Fictional Oops That Don't Line Up With Reality.......Or So I Thought

 

Just a few days ago, I decided to check Rainbow's MHOSS entry information, because she was DQ'd for not having a Mustang Breed specified. Weird thing is, she did. But, it's the breed I chose for her and her immediate family based on a theory from a Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Fandom website; which was the Cayuse...Pony....apparently??? And not considered a Mustang??? Well, from all the information I had previously researched about the Cayuse Pony was extremely inconsistent and confusing as to what type they fall under. Additionally, The Cayuse Tribe is in Oregon. OK, that fits perfectly, since Spirit is based off of the Kiger Mustang, whose range is in Oregon.

Then the rabbit hole started.

So...where does the story is supposed to take place?

In 1800's Oregon.

Ok. But....Oregon doesn't have red sandstone regions - Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico does.

Doesn't a guy in the movie say something about connecting in Utah (had the realization that he is talking about The Golden Spike just now!) when Spirit recognized the land up ahead?

Maybe, I'll have to watch it again to be sure.

And what about Little Creek? The Colonel addressed that he is a Lakota. Wait! Aren't Lakotas apart of the Sioux Tribes?

Yeah, and the Lakotas's territory was in North & South Dakotas, most of Nebraska, East Wyoming, and Southeast Montana. Nowhere near Oregon.

Now, granted, the Native Americans at the time, just like many other cultures around the world, practiced slavery. So, it is possible that Little Creek was taken captive away from his tribe and later found family in an Oregon region tribe (the Cayuse tribe being in Northeastern Oregon).

Now, according to this map of the USA in the 1800's, the Oregon territory is much larger than what it is today. So, locations are closer than you think.

Fair enough. Then, where is this Cimarron place?

Well, there is a Cimarron River that starts and runs through Oklahoma, curves up into Kansas, and ends in Northeastern Colorado. But, now the locations are totally out of whack! Alright, what does the word Cimarron actually mean?

A wild place.

This could be anywhere.

The home of a mustang stallion.

Ok, that makes sense!

Now, back to Rain. Is she or is she not a Cayuse Pony?

According to a facts about Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron article, she is recognized and registered (no, I'm not kidding!!) as an American Paint Horse.

But...the Paint breed wasn't established until 1962, when the registry was formed. Then, what are the possible influencers?

That's when I found the Colonial Spanish Horse. 

The Colonial Spanish Horse was bred by the Chickasaw tribe with the descendants of the original horses brought over by the Spaniards. This horse was one of the influencers of the American Quarter Horse, and therefore, the American Paint Horse (became a separate registry due to the amount of loudly pintoed Quarter Horses). Other than Pinto patterns being present in the breed, one of the key features is the Roman/Convex nose - which links it to the Iberian ancestry. They also are of a smaller build.

Rain is a smallish Pinto (smaller than Spirit, that is) AND has a Roman/Convex Nose!

A perfect match indeed!

Now, where do you put a Colonial Spanish Horse, as far as type goes?

Well, on MHOSS' description for what breeds are accepted in each class (and they classify Mustangs in the Spanish Division, whereas many other shows lump them in with Stock) didn't have the specific term of Colonial Spanish Horse listed. Are there any other names - I wouldn't doubt it!

Yep, Spanish Mustang.

WOW!! All of that roundabout, indirect search ended up being something simple!!

Well, maybe not that simple - comparing body types, colors, locations, and names are not easy. The only mystery left is location. Does the Chickasaw tribe territory come anywhere close to the Lakota and the Oregon Territory? Though, keep in mind that there were a lot of horse thieving and trading among the Native American Tribes - with each other and with the Spanish, French, British, and the Americans.

Not as close as I thought, though, seeing the location makes sense in relation to one event: The Trail of Tears. Apparently, there were more Native American  tribes other than the Cherokee who had adopted the European way of living, owned plantations with African Slaves, practiced Christianity, and created a written language. Unfortunately, despite appearing European (or US American), they were still considered inferior and ordered to start anew in Oklahoma with other tribes - friends and enemies alike.

So, how does this relate to the Colonial Spanish Horse?

The Chickasaw tribe moving, with their horse stock, to Oklahoma. Then, reconsider horse thieving - the Comanche were in most of Texas and the west part of Oklahoma by the 1800's. These superb horsemen were one of the most powerful tribes in North America. So, raiding smaller tribes would cause either horses to be taken by the enemy tribe or have gotten loose in all the panic.

