HAIL TO THE HORSE

"The horse was to Comanches what ships, guns, and gold were to European imperial powers - a transportation device that compressed spatial units into conquerable size, an instrument of war that allowed them to wield much more power than their numbers would have suggested, and a coveted commodity around which a trading empire could be built." This from a professor of history of that period. The Comanches empire’s ascendancy and dominance covered the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It utilized enormous numbers of horses. Comanches owned nearly four horses per capita. Since some 12 million feral horses roamed within and near their borders, a bottomless pool of exploitable animal wealth was available to them. But how did Comanches fare as stewards of their lands? The fame of their commercial hegemony founded upon theft (raids), threats,death and destruction was fleeting. The complicated world of the wild west has only re-invented and re-installed itself in the 21st century where some pockets of daily living are no less dangerous than in savage times while others are splendiferous. Hail to the horse who has prevailed through it all.