These "Heritage Horses" are the carefully bred descendants of horses acquired by Native Americans and early settlers from Spanish explorers in the 1500s. Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw brought many of their horses along the "Trail of Tears" in the 1800s. Choctaw settled in Southeastern Indian Territory and continued to breed their highly sought after strain of "Choctaw Ponies" near Antlers in what is now known as Oklahoma. They also traded some horses with the Cherokee to the north, and Chickasaw to the west.
Later, in the early 1900s, Gilbert Jones began collecting and breeding his line of "Spanish Mustangs" including Huasteca, Kiowa, Comanche, and other Native American tribes, along with rancher and feral stock acquired from Utah, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. He subsequently settled with his family at "Medicine Springs" near Antlers Oklahoma in 1958, where he continued to add Choctaw horses to his line.
As time passed, timber companies acquired large tracts of land in the SE Oklahoma mountains. For many years timber companies allowed ranchers in the area to graze their livestock on unfenced timber territory, but in the early portion of this century this practice was discontinued, the land became fenced, and ranchers had to find other properties if they wanted to continue breeding their horses.
The Livestock Conservancy began documenting the rare purity of these horses by obtaining blood samples and hair follicles for DNA testing. Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, Ph.D Professor at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, had studied this breed of horses for many years and as an expert on rare breeds of equines and other species, Dr. Sponenberg subsequently designated two main breeding populations or strains from the data accrued on the Blackjack Mountain herds:
• Choctaw Tribal Strain: Choctaw horses are a Southeastern strain that was bred by Choctaws for their gentle nature, easy going gait, and friendliness to people. Choctaw people were among the first Native Americans to relocate to designated "Indian Territory" in what is now SE Oklahoma. They were able to negotiate permission to bring many of their well-bred horses along the infamous "Trail of Tears". Since relocation, this strain has expanded into groups of pure Choctaw, mixed Tribal Lines, and mixed Tribal plus Jones.
• Gilbert Jones Strain: these horses originated from Southwestern strains that Jones acquired from Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Mexico (especially Huasteca Indian bred), to which he later added many Choctaw as well. Jones horses excel at endurance as do all the Tribal Lines.