Lac La Croix Indian Pony Society
1–341 Clarkson Road
Castleton, Ontario K0K 1M0, Canada
www.rarebreedscanada.ca
Lac La Croix Indian Ponies are extremely hardy, enduring, and athletic animals that hold a special historical significance to Canada. Their use goes back to before Canada became a country. With their sturdy constitution and versatility, they contributed much to the development of northern Ontario. The ponies have been around a long time, and have been shaped and honed by nature to be survivors.
Also known as the Lac La Croix, or just Indian, Pony, the breed is believed to have descended from the Colonial Spanish horse and the Canadian horse. Its numbers used to be in the thousands, but now the breed’s survival is threatened, while the few remaining horses attempt a comeback.
The Lac La Croix Indian Pony was originally located in the Nett Lake, Lake Vermillion, and Lac La Croix areas bordering Minnesota and Canada. The breed was developed over time by the Boise Forte Band of Ojibwe. The village in which the ponies last lived was located on the Canadian side of Lac La Croix, a relatively large lake bordering Ontario that is almost directly north and slightly east of Lake Vermillion. In 1873, the village became a reservation when a treaty was negotiated by Chief Blackstone.
These ponies had been living with the Boise Forte Ojibwe since before the 1800s, until they were removed in 1977. From the thousands of ponies that used to live there, now there are only about 110 known ponies, and not all are breeding stock—some are geldings and foals. Also the ponies no longer live in that area. Today, there are a number owned by individuals scattered in various areas.
Beautiful black Lac La Croix stallion with his mares. The breed comes in many colorful variations. Bob Walker
History
The Lac La Croix Ponies were early on used for hauling lumber, running trap lines, and transportation. The last remaining animals in existence were eventually turned loose to fend for themselves.
The population was almost decimated during the mid twentieth century. Around the 1960s, any pockets of known ponies left in Minnesota were gone. The remaining population lived on the Canadian side of the border and was small, only being used by the native people of Lac La Croix First Nation. The ponies were on the Neguaguon Lake Chippewa Reserve on the north side of Lac La Croix and east of Fort Frances, Ontario, near the Ontario–Manitoba border and the U.S. border.
In past years, the reserve was an isolated location accessible only by water in the summer and over roads made on the ice in winter. There was an island nearby, called Pony Island by the locals, where the ponies were herded by their Ojibwe keepers over the ice just before spring. They stayed on the island all summer, foaling and breeding again for the next year and foraging for food. In the winter, when the ice covered the lakes, they were herded back to be used for hauling, logging, or any work as required until spring was imminent and the cycle began again.
The ponies had been allowed to wander free, living in the woods and foraging for food like other wildlife. By the 1960s, they were seldom used, being largely replaced by machines, yet they were considered part of the landscape by the Native Americans.
In 1965–1967, the village was visited by a researcher and writer named Lester Bower. Thinking an animal he saw was a young moose, Bower shot the last young male pony while in the bush. There remained a much older stallion that lived into the 1970s, but he eventually died of old age. Population numbers were extremely low during this period.
A group of people eventually formed the Lac La Croix Indian Pony Society and were fortunate enough to obtain photos from some Lac La Croix residents of approximately seven different animals, including two of the four mares later rescued in 1977. Three of the ponies in the photos had died from causes unknown. The four remaining mares had been turned loose in the woods to forage for themselves in the early 1970s.
Unfortunately, Canada’s Health Department officials apparently deemed the ponies a health threat and unwanted pests wandering free, thus it was only a matter of time before the ponies would be destroyed.
In February 1977, following the Health Department’s plan to eliminate the breed, four Minnesota men responded to the plight of these four known descendents of the original Indian Ponies and went to rescue them. One of these men, Fred Isham, lived on Minnesota’s Nett Lake reservation, though he was originally from the Lac La Croix reservation. He was pivotal in encouraging the owners of the ponies to allow them to be taken to Minnesota. Isham visited the Lac La Croix First Nation Reserve every summer, and was aware of the ponies’ imminent demise.
