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The Nez Perce Horse
By Ike Boone Looking for a horse? A different horse? A special horse? A horse you will be proud of? A horse that not only looks good but also performs? A horse that tends to attach itself to one person? Your horse? Look no further. Focus your attention on Lapwai, Idaho, home of the famous Nez Perce Indians. Yes, the same Nez Perce Indians who evaded the U.S. Cavalry over the Bitteroot mountains of Idaho and most of the state of Montana. The horses used by the Nez Perce, and admired and sought by U.S. Cavalrymen, were generally referred to as the Palouse or Nez Perce horse. Over many years, this foundation stock was Americanized (crossed with other breeds). Eventually a breed organization was formed that created the Appaloosa, a respected breed that is now owned by individuals worldwide. However, it is not the original Nez Perce horse. Nez Perce tribal leaders have issued a history-making directive intended to again create their own horse and also bring horsemanship back to the general tribal population. This directive instituted the Nez Perce Horse registry and the Nez Perce Young Horsemen Program. A fine horseman, Rudy Shebala, is in charge of this unique project. Nez Perce youths between ages 14 and 21 are eligible to participate in the Young Horsemen Program of horsemanship, management and leadership existing around the horse. The Nez Perce have also developed a new breed registry for the Nez Perce Horse. The offspring of registered Appaloosa mares and one of four Alkhal-Teke stallions owned by the tribe are eligible for Nez Perce Horse registration. We are lucky. In our lifetime we will be privileged to witness the birth (or perhaps rebirth) of the Nez Perce Horse, the reawakening of the Nez Perce horse breeding talent, and the rejuvenation of riding and horsemanship skills in the Nez Perce nation. A large segment of the Nez Perce culture will be recaptured. Look for them in events such as the Rose Parade and horse expositions. You too can participate in the development of this horse by owning or breeding one of these fine animals. Re-creating a horse from the pastLet's discuss this new horse. The qualities the Nez Perce ancestors demanded of a horse were great. Their skill as horse breeders was renowned. Their horses were envied by neighboring tribes. Meriwether Lewis of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition wrote, "Their horses appear to be of an excellent race, they are lofty, elegantly formed, active and durable; in short many of them look like fine English coursers and would make a figure in any country." How do you re-create that horse? Enter the Akhal-Teke horse of Turkmenistan. There are less than 300 of these horses in the United States, and a limited registry of less than 3,600 in the world. There is evidence suggesting this is the most ancient breed in the world. Akhal-Teke horses have been known since 3000 B.C. and were raised in the Nissa region, then capital of the Persian State, now called Turkmenistan. They are from the Akhal oasis in the Turkmenistan desert where the Teke people live. These Turkmen treat their horses as family, meaning the horse is first to eat, first to see a doctor, etc. The Akhal-Teke horses are unusually attached to their human handlers, intelligent, answer to only one master and are shy around strangers. They are well-known for their endurance. An Akhal-Teke horse won a 2,700-mile journey from Ashkhabad to Moscow in 1935. It took them only 84 days, at one point crossing 225 miles of desert in three days, virtually without water. This horse can subsist on small amounts of food and water and has the ability to withstand temperature extremes. They have a tough constitution, are not picky eaters, rarely get sick, can jump, and recover unbelievably fast after exercise. Absent, a stallion, won two Olympic medals in Rome in 1962 (Gold in dressage). By the end of his career, Absent had won six Olympic medals in dressage, more than any other horse. In conformation the Akhal-Teke horse is lean, long, neck set very high, narrow-bodied with small feet. Mare height 15.3 hands, stallions to 16 hands, weighing 900 to 1,000 pounds, with variations. They have a bold and courageous character and were used by Alexander the Great. In Chinese legends they were known as the "heavenly horse," and wars were fought to obtain them. Today's Thoroughbred breed was largely influenced by this breed in that the Byerley Turk was most probably an Akhal-Teke and the Darley Arabian is thought to have carried a large portion of Akhal-Teke blood. In 1999, in Ashgabat at the only Akhal-Teke auction in the world, more than 80 horses were offered for sale, of which only two were actually sold. A 4-year-old stallion named Karar for $100,000, and a weanling for $25,000. It is not easy for a Turk to part with one of these horses. A unique opportunitySo how unusual is it then for there to be four stallions, five mares, three geldings and four stud colts of the Akhal-Teke breed in Lapwai, Idaho, human population 1,500? Very, very unusual and very fortunate for horsemen living in the great Northwest. For the Nez Perce to acquire these rare Akhal-Teke horses, Rudy Shebala made numerous inquiries and took many long-distance flights to no avail. However, during