How Did Horses Change American Culture

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Horses in the Americas permanently changed the native people’s way of life. They affected literally every aspect, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Most historians estimate that horses were brought with the Spanish, and later the European settlers, around 1600-1650 A.D., beginning with the Spanish bringing them to Central and South America. Spanish settlers were found in several places, one of them being New Mexico. They knew their horses were prized and high quality, and kept close watch of them. Around 1680, some Pueblo Indians attacked the Spanish settlement, and some of their horses went free. These horses quickly formed herds of wild horses all over the American continents. Horses became very valuable, especially after they were domesticated. Horses were used for everything. Some of those uses were traveling, trading, and hunting. Travel was much faster on a horse’s back. Not only could they go much faster than a human, they could go longer without a break. Horses could also carry more than people could, or dogs, which were sometimes used as pack animals before horses came along.…show more content…
With a wider range of land available in a shorter amount of time, tribes could extend their hunting grounds, which leads to the next point. Hunting was a large part of Indians’ lives before the horses. Horses extended the possibilities for hunting, at the same time reducing the need for so much hunting. One of the biggest hunted animals of the Americas was the buffalo. On foot, as the Indians had always done, this was dangerous since these creatures are so large, but on horseback, this was easier to do. Buffalo skins were highly prized by the English people, so Indians could trade these for other Old World items, like guns for

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