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{{short description|North American horse breed developed by the Ojibwe people}}
{{Infobox horse breed
| name = Lac La Croix Indian Pony
| image = Agawate.jpg
| image_caption = Lac La Croix mare
| image_alt = Dun-colored small horse, 3/4 front view
|altname = LLCIP, Lac La Croix Indigenous pony, Lac La Croix pony, Ojibwe pony, ''bebezhigooganzhii,'' ''mishdatim''
| features =
| height = {{convert|122|to|147|cm|hand in|2}}
|weight =
|colour = Any solid color except [[white (horse)|white]] or [[cream gene|cream dilutions]]
| country = Canada
| group1 =
| std1 =
}}

The '''Lac La Croix Indian Pony''' ('''LLCIP'''), also known as the '''Ojibwe pony''' ({{lang|oj|[[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]]: bebezhigooganzhii, mishdatim }}), is a [[semi-feral]] Canadian [[horse breed]] developed by the [[Ojibwe people]]. The population became critically low and by 1977, only four [[mare]]s remained. To preserve the breed, these mares were crossed with [[Spanish Mustang]] stallions. The modern breed name derives from the [[Lac La Croix First Nation]] of Ontario, where the horses were last found in the wild. Historically, the breed was also found in Minnesota. Today it remains a critically endangered breed.

==Characteristics==
The Lac La Croix pony is a small riding horse standing {{convert|122|to|147|cm|hand in|2}} high.{{sfn|Porter|2016|page=481}} The breed is seen in any solid color except [[white (horse)|white]] and [[cream gene|cream dilutions]]. [[Black (horse)|Black]] and [[Bay (horse)|bay]] are common, as are [[dun gene|dun]] shades with [[primitive markings]]. They are hardy, with smooth-flowing [[horse gait|gaits]],{{sfn|Dutson|2012|pages=314-317}} and a reputation for being gentle and intelligent. It is considered the only breed matured by indigenous people in Canada.<ref name="OConnor">{{cite web |last1=O'Connor |first1=Heather |title=Lac La Croix Indigenous Pony |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lac-la-croix-indigenous-pony |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |accessdate= December 23, 2019}}</ref>

The breed has a broad forehead tapering to a refined muzzle. They have cold weather adaptations including small, well-haired ears and nostril flaps able to tighten in bad weather. They have low [[withers]], a short, straight [[back (horse)|back]], sloping [[Rump (animal)|croup]] and a low-set tail. Their [[horse anatomy|cannon bones]] are heavy and strong. Their [[Mane (horse)|mane]] and [[tail (horse)|tail]] is thick.{{sfn|Dutson|2012|pages=314-317}}

===Genetics===
Lac La Croix ponies were believed to be a [[landrace]] cross of [[Canadian horse]] and [[Spanish Colonial horse]] or [[Mustang]] breeding. These original horses declined to the point that only four mares remained, at which time their bloodlines were crossed with [[Spanish Mustang]] stallions.{{sfn|Porter|2016|page=481}} Blood-typing studies conducted by Gus Cothran at the [[University of Kentucky]] indicate that the ponies have [[Mountain and moorland pony breeds|British pony]] ancestry as well as some [[Iberian horse]] markers.{{sfn|Dutson|2012|pages=314-317}} They are classified as an [[landrace|indigenous horse breed]] of Canada, but are at risk of a [[genetic bottleneck]]. A 2011 study found they had the second-lowest average effective number of alleles and allelic richness (2.83 and 4.01) among several breeds of pony breeds found in Canada.{{sfn|Prystupa|2011|pages=19-30}} A 2012 study of [[matrilineal]] genetics verified Canadian horse and British pony breed ancestry, with Iberian origins indicated but more difficult to verify on account of modern Spanish Mustang crossbreeding.{{sfn|Prystupa|2012|pages=380-390}}

