Spirit Hourse
We came upon this horse on a trip round the northwest USA. He just stood there watching....
The legend of Ghost Horse and the Ghost Wind Stallions has been passed down through the generations in oral history from the Nez Perce and Flat Head Indians. From the memories of such people as Howling Elk, Soft Wind, and George Long Grass; comes the tale of the spotted horses of the Pacific Northwest Tribes. Many places in the history of the Ghost Wind Stallions are now etched in the pedigrees of the Appaloosa. Names such as White Bird (canyon), Yakima, Lolo (pass), Tillamook (bay), Walla Walla (valley), Palouse (valley), Bear Paw (Mt.), Washita, Okanogan, Snake (river), Loop Loop, Tecumseh, and (the) Seven Devils. The story dates as far back as 1762 and continues even after the Nez Perce War of 1877.
Old cowboy folklore also tells of a wild mustang called "Wind Drinker", the pacing white stallion of the prairies, also known as "Ghost Horse" of the plains. He was considered to be supremely superior to all others. He was described as being exceedingly intelligent, beautiful, graceful, fiery, and possessing an unmatched speed and endurance. He moved so smoothly that he seemed to glide, pacing and racking on and on forever. It is said that he moved like a white shadow, like a Spirit Horse. He was revered as strong medicine. In 1879 a reward was offered for his capture.
The Indians called him "Ghost Horse", winged steed of the prairies. He was sighted from Mexico to Oklahoma, from Washita to South Canada. He was caught by a Vaquero after a band of professional mustangers chased him, pacing for 200 miles away from them. Roped and staked, he refused grass or water and after ten nights; the proud stallion just laid down and died. Still he was sighted again and again, slipping in and out of the mist from the Rio Grande to Alberta. Could there be more than one Ghost Horse? These sightings continued well into the mid 1900’s; until as the wild mustang began to vanish from the western plains, so too did "Wind Drinker".
