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"Sunka Wakan (shoon-kah wah-kahn)- the Great Spirit Horse. He was the very first spotted horse ... to be born on the Great Plains and destined to be one of Mother Earth's champions; to protect her and all of her creations. His supernatural powers were attained directly from the great powers or medicine of the animal kingdom." Linda Little Wolf Click on picture for more information or link to source. Around 8000 BC, during the ice age, horses became extinct in North and South America. The closest living relative to survive is the Tapir of South America who remains undomesticated even now. Horses were first introduced to the Caribbean by none other than explorers commanded by Christopher Columbus in 1493. These explorers brought the foundation of the Paso Fino to Puerto Rico, The Dominican, and Cuba. Included in the foundation stock of the Paso Fino are the Spanish Jennet, the Andalusian, and the Spanish Barb. You should remember, as you read this, that history is completely one sided depending on who wrote the book, so of course, there will also be documentation in other literature that will say other things. So, before getting to the crux of the history you should understand just a few things.
A great majority of Paso Finos, Criollo horses, and Peruvian
Paso are either dun or lobuno (grullo), with dorsal stripe and
zebra stripes demonstrating their roots to the Spanish Jennet. The
pinto Paso fino traces its roots also through the
Andalusian, Barb and
Jennet but from Cuba. The brood ranches (haciendas) set up in
Cuba were managed by a man described as "a stylish and rather
flamboyant gentleman" who loved the pinto horses. He was also
responsible for the western type saddle with a horn and for putting "silver" on saddles. Today there are
very, very few horses in Cuba.. (Not so surprising, when you stop to think that the
population has lived on the verge of starvation since Castro took power.)
Still, it is reasonable to assume that pinto horses were imported to
Puerto Rico from Cuba and that is where most of today's Pinto Pasos
would trace their roots if documents existed.
Sir Walter Raleigh wrote that he was much impressed with the quality of horses in Puerto Rico and because of the shortage of horses in North American settlements, Sir Walter Raleigh imported a substantial number of horses from Puerto Rico to Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh described the horses in Puerto Rico as "light brown, with black stockings and a line down the center of the back." He made note of the four beat gait; however, there was no mention of the pinto horse and there is no record of him importing a "pinto" horse. The Virginia Pocket Horse or Virginia Single Footer is a descendant of the Puerto Rican Paso Fino imported by Raleigh. The pocket horse has been isolated geographically from other horses and inter-bred to maintain the characteristics and gait. They are mostly dun or buckskin in color and have the size and appearance of the Paso Fino. They demonstrate an extended, ground covering, four beat gait.
Horses were not successfully bred and raised east of
the Mississippi until well after they had begun to spread through South
and Central America. Spaniards left records describing expeditions east of
the Mississippi. Many times Indians attacked them or tricked them in order to
steal their horses -- sometimes ignoring the humans entirely. In all of these
recorded cases the Spaniards believed that the Indians had eaten the
horses. The Indians were thought to have eaten them for a variety of
reasons including the belief that they could capture the power of the
horse
through ingestion.
Gelding horses, as a practice, did not begin until
the early 1800s. So yes, what you've heard about the Spanish
conquistadors riding Stallions is true. However, sometimes there were not enough stallions for everyone, especially in
the early exploration days, so the lower ranked would ride mares. I can only imagine
the trouble on the picket lines at night with so many "traveling"
stallions and mares to boot! Monks rode mares as a sign of penance or to be
humble. The Spanish did have a way to make a stallion unable
to breed while keeping him in tact. I'm unsure how they did this,
but this fact is documented. A poor quality stallion, rendered unable to breed,
was put with a group of brood mares to keep the mares together and
protect the unit. When the time came to breed, several different
stallions might be used.
It is the Jennet that gifted the Paso Fino
its smooth gait. I have heard so many stories
about what the Spanish Jennet was and thought I might clear that up for
you. There is a Spanish Jennet registry
and the founder, Ms. King, is recruiting Paso Finos, in particular Pinto Paso Finos into that
registry. So, yes, the Jennet is extinct, and yes, it is a new
breed, so new that the registry remains open. I have also heard that the
Jennet was a donkey or a mule. Also not true. It was a small feral
horse with wild markings (zebra stripes & dorsal line) dun in color and
it was gaited. All the known feral horses from all over the world
had the wild markings and are thought to have possessed a four beat
gait...including the Fjord, Icelandic, Przewalski. This fact leads
us to
believe that at one time all horses on earth were gaited.
Shamefully, regardless to God's design, man has selectively bred the gait
out of most of them.
