A Chance Encounter with the Ojibwe Spirit Horse

On September 5th, 2026, my family and I went to visit Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario. For those not familiar with this museum, it is a living history experience set in the 1860’s with historic buildings of the time including homes, buildings of worship, schools, working mills, workshops, and Inns that bring 19th-century rural Ontario back to life.
 
I last visited Upper Canada Village with the elementary school I attended when I was eleven years old in 1971 . . . yes, I’m that old and could probably fit into the setting if it wasn’t for my defiant activist spirit. 😉  
 
What brought me to Upper Canada Village on that particular day were the horses (Horse lovers’ weekend) which gave the old village an air of permanence and life. But it was the Ojibwe Spirit Horse, which I had never heard of, that truly captured my attention; and so, I planned a day trip to see them. And I wasn’t disappointed, when I met them.
 
The Ojibwe Spirit Horse is a rare and critically endangered breed of horse with fewer than 200 individuals remaining worldwide. They faced near-extinction by the late 1970s due to government culls, and it is said, by European settlers who viewed the roaming animals as a nuisance as they grazed in their fields and gardens. However, the Federal and Provincial governments in Canada’s past had been notorious for destroying the indigenous communities, including their connection to the land and spirit, so we must not forget what drives government from behind the scenes. Money and power.
 
Thank goodness for the five Indigenous men from Lac La Croix and Bois Forte who rescued the last remaining four mares under the cover of darkness, where they trailed them across a frozen lake to safety in Minnesota.
 
Since then, the Spirit Horse has been brought back from near extinction, thanks to several ranches and stables in Canada such as Mādahòkì Farm in Ontario and Sage Hill Stables in Manitoba which host and breed these sacred animals to help restore their bloodline and share Indigenous culture. Using modern techniques, they researched DNA and horse bloodlines to find the best match to keep the Spirit Horse from extinction.
 
These horses are smaller, stockier, and furrier than most horses, which feature thick manes, fuzzy ears, and extra nose flaps to survive cold winters. Many have the prehistoric tiger striping on their legs which is a camouflage feature that originates in the Pleistocene Epoch from areas with dense forest. The Pleistocene Epoch lasted from 2.6 million to 11,600 years ago and is more commonly known as the Ice Age.

Where do horses originate from?
 
Modern horses originally evolved in North America over 55 million years ago before migrating to Eurasia, while modern domestication traces back to the Western Eurasian steppes.
 
The evolutionary origin of the horse is from North America. The earliest horse ancestors, such as the tiny, multi-toed Hyracotherium or Eohippus, first evolved and spent the majority of their evolutionary history on North American grasslands.
 
Millions of years later, ancestors of the modern genus Equus crossed the Bering Land Bridge into Siberia, spreading across Asia, Europe, and North Africa.
 
The extinction of the early horses in North America, as stated by academia, is that they completely died out in North America around 10,000 to 12,900 years ago during the Ice Age, leaving only the Eurasian populations which were later reintroduced to the Americas by Spanish explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries.
 
However, the Ojibwe Spirit Horse presents a tantalizing thought with its mystery and indigenous relationship that deserves to be entertained as their evolutionary uniqueness suggests. i.e. tiger striping on the legs, fuzzy ears and extra nose flaps for the cold.
 
Ojibwe Elders say that the Spirit Horse has lived in harmony with Indigenous communities since time immemorial. So, is it possible that when the ice age ended and the ice sheet disappeared, humans, birds, animals AND the spirit horse moved north as grasslands and forests replaced the once ice-covered land? An intriguing thought because in the modern age, called the Holocene Epoch, these horses once roamed wild and free through the northern forests of Ontario, and were considered spirit animals by the local indigenous communities.
 
Spirit Horses are known for being intelligent, gentle, empathic, and sturdy, making them ideal for companionship and equine-assisted therapy, something I discovered when I connected with them for the first time on Saturday, September 5th. There is a connection when you stroke them, when you reach out with your thoughts and look them in the eyes. Consciousness is in all living beings and so when I asked this magnificent creature in my thoughts for a picture and to share their story, she walked towards the middle of the pen, neighed loudly and then posed for me.
 
There is magic when you connect…

Anyone that reads this post, please share the story of the Ojibwe Spirit Horse and the links below to the Mādahòkì Farm in Ontario and Sage Hill Stables in Manitoba who have been fundamental in reviving their species. Let us all be a witness to the Spirit Horse story and to the miracle that began when five brave Indigenous men from Lac La Croix and Bois Forte helped save the only Canadian indigenous species of horse from extinction. Both the Mādahòkì Farm in Ontario and Sage Hill Stables in Manitoba should be commended and supported by Canadians for their perseverance and dedication in saving this very important breed of horse; one which has the magic of connection.
 
Today, there is recognition by the Canadian Federal and provincial governments as well as several prominent institutions and mediums but it is my hope that the Spirit Horse becomes a household word in Canada and a national treasure. Let’s make that happen. 

Links:

Mādahòkì Farm (Ontario)

Sage Hill Stables (Manitoba)