. He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity. There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent, there is nothing so quick, nothing more patient. England’s past has been borne on his back. All history is his industry; we are his heirs, he our inheritance. The Horse, poem by Ronald Duncan Rex…
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Straight to the Horse’s Mouth
At first glance, especially to those unfamiliar with all that is involved in horse care, the new exhibit at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame might look like medieval tools of torture. No need to worry, these old malicious looking implements are just a set of equine dentistry tools from 1904, donated to the hall by the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. It is believed that equine dentistry practices began about 2000 years ago on the steppes of northeastern Asia and Mongolia by ancient nomads. The horse has the distinction of being the most significant domesticated animal of the past 5000 years, playing a critical role in the development, growth…
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The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands
He was an old man, arthritic and without a family band, but still wild and free. Singlefoot was the oldest stallion living in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). He may have been on his own but he still found the energy to play and enjoy life. He looked out over grasslands and rolling hills interrupted by dramatic and colorful badland formations where his ancestors once roamed. The history of the plains horse dates from prehistoric times; disappearing from North America about 11,000 years ago and returning in the 1500’s with Spanish explorers. Singlefoot and the other horses in the park descended from those brought by the Spaniards and other…
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The Wild Horses of Roosevelt’s Badlands for The Cowboy Chronicle
He’s an old man now – arthritic and without a family band, but Singlefoot, the oldest stallion living in Roosevelt National Park (TRNP)still roams wild and free where his ancestors did, looking out over grasslands and rolling hills interrupted by dramatic and colorful badlands. The history of the plains horse dates from prehistoric times; disappearing from the North America about 11,000 years ago and returning in the 1500’s with Spanish explorers. Singlefoot and the other horses in the park are descended from those brought by the Spaniards and other domesticated stock. Once domesticated, they are feral animals, not “wild” horses as they are generally called. Regardless, these beautiful animals seen…
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The Legacy of the Horse in the Lives of the Great Plains People
The Great Plains spread in a boundless swath of land across ten states running from Texas through North Dakota and into Canada. The Northern Plains, including North Dakota, have vast open expanses dominated by short and tall grasses. The climate is one of extremes; cold harsh winters and hot humid summers. The grasses change from a vibrant green in the spring to a sea of gold as the summer ends when land and animals prepare for the winter. Sometimes as you look across the plains, those wide open spaces of flat and rolling grasslands can seem to go on forever. The wind and sunlight will create waves in the ocean…
