The Arabian and the Apache Way by Danny Sal Da Na
I am originally from New Mexico. We are Chiricahua Apache, I am born to the Chihene for the Chokonen, to translate what that means, I am born into my mother’s people and born for my father’s people. It is how we formally introduce ourselves to others of our people; identifying which clans we belong to. My partner/husband of 33 years, Andrew, is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Ojibwe Nation in Wisconsin. I started late in my riding, age 57, and I am now 71 years old. What I know about riding horses has been self-taught, through trial and error. Lots of mistakes, but for my horses who have stuck it through with me, I ask their forgiveness for those early years. Miraz, especially, has been my partner and mentor in this journey. What I’ve learned, from basic riding WINDANCER MIRAZ (Maximuss x Bey Sequins) and Danny Sal Da Na to competing, has been accelerated schooling at their ranch in Moriarty, New Mexico. by Miraz’s input. We’re a mix of cultures, he and I. him, “Some other day you will pass away, but it will At the age of three months, one early morning, not be today.” I am a traditional Apache healer and Andy and I found Miraz hanging from a panel gate, I put great faith in that power. I laid my hands on suspended by his foot his face. Suddenly he at the fetlock upside took a huge, loud gasp down on his back. of air and he awoke There was no heart from that nether place beat, no movement he had been. He laid and his eyes had glazed there and looked into over and were open. my eyes with calmness. He appeared quite Just stayed there dead. As I contemplated his loss and what extreme without struggling. We got the panels apart and measures it took to bring him into this world I said to released his foot. He got up but his foot dangled
WHAT I KNOW ABOUT RIDING HORSES HAS BEEN “ SELF-TAUGHT, THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR. LOTS OF MISTAKES, BUT FOR MY HORSES WHO HAVE STUCK IT THROUGH WITH ME, I ASK THEIR FORGIVENESS FOR THOSE EARLY YEARS.
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and flopped about. He mended up, but there were many months of healing treatments and therapy to repair the damage of his foot. He had stretched those tendons and ligaments two inches longer than his other front leg. He eventually ended up with only a half inch of difference between them. The moment of eye contact he made with me that day bonded us as one being. An Apache traditional belief says, that we once talked with the animals. That became a reality for Miraz and me in the truest sense. It’s not unlike long-term married couples or close friends who know each other’s thoughts. A kind of telepathy or “kything.”
HOW IT BEGAN I was introduced to Arabians at age nine, when my uncle Patricio took us all loaded up in the back of his pickup truck to see the Pasadena Rose Parade. An equestrian group came into view and it caught my attention, to me they were the most beautiful of all the horses we’d seen. I pushed to the front to get a closer look. I said aloud, “What are they?” A woman leaned over and said to me, “Son, those are Arabians and they come from the desert in Arabia.” I knew right at that moment I would have one, and one day ride in a parade. It took me 48 years to make that moment real. I am a silversmith, I create silver jewelry with turquoise and other precious stones with designs and styles reflective of my Apache culture. A close friend of mine, Pat Simpson, had just acquired several Arabians from Sheila Varian. I had relayed to her my dream of having an Arabian horse someday. Pat had friends in Fredericksburg, Texas, Tom and Paula Gilbert of the Gilbriar Arabians. They were members of the Gdansk Syndicate. The Gilbriars also had an art gallery and they were acquainted with my silver artwork. They wanted my art for their gallery, and I wanted one of their Arabians. It was agreed that we would trade jewelry for a horse. I had just had a bunionectomy on both my feet the week before and my feet were still very swollen. I was so excited at the prospect of realizing a dream come true
WINDANCER MIRAZ (Maximuss x Bey Sequins) 2018 Sport Horse National Reserve Champion Second Level Dressage AAOTR, 2016 Sport Horse National Champion, Dressage First Level AAOTR, and many times National Top Ten and Regional Champion.
