History of the Ojibwe Spirit Horse

Ojibwe Spirit Horses were said to have roamed Turtle Island (North America) for thousands of years before Europeans shipped other horse breeds overseas. In camps, Indigenous peoples had very close working relationships with the Ojibwe Horses. Many communities relied on these ponies to ride trap-lines and haul heavy loads. The horses were deeply spiritual and meaningful to the Indigenous people and were highly respected.

In the 1970’s, the colonizers considered these ponies to be a “nuisance” for ruining crops and land, and were then hunted almost to extinction. With four mares remaining, a courageous group of Indigenous men rescued the horses and transported them to a safe reserve in Minnesota. In hopes to keep the Ojibwe Horse genes, the mares were introduced to a Spanish Mustang to begin new bloodlines.

Thankfully, after years of work and time, the dedicated breeders supporting the Ojibwe Ponies have restored the head count to almost 200 horses. With more support and effort, the Ojibwe Horse will live on and hopefully will not be an endangered species eventually.

( Reference: Destination Ontario (2023, May 5). Ojibwe Spirit Horses in Ontario. https://www.destinationontario.com/ )