| What: This horse was the dearest possession of the
American Indian of the Columbia Plateau region. When these people were in
a survival situation they would be sustained by tapping the great vein
behind his left front leg to drink the blood. Appaloosa came from a
corruption of people saying 'a Palouse Horse'. Spotted horses have had
an important place in the history of man's interaction and love of the
horse, but near here the Palouse and Nez Perce tribes bred the spotted
horse to be able to run over any kind of terrain for long periods with
power. They called it the Horse of the Iron Heart. Chief Joseph and his
large family was able to lead 4 armies on a chase over 1300 miles
because the horses were so superior to the armies'. It became illegal
for an Indian to own a spotted horse. The spots became a mark of death
as they were shot on sight. Colonel Wright had 7 hundred killed at one
time to
demoralize and immobilize the Indians. In 1937 there were only few such
animals still alive. Today there are hundreds of thousands. When the
tribes battled each other in older times, the horse's body was marked
with the glories of the fight and in this way the horse shared the glory
with its riding warrior. So often the warrior fresh from battle would
slap the horse on its rump with his fingers up to congratulate the horse
so with red paint the hand was painted there if the warrior and horse
combination were of the highest valor. Once an Indian was trapped and
ambushed by a warring tribe. His last act was to slap the horses front
right shoulder with his bloody hand. The horse ran all the way back to
its encampment where its tribe was warned of the coming battle by the
red hand with the fingers pointing down. Then if any warrior was going
into imminent danger that red hand would be painted there. A circle
would be painted around the horse's eye to help him see danger. Many
such patterns were painted on the animal, its mane and tail were tied,
woven, feathered, and laden with other art.
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