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Mustang of the Month to Sponsor
Have you ever sponsored a Sky Dog? If not then meet Montego Bay our representative Sky Dog Spanish Mustang. Montego Bay is our February Mustang of the Month to Sponsor. Please choose a level of sponsorship: Sponsor, Winter Friend, Four Seasons Friend, or Forever Friend. Scroll down for more information and photos of Montego Bay.
Montego Bay — Sky Dog of the Black Hills, Reflection of an Iberian Charger
Imagine having never seen a horse and then Montego Bay comes across the prairie under a big sky! His gaze of thousands of years of making life better for mankind can't be denied as you ponder the miracle of this beautiful animal before you. And though wary of you, you do feel there is a bond between this breathtaking creature and you, a bond that could change your life dramatically for the better.
"Sky Dog" was another name given to horses by Plains tribes. Prior to the 1600s (when Spaniards accidentally lost horses in their travels and allowed them to eventually fall into the savvy hands of North American Indians) dogs served as helpers in daily work. Dogs helped carry the heavy burden by means of the travois, and facilitated an intensely nomadic way of life.
Horses effortlessly usurped these roles from the dogs, and much more. They afforded Native people freedom and opportunities as vast as the sky.
To this beautiful animal, whose personification is freedom, and to whom we as mankind owe so much, we should never say goodbye. We are to fan the embers of your blood, cherish the unspoken wisdom contained in your eyes, share the wind blown from your souls, and forever hone the debt of love and respect due you who are loyal, innocent descendants of Eden. We should never say goodbye.–John Hockensmith, Spanish Mustangs in the Great American West – Return of the Horse
The first time we saw Montego Bay, we had a hard time grasping that he needed a new home. In a pasture full of colts, he was a fireball, flinging his magnificent mane around; fighting the wind to expose an eye to survey his human visitors. He charged up to the fence like a war horse, exhibiting the self-confidence and pride that only an Iberian charger can—yet he was just a small colt. When he turns his head to look at you, you'll catch his nobility of spirit as a descendant of the Spanish and Portuguese horses returned to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. And when the Native Americans first set eyes on this wonder, their lives too were forever transformed.
In John Hockensmith’s book, Spanish Mustangs in the Great American West – Return of the Horse, a thorough history is provided on the Indian horse cultures. From the book, “…they shared a general belief that horses, sometimes called “big dogs” or “great elk dogs,” were imbued with a powerful spirit, and many tribes engaged in ritual horse dances and practiced what was called horse medicine to achieve supremacy over enemies.”
Ironically, the parallel of lost freedom is still something the horse and the Native American sadly share to this day. And you can make him your Sky Dog too, please sponsor him! One can never tire of seeing his beautiful mane and forelock catching the wind on the wide open prairie where his spirit runs free.
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