The men were able to load the ponies on a trailer for transport across the lake to Minnesota. Although they had not been handled by humans for a number of years, the ponies were still gentle. The older mares reportedly accepted the halters easily, and the younger ones also did after a bit of a struggle. The mares appeared to be in good shape, with full coats and good feet, and were well nourished. Two of them were twenty-five to thirty years old, while the other two were approximately eleven years old. They were the last known representatives of the breed. None of the four mares were bred when they were rescued.
According to the research of the time, Lac La Croix Indian Ponies were believed to be descendents of Spanish Mustangs, which was true in part. Once settled in their new home in Minnesota, the ponies were bred to a Spanish Mustang stallion off the North Dakota plains. It is unclear exactly how much was known about the details of the breed at the time., but the choice of stallion was apparently accurate enough. With the introduction of a male line, the breed survived.
Lac La Croix Ponies have sturdy builds and iron hard hooves. Equilore
Walter Saatela, another one of the four men who rescued the ponies, kept and bred them on his farm for many years. When the job became too much for him, another volunteer, Bob Walker, kept and bred the ponies at his place. Walker tried to keep them in the same manner that they had been managed by Saatela, and encouraged others to join the cause, selling off some stock as the numbers grew. The ponies had free range and little human intervention. They roamed Walker’s large, wooded property, continuing to forage largely for themselves, with only hay as they needed it, water, and a run-in shelter.
In the early 1990s, Walker contacted the Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) organization. He believed that these Indian Ponies had historical significance, and that their country of origin could have an important role in their care and survival. In 1993, Jy Chiperzak of RBC initiated the research and visited Walker. Satisfied there was sufficient historical data to support the possibilities, negotiations began and a repatriation project was launched. RBC purchased one stallion and three mares (descendents of the original four mares) and transported them from Minnesota back to Canada. These four ponies formed the first foundation breeding group in Canada, set up to increase the pony’s numbers once again. In 1996, a second breeding group was purchased, and in 1999, the third breeding group was repatriated.
The Ponies’ Plight
Today, the ponies numbers are slowly growing. None of the remaining ponies live on the Lac La Croix or any other reservation, but are scattered in other parts of Ontario and Minnesota.
The Lac La Croix Indian Ponies still face a real danger of extinction. Total breeding population is approximately twenty-seven males (of which six are under age two), forty-nine females (of which twelve are fillies), and nineteen that are geldings and/or barren stock. Eighty-nine percent of the horses are in Ontario, while 11 percent are in Minnesota.
The population trends of the breed vary significantly, initially due to lack of documentation and differing management styles or economic and geographic factors, but also due to lack of numbers. A seemingly exceptional high rate of mortality was documented.
It is quite clear that with the controlled breeding program now in place, the population is growing steadily and exponentially. As more of the young female stock mature, the population growth rate should climb sharper. With insufficient data, however, further conclusions for their future are not yet possible.
A lot of foaling information is absent between the years 1977 and 1999. It is believed that the mortality rate had consistently been extremely high due to the type of management of the animals, including free-range foraging and little or no human intervention for most herds. Since the involvement of RBC, there is accurate record-keeping from 1999 onward.
With numbers as low as this, there is always the risk of losing the breed. Nature plays a role in the availability and spread of diseases, such as the West Nile virus. Nature also plays a role in the genetic stabilization of the breed where a small gene pool is present. Due to the lack of a broader breeding stock, all animals are utilized, almost regardless of their own conformity, and necessary culling (removal of substandard animals from the breeding program) is done sparingly or not at all.
Humans have also proven to be unstable as caregivers for rare breeds, with the vast majority of owners in general only keeping animals in times of interest, stable family situation, convenience, good health, and low costs. Records indicate that at least twice in Minnesota, Lac La Croix Ponies were brought to meat plants. One time was reportedly during the mid 1900s as part of a roundup of ponies living wild, which contributed to them becoming extinct in the United States. It also happened once again since their rescue in more recent years.
Currently in Minnesota, the ponies are located in Gheen and Winton, with a few others sporadically located in northern Minnesota areas, all of which not being too far from their original rescuers. In Canada, the RBC has concentrated on spreading the population across distances as part of their preservation plan to reduce risk of local disease and threat. There are ponies in parts of Ontario and Alberta.
