The Orphan Who Was Blessed With A Horse
A Winnebago (Hotcâk) Legend



There in a village lived an orphan with his grandmother. Everyone called him Wainânîka, which means "Little Orphan." The other children when they saw him would tease him by saying, O wainânîka ixâjirena, "Oh, the little orphan is going by again." Nevertheless, he was a good child and always did what his grandmother asked him. So one day his grandmother told him it was time for him to fast and to seek a dream from the spirits, so the orphan blackened his face and went out to the wilderness to make himself pitiable before the spirits. Night after night the orphan would return home, and every time his grandmother would ask, "Did you dream and receive a blessing, grandson?" Even though four times he fasted four days and nights, and nearly fasted himself to death, he did not receive a blessing from the spirits. Indeed, he never received one.

In time he reached the age when he would be expected to go out on the warpath, so he went out to fast again. He felt discouraged and thought that the spirits denied him blessings because they were so much like humans that they felt towards him the same way that the villagers did. Nevertheless, he went to the wilderness and cried out to the Thunders that they might take pity on him and bless him. For four days and four nights he ate and drank nothing, indeed he did not even put so much as a pebble in his mouth; but on the fifth day he was so thirsty that he broke his fast to take a drink. As the orphan neared the spring he saw something. There, unexpectedly, was a dirty, emaciated horse laying in the mud. He had always desired a horse, but his grandmother was too poor to own one. When Little Orphan saw the horse he took pity on it. He fetched water for its parched lips, and rich green grass to sate its hunger. He brushed the dirt from its hide and kept bringing armfuls of grass so that he would have plenty to eat. Then he promised the horse that he would soon return after he had seen his grandmother.

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Horse Brigade
Flagstaff & Northern AZ.
Antione Leroux
Horses are prey animals with flight or fight instinct. Their first response to threat is to flee, although they are known to stand their ground and defend in cases where less capable horses would be left exposed, such as when a foal would be threatened. Horse people commonly say that inside every domestic horse is a wild horse. Through selective breeding, some horses have been made more docile, but most sport horse breeds are based on the principle of preserving the natural qualities of bravery, honesty, and athleticism that existed in horses that were taken from wild herds hundreds of years ago.Horses are highly social and intelligent herd animals. Like many other herd animals, their society is derived, or has evolved from survival instincts. At the center of the herd is the alpha or dominant mare. The center of the herd is the safest because it is further away from predators than any other part. The edge of the herd is where the lowest on the social order are found. Punishment is delivered in the form of expulsion from the herd on a temporary or even permanent basis.The dominant stallion lives in the most dangerous and tenuous position in the equine world. He lives on the periphery of the herd, exposed to predators and other bachelors who will fight him for that role. In stark contrast to the mythology of the stallion and his (ownership implied) harem, he has no value to the herd. He is totally dispensable since he is easily replaced. The male dominance hierarchy insures an immediate replacement by a strong and healthy successor at any time.
The ability of humans to work in cooperation with the horse is based on the strong social bonds that horses have with each other. Horses do not like to be separated from the herd, because to be alone is to be exposed to predators on all sides. Horse training principles are based upon having the horse accept a person as the dominant herd member, not through force, but by virtue of ability and confidence. It is those attributes that are highly valued because they point the way to survival. A horse that is afraid more than necessary will expend energy needlessly and may not be able to escape when the threat is real. In pastures, it is the rule that horses tend to gravitate around the most mature and confident members.

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