In 1519 Hernando Cortes and his conquistadors, left Spain for the new world. This expedition left us a great legacy—the Andalusian, Barbary, and Jennet horses that would be the foundation for the Paso Fino horse.
History of the Spanish Barb: www.imh.org/imh/bw/sbarb.html
These explorers were wealthy, nobly born,
and funded by affluent benefactors. It is important to realize that (1)
the explorers would depend on the horses for travel and battles that
could mean life or death, (2) they knew they would be establishing a
breeding program in the new world, and (3) the long sea voyage in 1519
would be a death sentence to any animal who was not correct in
conformation, strong, and healthy. They could afford the best and
selected to take with them the finest horses to be found in Spain.
Additionally, the first written record of the pinto
horse in America dates to this same expedition. It is generally
accepted that the records of Cortes’ 1519 expedition by Bernal Diaz del
Castillo are accurate. He lists and describes sixteen In 1532, Pizarro's explorers began their exploration on horseback, and thereby introducing the horse to native Americans who had never seen horses. History hints that among 237 horses taken by De Soto and his entourage on his mission in 1539 to explore north America there were many spotted horses. Coronado's expedition took place in 1540. It was these horses, brought by the DeSoto and Coronado to explore the new world, that were captured by native Americans and are viewed today as the foundation for the Spanish Mustang. While dominated by the Spanish, Indians were forbidden to ride or own horses. With time though, the Indians did manage to become great horsemen managing herds gathered from either stolen or lost horses. These early herds were comprised of small gaited horses the most prized of which were pintos– a legacy of the Andalusia, Barbary, and Jennet horses to be sure. The Indians referred to the spotted horse as the Great Spirit Horse, “Sunka Walken” and like names. All native tribes believed him the king of horses. Legend and lore tell a wonderful story that has been recorded by Linda Little Wolf in her book, the Great Spirit Horse. The “Painted Prince.” was blessed by Mother Earth and given special powers by the other Great Spirits. The gift of speed from the Wind, the gift of swimming from the Beaver, and the gift of camouflage from the Forest, the gift of good health and long life from the Turtle, the gift of heart and love for others, agility and strength from the Elk, the gift of wisdom and power from the Thunder Bird. I encourage you to get your hands on this wonderful book - written for children, but enjoyed just as much by adults. Because of their color and performance, pinto horses became a favorite mount of the American Indian. The Comanche Indians, the finest horsemen on the Plains, preferred the pinto. “Evidence of this favoritism is exhibited by drawings of spotted horses found on the painted buffalo robes that served as records for the Comanche.” The pinto was camouflaged. Simply by shading or rubbing out one color, he could be colored to suit any surroundings or any season of the year. By 1650, there were over 80 Spanish
missions in North America and the Spanish horse was established as the
foundation for the pinto horse in North America. The first other European
horses were not introduced into the Americas until much later in history,
114 years later, in 1607, eight horses were brought with the settlers in
Jamestown. It is unknown whether the eight horses brought to
Jamestown survived, but historians without exception believe they did not.
Eventually, the English, Germans, French and others came, bringing their horses with them. Great herds of
gaited Spanish Mustangs
were diluted with their blood. Later, in a government effort to defeat the
Indians, a bounty was put on mustangs and herds of mustangs
Note from Linda Little Wolf follows:
Dear Suzanne:
What a pleasure to hear from you, and I am very honored at the mention of
me and my book on your website. I have reviewed what you have
mentioned and will add some information. Use any of the information I am
about to provide that is pertinent. (Great Spirit Horse, Linda Little Wolf, Pelican Publishing Co, 2001 or Linda Little Wolf at http://hometown.aol.com/nativevisions8) Sources:
Linda Little Wolf at http://hometown.aol.com/nativevisions8 The Pinto Horse Registry (http://www.cavalry.org/Horse_History.html) http://www.spanishjennet.org/history.shtmll
Contact:
Many
Blessings
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were
slaughtered by the thousands - like the buffalo. Those few remaining
wild bred with European horses and the smooth gait was all but lost to
their surviving descendents. Then, for whatever reason,
it became unstylish for the Paso Fino to exhibit white pattern
characteristics and many generations have been bred in an attempt to
suppress the white spots and blue eyes so cherished by so many. Today the
pinto Paso Fino is indeed rare. Perhaps, he has endured man's efforts to
defeat his color because of the gifts given to “Sunka Walken.” Today
the pinto Paso Fino is an enchanting animal who comes to us with those
same gifts of heart, love, health, wisdom, beauty and, of course, gait! 
