The Horse Stands Alone.
02/12/05
The Horse Stands Alone
written by Susan W. Pizzini
March 10, 2004
He needs no explanation, no apology for his existence; it is his God-given right to live. He is a powerful and noble creature. He is Nokota, the horse of the Northern Plains.
The horses that we now call Nokota lived wild in the Little Missouri badlands of southwestern North Dakota for most of their known history, which dates back to the 1880s. Their heritage includes Indian ponies and the stock of the early settlers, including Thoroughbred, Iberian and Percheron. Even the horses that survived the Little Big Horn are counted among their ancestors. They are swift, agile and athletic with an intelligence that amazes you and a willingness to please whomever chooses to partner with him.
Over one hundred years of surviving without human assistance has granted them the right to be left alone - but that didn’t happen. The land they were living on became Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the 1950s. While the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971, the National Park Service was, and continues to be, exempt from these federal laws protecting wild horses, so the park manages the herd. The National Park Service decided to eradicate them in favor of the more popular, eye-pleasing domesticated breeds. The park goal was to kill or remove them from the park, either way effectively being rid of them.
Following the 1979 round-up, Leo Kuntz bought his first horses, more again after the 1981 round-up, then bought fifty-four more subsequent to the 1986 round-up. It was here that Leo and Frank Kuntz met Dr. Castle McLaughlin when she purchased a blue roan stallion that Leo and Frank wanted. The stallion’s intense battle for freedom during the round-up activities compelled her to buy him at the public auction. That was the beginning of their efforts to preserve the horses now called Nokota. In 1993, the legislature declared the Nokota horse the Honorary State Equine of North Dakota - the only state equine in the United States.
For approximately 20 years the brothers struggled to keep and protect the Nokota horses and in the late 1990’s Leo met Charlie and Blair Fleischmann who were vacationing at the Silver Tip Ranch in Montana where Leo was working. He told them the intriguing story of the Nokota and they soon offered to help establish a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization to help preserve this horse type. Thus, the Nokota Horse Conservancy was established in 1999 and in 2000 was granted non-profit status. Much has happened since then and the supporters have grown in number. There are now many Nokota horses on the east coast, particularly in my area of Chester County, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas as well as other parts of the United States, especially Washington and Minnesota. In Pennsylvania, we have held fundraisers, done expos and promotional events, and generally taken advantage of every opportunity that comes our way to help raise money to feed the horses and share what we have learned about them. There is still a long way to go and the website www.nokotahorse.org contains many more details.
Today, we find ourselves struggling for the survival of this exceptional horse. Those of us that have met him are captivated inescapably by his charm and majesty. We are the Nokota Horse Conservancy, dedicated to preserving these Native Horses of the Northern Plains for our posterity.
References:
Dr. Castle McLaughlin
The Nokota Horse Conservancy web site
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