that I didn’t want to wait until I was healed. Crutches were thrown in the back seat and with both my feet propped up on the dash on either side of the steering wheel, the truck in cruise control, Andrew and I drove 23 hours to Fredericksburg to pick up one Arabian colt. Upon arriving, the Gilbriars offered us a second colt, but I had brought enough jewelry for only one colt. Paula also liked the jewelry I was wearing, so the deal was struck. I was so ecstatic to be bringing home not just one, but two Arabian colts. I gave her my belt buckle, three silver bracelets, my earrings, rings and my necklace for Gilbriar Alamo and Gilbriar Alvaredo. Over time we eventually acquired five more Gilbriar Arabians. We raised up those two boys without any knowledge of training. Come age five we put a borrowed saddle and bridle on them, Andrew held
WHAT I’VE LEARNED, FROM BASIC RIDING TO “ COMPETING, HAS BEEN ACCELERATED BY MIRAZ’S INPUT. WE’RE A MIX OF CULTURES, HE AND I. ”
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WA ZANTIA (Zanadu PGN x Enkoure OA) and me in costume. That is my natural long hair, I have never cut it.
the lead rope and I jumped on this green stallion’s back and we waited for the contact sport to begin … and nothing. Alamo just stood there. We talked about what to do next. Alamo decided that. He was hungry, so with me on his back he headed out of the paddock to his “room” for his feed. That’s how we started both boys under saddle. Very much how we did all our young horses. I rode the boys into the forest nearly every day, 10 to 20 miles. We’d be gone all day sometimes. Then one day friends said to me, “Goodness Danny, you and those horses look so pretty riding, you ought to go into one of them fancy horse shows.” My friend Pat Simpson gave us the information we needed to enter a hunter pleasure class, but we didn’t know at the time where to buy the hunt clothes. Looking at pictures, we decided to go modest on cost for this exhibition trial we were embarking upon. So to Goodwill we went and I bought some beige pants, which when tucked into my rubber muck boots could pass, and a shirt
and coat. The total was $12. Pat lent me a hunt saddle and bridle. Needless to say, after inquiring with the gate person about what to do, Gilbriar Alamo and I won our first class, being the only rider. The second class had other riders. The helpful gate person said, “Do the same as you did in the first class, but stay out of everyone’s way.” I was quite aware that we were outclassed and had no business being there with these finely dressed riders and their superb shiny mounts. When the winner was announced and asked to step forward, nobody moved, until the gate person came over to me and asked if my fine horse and I would kindly step forward to accept our blue ribbon, so they might get on with the next class. We cleaned up our act after that and went on to win every show thereafter and though we didn’t place, we competed at Nationals that first year. Our Apache beliefs are similar to those I have learned from other Native Americans, Inuits and those natives of Canada. We share a commonality with our environment and all that is within it. We grow up learning about how to live in the world with many beings, and to be aware of all things around us, partly for survival and just living alongside with all things. On many walks my mother would stop and simply say, “Tell me the story.” I said to her, “I saw the tracks of a rabbit, followed by a male rabbit, then brush marks in the sand made by wing tips and then only the fleeing tracks of the female rabbit?” There is respect we give and receive, not as dominant beings but as a relative to all other beings. We speak to the animals and listen to them when they talk to us. I believe all people have the ability to communicate in this way. I have relatives living in several Apache reservations as well as the Navajo reservation. We have many close friends in the Zuni and Hopi Nations. We are always invited to share in their ceremonies, which are our connection to the People, the earth and to our sacred Gan Spirits. Through historical adversity, we survived because of our beliefs, religion, ceremonies and our language. It defines us and it keeps us well grounded.
I SAID TO HIM, “ ‘SOME OTHER DAY YOU WILL PASS AWAY, BUT IT WILL NOT BE TODAY.‘
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OUR CULTURE In Apache culture, I am Nadleehi. Two Spirit Being. Our people consider Two Spirit Beings sacred and holy. From when I was small, I could “see” things. We Apache believe we have a power to heal and/ or change things. When that power is not strong enough, we come together as a people to lend our collective power. We grew up knowing the benefits of the different plants. Sometimes on trail rides I use horehound or oak leaves to stop a bleed. Yerba de Lobo for a liniment. Many of the plants used we find on our ranch.
AN APACHE TRADITIONAL BELIEF SAYS, “ THAT WE ONCE TALKED WITH THE ANIMALS. THAT BECAME A REALITY FOR MIRAZ AND ME IN THE TRUEST SENSE.
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along. At nine months old most of his sight eventually returned, and on that day we turned him out in the paddock alone. He ran about like a crazy man, but never hit a fence. Today he goes over fences nicely and was a 2016 Sport Horse National Reserve Champion Training Level Dressage AAOTR. We developed a special bond, as he didn’t get to know his mother or grow up with the herd. Those first years, whenever he fretted over something, he’d come to me and tuck his head under my arm. Today, it’s much the same, but my orphan has grown up to be an impressive stallion in the show arena.