this time he met Minnesota businessman Hans Sprandtel, who, with his brother Eberhard, had an Akhal-Teke breeding partnership. Eberhard had recently passed away in an accident, and Hans, the businessman of the two, felt he didn't have the expertise to move ahead with the breeding program. However, he did not want his and his brother's breeding efforts to have been in vain. Sprandtel made the Nez Perce an offer. He would donate four stallions, two mares and three geldings to the Nez Perce Horse registry program. So, due to German immigrant Hans Sprandtel's generosity, the tribal leaders' foresight and Rudy Shebala's leadership and horse expertise, the Nez Perce, after 110 years, are once again horse breeders. Shebala believes the Akhal-Teke is most definitely an ancestor of the original Nez Perce Horse, and with very good reason. But that is a story in itself. If you have an interest in the Nez Perce Horse, Appaloosas or just horses in general, please make it a point to talk to this quiet, educated man. He has taught a horsemanship class at Lewis and Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, developed the Nez Perce Horse registry, and is currently supervising the Nez Perce Young Horsemen Program. Appaloosa: The right matchWe've talked only about the top half of the pedigree (the stallion). The other half (the mare) is the Appaloosa, which in itself is an outstanding breed known and owned worldwide, needing no introduction. The Appaloosa was formally recognized and the breed organization formed in 1938. The modern Appaloosa may be quite different from the Nez Perce horse of 150 years ago. Today's Appaloosa has come into being without benefit of the Nez Perce, because tribal horse breeding, for all intents and purposes, was forcefully ended about 1880. It is, however, a descendant of the original Palouse or Nez Perce horse. In developing the Nez Perce Horse, Shebala is using four modern Appaloosa mare types for his foundation: The Quarter/Appaloosa; the Thoroughbred/Appaloosa; the Arabian/Appaloosa; and the Appaloosa/Appaloosa, or foundation Appaloosa. The tribe owns about 50 Appaloosa mares and is breeding them to the aforementioned four Akhal-Teke stallions. Of course, private breeders in the United States and worldwide are also eligible and welcome to upgrade their Appaloosa stock in the Nez Perce Horse registry by breeding their approved Appaloosa mares to one of these fine stallions. The offspring of this mating is outstanding. Though all four stallions are solid color, many foals are blanketed. Most also have the sleek, shiny coat of the Akhal-Teke. Their conformation generally is what was sought by Shebala: distinctive-looking small head, long neck, wide girth and graceful, athletic movement. Both the Akhal-Teke and the Appaloosa are complemented by their conformation and disposition. In appearance one would judge the yearlings to develop into ideal performance or pleasure riding horses. A 'horse people will remember us for'When asked about his role in the founding of the Nez Perce Horse, Shebala answered, "I can probably say that I founded the ingredients for the Nez Perce Horse, that is the breeding of the Akhal-Teke to the Appaloosa and from there to develop a unique strain or breed of horse. That strain is in turn being developed by the modern Nez Perce tribe. "It is part of a larger objective of the Nez Perce tribe of which my assignment is to develop the horse breeding program. The tribal council also has given their authorization for a Nez Perce Horse registry which I have developed." The Nez Perce hope this breeding program will create employment and revenue in a culturally appropriate enterprise. Judging from the number of phone inquiries about the new breed being handled by secretary Jessica Redheart during the time I interviewed Shebala, they are well on their way -- all over the United States. "We want a breed of horse people will remember us for," Shebala said. "I think what we're doing is and has been a challenge, but it has been a positive challenge and it has reflected positively on the Nez Perce tribe and the Nez Perce people. "One thing I would like to comment on is some people have asked, 'Why are we getting away from the Appaloosa?' Personally I've always admired other breeders throughout the world, for instance the people on the British Isles, who have developed the Thoroughbred, the Clydesdale, the Cleveland Bay and they're known for breeding different types of horses for different reasons. We are known internationally and historically as horsemen and horse breeders. Now that we are in the modern day and age, this is one way we can contribute to the modern horse industry while helping ourselves and keeping our ancestors' horse breeding tradition." Horsemen the world over will benefit yet again from the Nez Perce people. From all of us who have always wanted to be on the ground floor of something exciting, thank you. To request the official registration handbook, rules and regulations write to The Nez Perce Horse Registry, P.O. Box 365, Lapwai, Idaho 83540. The secretary in charge of registration is Jessica Redheart. Call 208-843-7333. A Web site is under construction. The Nez Perce are available to deliver or arrange for pick-up or delivery of your horse anywhere. Ike Boone is a Yakima Valley horse breeder. |