Badge of Honor

Regarded as sacred by some cultures,
Medicine Hat Paints remain an object of interest to breeders and historians alike

By Frank Holmes

 

With their predominantly white coats and dark ears, either of the yearling "Ultimate" daughters, Im Prette Xclusive (left), or Gold N Rules (right), could pass for the famed "Ghost Horse" of Native American lore.

 

Long-legged, gangly and as wild as a March hare, the unnamed yearling Paint stallion still managed to carry himself with an air of self-confidence. It was as if he knew he was going to be something special some day.

The Colorado horsewoman who stood studying him recognized the quality. It was, after all, one of the primary reasons she had just purchased him.

Sired by Cherokee Indian and out of Silent Mission, the colt traced to Walter Merrick's famed line of Paint racehorses on both sides of his pedigree.

In the woman's mind, however, the young stallion had a future beyond the track--as a jumper for sure, and possibly as an all-around performer.

First things first though. He needed to be named.

What to call him?

In color, the colt was pure white except for a bay bonnet that covered his ears and forehead, and smaller bay spots that encased his eyes.

The woman recalled that horses so-marked had once been highly-prized by certain Native American cultures. These horses were believed to possess certain powers that would render their riders invincible in battle.

That was it. She would find a name that would reflect favorably on the colt's unique markings.

"By the time I bought that skinny yearling colt in the spring of 1986," Karen Banister of Arvada, Colorado, said, "I was very familiar with the legend of the Medicine Hat Paint.

"My father, who has always been a student of Native American and mountain man lore, relayed it to me on more than one occasion.

"The more I studied the colt and reflected on his breeding, the more one name kept popping up in my mind," said Karen, mother of Elizabeth Banister, the Paint's owner. "So, I named him Sacred Indian."

Based on the show and breeding record that the Banister stallion has gone on to compile since he was named, it would seem that the name was indeed a perfect fit.

As a show horse, Sacred Indian earned six National and World titles, a Performance Versatility award and 475 points in 16 events.

As a breeding stallion, he has sired the earners of more than 5,500 performance points to date.

As a Breyer horse model, he has helped spawn a whole new generation of Paint Horse fanciers.

As a Medicine Hat Paint, he has done his part to keep alive a myth that dates back to the dawn of the North American horse age.

Reverence for the color white has long been a part of Native American culture. One need look no farther than the sacred white buffalo (the most highly-prized of which was marked with a Medicine Hat bonnet) to understand this.

Small wonder, then, that many of these same cultures would attach equal value to Paint Horses in general, and Medicine Hat Paints in particular.

In his nonfiction book, The Indian and the Horse, published in 1955, author Frank Gilbert Roe devotes an entire chapter to the legend of the White Ghost Horse of the Plains.

In it, he lists dozens of separate references to the fabled stallion, including ones by such eminent Western horse historians as J. Frank Dobie and Robert M. Denhardt.

Among the most-exacting accounts is one offered by Josiah Gregg, who traveled the Santa Fe trail from 1831 to 1840.

In it, he relates: "He [the white stallion] has been represented as a medium-sized stallion of perfect symmetry, milk white, save a pair of black ears."

In other words--a Medicine Hat Paint.

In his book, Roe goes on to relate that several Native American tribes, including the Sioux, Comanches, Blackfeet, Kiowa and Utes, regarded Paints as being the most desirable type of horse to possess and breed.

He further chronicled that, while most tribes practiced some sort of selective breeding, and routinely gelded inferior stallions, few, if any, Medicine Hats were ever altered. Other authors echo Roe's findings.

In his nonfiction book, Comanches--the Destruction of a People, published in 1974, T. R. Fehrenbach states, "The People [the Comanches' name for themselves] had a preference for Paints . . . They especially revered a white horse . . . Most Comanche stallions were gelded, a trick the People learned from the Spanish, but good Paint stock was preserved for breeding."

And there are countless more historical references to Medicine Hats, including some within the realm of fiction.

Revered children's book author Marguerite Henry paid homage to the Medicine Hat marking in her 1972 classic, San Domingo--the Medicine Hat Stallion.

The book, which was later made into a TV movie, tells the tale of Peter Lundy, a frontier boy growing up in the Nebraska Territory of the 1850s.

In a tension-filled meeting with Chief Red Cloud, the famed Oglala Sioux leader, 12-year-old Peter is given a Medicine Hat colt which he names, breaks and trains.

Separated through no fault of their own, the boy and stallion are briefly reunited in a bittersweet chronicle of the boy's forced journey from adolescence to manhood.

Author Henry reveals herself to be a knowledgeable and observant horsewoman through her description of the Medicine Hat colt through young Lundy's eyes:

"Pure white he was, with a cluster of red-brown spatters on his rump and along his belly, [and] a solid band across his forehead that continued upward and out until it completely covered both ears, like a bonnet.

"And underneath his throatlatch and down his chest to the upside-down V made by his legs was a whole shield of brown.

"Peter . . . had seen Chief Red Cloud in ceremonial dress ride a white stallion with bonnet and shield of red. He had thought the designs were painted on for special occasions . . . but they were real."

Again, a Medicine Hat.

So, what does all of this have to do with today's Paint Horse world?

To begin with, the marking itself continues to be universally seen as a positive symbol. A symbol with mystical roots, of late its appeal has been more genetic-based.

Without too great a stretch of the imagination, it is possible to combine the two.

It has been established that Native Americans reserved their deepest reverence for the most-white Medicine Hats.

Could one of the reasons for the high esteem been the fact that those Paints produced the highest percentage of color?

Switching to today's Paint Horse industry, consider these three mostly-white Medicine Hat stallions: VR Master Bug, an overo; Scenic Jetalito, a sabino; and Skip A Silver, a tovero.

Based on their color, all three would have been held in high regard by the Native Americans of yesteryear.

Based on their color-getting percentages of 81, 90 and 91 respectively, it's also a safe bet that all three would have been thought of highly as sires.

Whether you agree or not, it does make for an interesting twist to the "white is right" Paint breeding theory that many of today's most successful breeders believe to be true.

But there is another, more subtle, side to the Medicine Hat phenomenon that has to do with the power of positive images.

Take Sacred Indian for example.

"Again, I'm not sure how much stock I put in the Medicine Hat myth," Karen Banister said.

"As a Christian, I believe that everything happens for a reason. There was a reason that Sacred Indian came into my life.

"I can't say that his Medicine Hat marking had anything to do with it, but I can say that the fact that he had it contributed to my original decision to buy him.

"Part of that, I'm sure, has to do with my dad's love of Western lore. But part of it is because the marking gives him a sort of regal, wise appearance.

"People notice it right off the bat, and seem to enjoy discussing it. From that standpoint, Sacred Indian's Medicine Hat makes an excellent point-of-entry into a lot of conversations we start up with people new to Paint Horses.

"The marking does carry with it a certain subliminal message that Paints are good, maybe even powerful.

"I can't see that as anything other than a positive."