Ok, now we have mustangs. How does this relate to Rain's parents and grandparents?

Well, Dreamworks story behind Rain's grandmother, Bonita, starts out in San Antonio during the Mexican War. She then becomes free and joins a wild herd where Rain's mother, Sierra, is born. What breed Bonita is, would have to be a different discussion as I still have not read that book. However, considering location, she would likely have more of Iberian blood in her ancestry. As far as, how mustang herds travel, they tend to stay in a general region that ranges in size. Though, considering the time period, those regions may have been larger than what they are now. They also likewise had moved further north due to colonization, therefore jumping Native American Territory borders before a horse of almost pure Iberian ancestry through runaways of the Mexican War and The Trail of Tears would even enter the Lakota territory, let alone the Oregon Territory.

Ok, there's Rain's mom's side - what about her dad's?

If Rain has such strong features that link with the Colonial Spanish Horse, then he probably came directly from the Chickasaw in Oklahoma.

I am glad to have figured out Rain's breed officially. 

Next is figuring out how can Spirit be a Dun (or ND1?!) where his parents are supposed to be non-duns with no primitive markings.

Stay tuned in for that analyzation!

References:

https://horseyhooves.com/spirit-stallion-of-the-cimarron-movie/ 

http://www.theequinest.com/breeds/colonial-spanish/ 

http://afs.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/paint/index.html/#:~:text=Decorated%20by%20nature%2C%20the%20origins,horses%20roaming%20the%20Great%20Plains. 

https://www.sport-horse-breeder.com/colonial-roots-quarter-horse.html 

https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Cimarron-Bonita-Kathleen-Duey/dp/0142300950 

https://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Spirit-Cimarron-Paperback-April/dp/B010EVFAPE/ref=pd_sbs_1/147-0263402-4897131?pd_rd_w=Aiiji&pf_rd_p=8b76d7a7-ab83-4ddc-a92d-e3e33bfdbf03&pf_rd_r=TEXBCA6A6FB8CX1K35JZ&pd_rd_r=08858cef-3936-4bd8-944a-e980060e860c&pd_rd_wg=cN2AN&pd_rd_i=B010EVFAPE&psc=1 

http://www.texasindians.com/comanche.htm 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Five-Civilized-Tribes 

http://www.albc-usa.org/ChoctawRescue/crColonialspanishhorses.html#:~:text=The%20Colonial%20Spanish%20horse%20goes,and%20weighing%20700%2D900%20pounds. 

Weird Blessings

 Breyerfest Day 1 & 2 - July 16-17, 2021

You might think that the post title might seem kind of odd, but there's quite a bit behind it. I had been avoiding saying anything specific on the blog in relation to my health issues....mostly because I want to keep it model horse related, but I do a very poor job of that! Truth is, at the end of June, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and no, it's not fun. What's worse, is that it revealed itself during the summer - Not Winter - Summer. Summer, the time of being outside, hiking, kayaking, camping, going to Bear Lake - not being stuck on the couch with abdominal pain, wasting away because your gut is too sick to absorb the nutrients it needs to thrive.

Why is it a blessing?

Well, for one, we are finding out that my body was likely going down the inflammation path longer than we realized (and likewise when I was a kid). So, through homeopathy, Chinese medicine, chiropractic's, and eating right, I am finally on the path for thorough healing.

Secondly, as far as Breyerfest goes, I was already stuck on the couch, so finding time to sit down and watch a few videos or poke around through shops, didn't seem like a problem. I was also more laid back this year (other than not feeling good and having little energy). Granted, I was a little more functional and could eat a little better that week than the previous weeks, so I was still able to enjoy Breyerfest.

I don't remember who they were other than a band of bachelor stallions of the Pryor Mountain Mustang herds in Montana. I've been following the Pryor Journal since I discovered The Cloud Foundation website....which might have been either in High School or my early 20's. I knew I HAD to watch the Breyerfest Special Video because of how much I love Cloud Mustang!

Later in the evening of the first day, I was able to watch the slide show about Donkey Color Genetics. It was very interesting - especially since Agouti causes all the grey muzzled/undersided donkeys!

Look at those crazy donkey spots! So much different from horses!

We kind of forgot that it was Pioneer Day on Saturday (it's a Utah holiday). So, naturally, there was a parade in front of our house.

I think I missed the horses (if there were any - sometimes there are, and sometimes there isn't), but I was able to catch the flag guard...