Testing
RBC and the Lac La Croix Indian Pony Society have done a heritage genome blood typing project with the assistance of America’s renowned equine geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran. He conducts a study of genetic variation in domestic horses, with particular interest in breeds with small population sizes, such as the Lac La Croix Indian Pony. The Lac La Croix project was done primarily to determine the scope of the genetic base and genetic history of the breed and to ensure that the breeding program was potentially sustainable without outside bloodlines. It also provided animal identification, parentage conformation, and a method of initializing a “herd book” for future registration purposes.
All ponies at the end of the study, with the exception of approximately sixteen, had blood sample DNA performed. The purpose was to determine if the genetic analysis was consistent with the written documentation and verbal records purporting that this breed is a Spanish Mustang and Canadian horse descendant. Results are pending.
Currently there are two different male lines; Keokuk, a black pony born in 1980; and Nimkii, also a black born in 1985.
Characteristics
The Lac La Croix Indian Ponies are sturdy animals, more disease resistant and hardier than any current domestic breed. They are better mothers and “birthers” than most other breeds. While being slower to mature, when they do start producing offspring, they out-produce the modern equine types yet still have a more extended lifespan.
They are extremely strong for their size, versatile, and athletic. Low maintenance and cost effective for their output, they are suited to any purpose, from lumber hauling, buggy driving, pleasure riding, and competition, to eventing and jumping. They are stable and trustworthy enough to participate in programs for the riding disabled.
They are intelligent thinkers and have often gone from point A to point B with no human companion giving orders, just their load. They tend to avoid self-injury and are able to get themselves out of situations that would otherwise result in injury and require treatment. They possess a common sense that is unequalled in the modern horse world. This characteristic is perhaps the most difficult one to show people or describe, but for anybody who has worked with a Lac La Croix Pony, this will be the first trait he or she will mention about the ponies.
These personality traits alone make them invaluable and worth saving regardless of the historical significance or their abilities.
This is an animal of extreme curiosity, intelligence, and kindness. They possess intuitive thinking and, in stale, passive environments, require “entertainment” to keep them occupied to prevent them from finding their own entertainment and getting into trouble. They will problem-solve difficult situations and are generally agreeable to anything asked of them, if they are allowed first to assess the situation for themselves.
Beautiful herd of Lac La Croix Ponies in various colors, but all are the same size and type. Equilore
Physical maturity is slow and takes place well into the fifth, sixth, or seventh year of life, although they are used for breeding prior to that, generally at two to three years of age (fillies bred at three years, studs used at two years). They produce one foal per successful breeding. There are no records of twins being born, although it is believed possible, but rare.
Without being a breed that exists for a single purpose (such as a draft horse, Hackney, or Thoroughbred), the strength, nature, size, and amiability of the Lac La Croix Indian Pony make it a perfect all-around horse for the average horse owner and any day-to-day activity. These ponies can get into and out of dense bush more easily than a draft horse and do not balk at being asked to push their way through trees, breaking off branches as they go and making their own paths.
Pound for pound, they are capable of just as much hauling work as a draft horse. With their extremely durable feet and legs and amazing stamina, they can pull a cart all day long over various rough terrain without damaging or bruising their feet. They have a cannon bone of approximately 7 to 7.5 inches thick, and therefore can easily carry the average adult, regardless of the person’s size.
They are not a gaited horse, although they have a smooth, natural rhythm that makes it look like they float over the ground. They have nice leg action, and at the trot their topline does not appear to move at all.
Conformation details include:
• Straight back (topline)
• Low withers
• Sloping croup
• Low-set tail
• Small, iron-hard hooves and legs, but with a relatively thick and strong cannon bone
• Small ears, profusely haired and set wide apart
• Kind, gentle eyes
• Broad forehead tapering toward the muzzle
• Average height of 12.2 to 13.2 hands, with mares averaging 12 to 13 hands and stallions 13 to 14.2 hands
• Any solid color except white or cream; small white markings are permitted on the face and lower legs
• No patterned colors (appaloosa, pinto, etc.)
Today, Lac La Croix Indian Ponies are used for pleasure riding, event riding, and driving carts.
Credit: Wayne and Jane Mullen, Equilore Farm; Lac La Croix Indian Pony Society