Be The Horse – American Indian Horse Training Part Two

Once the American Indian child has developed patience, concentration, and sensitivity, the in depth  relationship with horses begins. The next step is to learn what the horse is to their culture. In this phase the child begins to learn that a horse is not just a large animal, it is a spiritual entity whose existence must be absorbed and internalized if the child is to become a true plains Indian.

We Comanches believe that there a four phases in growing up to adulthood, so the Comanche has a different name in each phase to signify where they are along this path. Each baby is given a baby name at birth. As a young child a second name is given that somehow describes them. We are discussing this phase where a child is starting to become a young man or woman. One of the ways to make this transition is by developing empathy with horses so that the thought processes of human and horse are united. The part where the human is trying to think what the horse thinks is shortened to actually thinking horse thoughts. Letting the horse know that you are thinking their thoughts is done through voice, and eye contact which will be the subject of another blog. Once the child has passed into adolescence, the third phase has begun. This phase is where human and horse combine to perform a mutual task, such as hunting first and warfare later. Practice produces an instinct based performance, and rider and horse do not have to communicate with each other. They are now one being acting on experience and instinct. The adolescent has now reached maturity and takes their final name.

I cannot express the final state of Indian and horse any better than the words of Plenty-Coup, a chief  of the Crows. In expressing his thoughts when he went out on a war party, he said “To be alone with  our war-horses at such time teaches them to understand us, and us to understand them. My horse fights with me and fasts with me, because if he is to carry me in battle he must know my heart and I must know his or we shall never become brothers. I have been told that the white man, who is almost a god, and yet a great fool, does not believe that the horse has a spirit. This cannot be true. I have many times seen my horse’s soul in his eyes. And this day on that knoll I knew my horse understood. I saw his soul in his eyes.”

White people want to die and go to heaven. Indians want to be a horse.

Tahka Pui

Tagged as: American Indian Horsemanship, American Indian Methods for Training Horses, horse care, The Art of Training by American Indians