And the USU Football Semi.

All these photos were taken out the front window.

Nap time

Animals can be so weird - Lightning is sleeping in the basket without anything comfy to sleep on!

I've always wanted to see Cavalia! Someday, I'll see it in-person, but it has been a real treat to watch the Breyerfest Special videos two years in a row now (yeah, I know there's YouTube, but I keep forgetting and it's always better in-person).

I still haven't shown these pictures to my sister (who's a total dog person!) But I took these special for her.

That girl is the youngest member at age 11. She also has a natural knack for animal training.

Please excuse the divided pictures of I think Apollo Del Solis (I don't remember). The photo was too large to capture his cool bridle.

That's all for now.

Let's see which out-of-order update comes next!

A Bit of a Different Scenery and Sun Angle

June 19, 2021 - Breyerfest Prep

Back in June, I did a photoshoot at my grandparent's house. I needed to take some new photos for the Breyerfest Photo Show, but was unable to do it at home since my contractor brothers were helping our parents replace the waterline to the house (it sprung a leak - big time. Good thing there was no flooding in the basement). However, due to my health condition at the time, it was wiser for me to stay at my grandparents' house during the project.

In spite of feeling like crud and having zippo energy, I still managed to get some photos done - especially of my new Etchie, Dungaree (Above)!

I had repainted her eyes after I got her several years ago, because they looked kind of scary. However, showing her as an OF was out of the question now that she had nice custom eyes. I decided this year to try my hand a etching again - and had better success this time round.

Much, much better! She even has some Roaned Patches! (I LOVE adding Roaning to my Customs!)

Obviously, I don't feel like cropping any photos at the moment.

The lighting angle was really interesting. It's amazing to think of just a mile North, the angle of the sun is at my back, rather than overhead as you can see in these photos.

I now have a hole in my grass mat from Ballynoe's base. I still want to get a beach photo of him with better lighting.

Other than the lighting angle issue, Lionheart behaved - FINALLY!!! 

No muddy or hidden hooves this time!!

Yeah....Still working on getting the best photo of Paint Me A Pepto....

However, I did finally figure out how to get a decent halter photo pose of Wapiti. YAY!

I wasn't really impressed with the results of this photoshoot, but it's always good to try new locations to find what works and what doesn't. This one absolutely does not. It probably would have worked better if the sun was at the right angle. That is, if it was, it'll be behind the house as this is in the front yard. Oh, well.

Stay tuned for more sporadic out of order updates.

Hard Competition

 Breyerfest Open Photo Show, Friday, July 16, 2021

Yes, competition can get extremely hard when there's hundreds and thousands of people entering when presented as a photo show. No matter how many models you enter, there's someone else with tons of models who also has a chance in winning something as well. So, the possibilities of winning a lot of placings is rather quite slim, unless you entered all classes with a small number of entries (which isn't a bad tactic).

I still did have some placings regardless. One thing for sure, is that I was more relaxed about getting photos together. I remember last year scrambling trying to re-take pictures accordingly to Breyerfest's standards. But once I saw the other entries from people who primarily photo show - I was like, "Oh, I could have just used my regular photos." So, that's what I did this year and it was much better.

Anyways, here they are:

Enjoy!

Pinkalicious

Manager's Fun Class: Horse of a Different Color!

5th place

(I thought her placing was actually quite funny - because the color for 5th place is pink and she is literally hot pink!)

Xavier

Collectibility OF TR/CL: Animals: Unicorns

9th place

Stormy

Foal: OF Pony: TR RR

10th place

(I was surprised that he did place. New photo. And usually entered in a sea of Stormys).

Ramona

Foal: Mini OF: Gaited

Honorable Mention

(I could totally see her getting Honorable Mention. She photographs remarkably well, so then she places well, too. She was the only Mini Whinnie foal who received something).

Sumatra

Mini OF: Collectibility: Fantasy

9th place

Update: The Ribbons have Arrived! Aug. 9, 2021

The Fun Class Paper Flat Ribbon arrived a week or so after Breyerfest, but it's only fair to have Pinkalicious included in the lineup (and to show her intense pinkness with her awesome homemade pink ribbon!). Either way, here they all are. I guess there's no physical award for Honorable Mentions (Ramona), but that's OK. I'm still surprised that Stormy placed at all due to the popularity of the Misty and Stormy models. Good job little buddy!