2016 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 102
The artist writes, “The buffalo and horse culture of the Plains Indian tribes required the specialized training of selected horses for running buffalo and for warfare. Such a horse was possessed of stamina, speed, agility, and the heart of an aggressor. These traits combined with a man’s personal ‘medicine’ talismans would then empower both horse and rider physically and spiritually.
“Near sacred Chief Mountain of the Blackfoot there once was a stone shrine associated with horse medicine power. It is here that a holy man and men who have trained many horses come to pay homage and give thanks for the extraordinary animals they ride! They pray too, for their own safety and success upon future adventure trails on horseback.”