How the Horse Returned to the American Great Plains

by Elim Eyobed, age 14

Domestic horses have become very popular in American culture. This has led researchers to ask: how did horses become pets? Horses have traveled full circle around the world to get to where they are now.

Horses evolved in North America. They then spread to Eurasia using the Bering Land Bridge. The were domesticated by humans in Eurasia long after they had gone extinct in North America.

The Spanish brought domesticated horses back to the Americas, and bred them to fit the local environment. Some of these horses escaped, and became what today we call the mustang.

Many Native Americans and Indigenous people were responsible for the further domestication of horses. They captured and re-domesticated the mustang. Archaeologists have found horse remains in various locations that tie them back to Indigenous people from the Great Plains and American Southwest. These horses helped with travel and trade.

By the 17th century, horses had already spread into the Northern Rockies, most likely due to Indigenous exchange. Horses had became deeply rooted in the culture of the Great Plains by the time the Europeans arrived in the 18th century.

Horses have made a huge impact on many systems such as transportation, ceremonial practices, herd management, trade, and culture. Horses are much more than just a pet, they are revolutionary animals.

[Sources: Science, University of New Mexico Anthropology Department]