==History==
[[File:Mooke.JPG|thumb|left|A Lac La Croix stallion]]
The Lac La Croix breed developed in the [[Great Lakes]] transboundary region of southern Canada and the northern United States.{{sfn|Mercedes-Prystupa|2012|pages=380-390}} The original pony was a multi-purpose [[working animal]], of particular importance to the [[Ojibwe|Ojibwe people]] in the winter. The breed was ridden along [[trap line]]s, pulled loads of ice and wood, and hauled [[sled|sleighs]]. At the end of the winter, people herded some of the ponies over lake ice to an isolated location called "Pony Island" to keep them safe during [[foal]]ing and breeding season. There they were allowed to run loose in a [[semi-feral]] condition until the following winter. Others freely crossed the border between Ontario and Minnesota.<ref name="OConnor" /><ref name="Nerberg">{{cite web |last1=Nerberg |first1=usan |title=How the Ojibwe brought their horses back from the brink of extinction |url=https://broadview.org/lac-la-croix-pony-saved-from-extinction-by-the-ojibwe/ |website=Broadview Magazine |accessdate=December 23, 2019 |date=October 2, 2019}}</ref>

By 1900, the ponies were relatively plentiful, with an estimated population of a few thousand, found in many of the [[Indian reserve|First Nation reserves]] in the area. The horse population declined during the 20th century for many reasons. In the early 20th century, indigenous people were prohibited by the government from leaving their Reserves without a permit, and so taking away their horses further limited their movement. Lack of transportation also reduced their land base, allowing settlement by whites. Some horses taken away from the Ojibwe people were [[rendering (animal products)|rendered]] into glue and [[horsemeat]]. When [[Quetico Provincial Park]] was created in 1913, many Indigenous people—and presumably their horses—were forcibly removed. Free-roaming horses were particularly at risk, as they did not have caretakers watching over them. Later in the century, mechanization played a role as motor vehicles, including the [[snowmobile]], replaced the horse.<ref name="OConnor" /><ref name="Nerberg" />

The last population in the United States, located at the [[Bois Forte Indian Reservation]] in Minnesota, was killed off in the 1940s. [[Missionary|Missionaries]] at the reservation decided it was inappropriate for children to witness the sight of semi-feral horses in the act of mating. The last Canadian community to keep their horses was the Lac La Croix First Nation. By the 1960s, when someone accidentally shot a [[colt (horse)|colt]] who was the last remaining male of breeding age, there were six horses left, including one elderly stallion that was unable to breed. In 1977, the Canadian government claimed the four remaining mares a public nuisance. Before officials could destroy them, the [[Bois Forte Band of Chippewa|Bois Forte]] and the Lac La Croix planned a rescue. They loaded the mares into a [[horse trailer]], and Fred Isham, an Ojibwe from [[Nett Lake, Koochiching County, Minnesota|Nett Lake]], drove them to Minnesota. There they lived in a free-roaming state on a farm, protected from slaughter.<ref name="Nerberg" /><ref name="OConnor" />

Because there were no remaining stallions, a registered [[Spanish Mustang]] known as Smokey SMR 169 was bred to the mares. The first male foal, named Keokuk, was born in January 1980. Another colt, Nimkii, was foaled in 1985. These two [[stallion]]s founded the modern Lac La Croix bloodlines.<ref name="OConnor"/>

In the 1990s, the Lac La Croix Indian Pony was categorized as a [[Rare breed (agriculture)|rare breed]];<ref name="OConnor" /> it was listed as "endangered" by the [[FAO]] in 2007,{{sfn|Rischkowsky|2007|page=17}} and in 2020 was reported to [[DAD-IS]] as "at risk".<ref name=dad /> It remains on the livestock conservation list of [[Rare Breeds Canada|Heritage Livestock Canada]].<ref name="Conservation">{{cite web |title=Heritage Livestock Canada - Breed Conservation List |url=https://heritagelivestock.net/breed-conservation-list |website=Heritage Livestock Canada |accessdate=December 23, 2019}}</ref> Today, there are about 150 horses located in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Minnesota.<ref name="OConnor" />{{sfn|Dutson|2012|pages=314-317}} In 2012, scientists recommended a conservation strategy be developed for the [[Eriskay pony]] and the Lac La Croix, based upon the need to preserve their unique genetics.{{sfn|Prystupa|2012|pages=380-390}}

==Uses==
The modern Lac La Croix Indian Pony is considered a spirit animal by the Ojibwe people and is used in programs promoting indigenous heritage. Other uses include [[equine-assisted therapy]] and tourism.<ref name="OConnor" /> In particular, they are used to help indigenous youth remain in touch with their heritage.<ref name="Nerberg" />

==See also==
* [[Pony]]
* [[List of horse breeds]]
* [[Sorraia]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
{{Commons category}}

<ref name=dad>[http://www.fao.org/dad-is/browse-by-country-and-species/en/ Breed data sheet: Lac La Croix Indian Pony / Canada (Horse)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2020.</ref>

}}

===Bibliography===

{{Refbegin}}

*{{cite book
|last1=Rischkowsky
|first1=Barbara
|last2=Pilling
|first2=D.
|title=List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'' Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
|isbn=9789251057629
|page=17
|date=2007
|accessdate=January 24, 2020
|url=http://www.fao.org/tempref/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf
|ref=CITEREFRischkowsky2007
}}

*{{cite book
|last1=Porter
|first1=Valerie
|last2=Alderson
|first2=Lawrence
|last3=Hall
|first3=Stephen
|last4=Sponenberg
|first4=D. Phillip
|title=Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding
|isbn=9781845934668
|edition=6
|publisher=CABI
|date=2016
|page=481
|ref=CITEREFPorter2016
}}

*{{cite book
|last1=Dutson
|first1=Judith
|title=Storey's illustrated guide to 96 horse breeds of North America
|isbn=9781603429184
|publisher=Storey Pub
|date=May 7, 2012
|pages=314–317
}}

*{{cite journal
|last1=Prystupa
|first1=Jaclyn Mercedes
|last2=Hind
|first2=Pamela
|last3=Cothran
|first3=E. Gus
|last4=Plante
|first4=Yves
|title=and Their Relationship to the Nordic and Mountain and Moorland Pony Breeds
|issn=0022-1503
|pmid=22504109
|doi=10.1093/jhered/ess003
|journal=Journal of Heredity
|date=May 1, 2012
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=380–390
|ref=CITEREFPrystupa2011
|doi-access=free
}}

*{{cite journal
|last1=Prystupa
|first1=Jaclyn Mercedes
|last2=Hind
|first2=Pamela
|last3=E. Gus
|last4=Plante
|first4=Yves
|title=Genetic diversity and admixture among Canadian, Mountain and Moorland and Nordic pony populations
|journal=Animal
|date=July 26, 2011
|volume=6
|issue=1
|pages=19–30
|doi=10.1017/S1751731111001212|pmid=22436150
|s2cid=1423326
|ref=CITEREFPrystupa2012
|doi-access=free
}}

*{{cite journal
|last1=Prystupa
|first1=Jaclyn Mercedes
|last2=Hind
|first2=Pamela
|last3=E. Gus
|last4=Plante
|first4=Yves
|title=Maternal Lineages in Native Canadian Equine Populations and Their Relationship to the Nordic and Mountain and Moorland Pony Breeds
|journal=Journal of Heredity
|date=May 1, 2012
|volume=103
|issue=3
|pages=380–390
|doi=10.1093/jhered/ess003
|pmid=22504109
|url=https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/103/3/380/852758
|accessdate=December 23, 2019
|issn=0022-1503
|ref=CITEREFMercedes-Prystupa2012
|doi-access=free
}}

{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/news/culture-history-on-horseback-lac-la-croix-ponies-at-seine-river-first-nation-q501ZUhSMEiFo79cjdAivw Culture & History on Horseback: Lac La Croix Ponies at Seine River First Nation]
* [https://theredponystands.com/meet-the-ponies Meet the Ponies]
* [http://www.indianhorse.com/ American Indian Horse Registry]

{{Equine|state=collapsed}}
{{Horse breeds of North America}}

[[Category:Horse breeds]]
[[Category:Horse breeds originating from Indigenous Americans]]
[[Category:Horse breeds originating in Canada]]
[[Category:Ponies]]

Lac La Croix Indian Pony - Revision history

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