WE UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER When we were young we learned to tell what a herd of deer or elk would do next, watching their eyes, ears and tails. All this was language. I watch my horses talk with their ears, eyes, nostrils, taking a stance, moving this way or that way. It is all language, and if I make those body movements, I can talk too. If a horse gets too pushy with me, I can raise up my chest and head and they will move off. Taking a step back turns the whole herd into reverse when free longing them at the same time. Dipping my body gets the herd to pick up the gait to canter or sagging
My younger stallion, WinDancer Majeed Mraz, at two months old, suffered a severe head trauma. Seizures overtook him. He spent a week in special care at a veterinary facility. On day seven, I was told to have him put down. The trauma left him blind, unable to feed himself as he was not yet weaned, nor could he drink water on his own, and the seizures continued. That night I did a “seeing” and healing ceremony for him. The next day at the vet’s, I saw something in him that made me decline the strong advice of the veterinarian to have him put down. On the way home he suffered three more seizures in the trailer. But when I got him home and I saw his hind foot touch the ground, I knew at that moment he would be OK. He never had another seizure, but his dam rejected him. I spent a week sleeping with him. As my little orphan, I bottle fed him with his mother’s milk, and he had to be confined to a stall for months as he was still blind. I used healings and herbs and his power to help him WINDANCER MIRAZ in an open USDF regional competition where he placed.
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back in their rooms, he’ll just wait by his open door, until I give him the OK to come back out. They aren’t machines and at times they can and will be disobedient, sneaking out a gate when my back is turned or going into someone else’s room to snatch a bite. There is a sound I make, ‘eh eh,’ that’s all that is needed to make them stop what they are about to do. From the time they are still wet from birthing, during those two to three hours of imprinting, I introduce myself and their world and how we are going to learn to talk to each other. It is the start of a wonderful journey together. But really I begin communicating long before that. In-utero I have already been communicating with that future foal. I talk to the in-utero foal,
LEANED OVER AND SAID TO ME, “‘SON,A WOMAN THOSE ARE ARABIANS AND THEY COME FROM THE DESERT IN ARABIA.’ I KNEW RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT I WOULD HAVE ONE.
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WA ZANTIA (Zanadu PGN x Enkoure OA) in a Calvary re-enactment event at Fort Stanton that I and some Apaches from the Mescalero Reservation participate in. The Bluecoat soldiers were demonstrating their use of military swords, trotting past potatoes that were stuck on stakes and slicing them in half. I used my own flint knife and sliced the soldiers’ halves in half again, and then five more, at the canter.
my shoulders brings them to transition down. Andy and I never felt we needed round pens, so this work is done in an open paddock. With Miraz, he’s like a Mexican lariat; he will free longe a 20-meter circle around me, while I am walking here or there in our one hundred acre pasture. I give the same body language from outside his circle and occasionally a word and, he reverses or transitions up or down as requested. I add the kything image too. This is a small example of how I train my critters, along with just plain talk, no different than I would to another person. When I tell Miraz to go back to his room and wait for me while I put the ornery mares
letting it hear my voice, placing my hands on the sides of the mare’s belly, to get a “feel.” Imprinting images of who I am and what awaits this foal’s future. The foal communicates back to me. By the time the foal is born, I know it’s gender and color. When La Jazz Hot was born, I knew she would be female and black and white. And the same for WinDancer Masaela; chestnut and a filly. Our 2018 expected foal was a different story. As the mare’s due date approached, her belly was full, bagged up, and squirting out milk and nesting the straw around. For months I could not get a response from the foal in-utero, no communication was coming forth to me. I told everyone something was wrong, there didn’t appear to be anybody home. Three weeks after the due date, I palpated the mare and I found she was empty. Her “pregnancy” was symptomatic of Cushings Disease. Our vet confirmed it. I have her now on an herbal remedy and the Cushing symptoms have abated. Communicating with the horses from their very beginnings and throughout their lives is a constant dialogue. The more we “talk” the more heightened
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it becomes. Over time I have recognized that horses have facial expressions and they recognize in people their facial expressions as well. It’s so interesting to see the reaction. But each horse does not respond in the same way to those communications. The older horses, the younger ones, the geldings, mares and stallions, all have their individual way of responding. When I see them standing together at rest, I see they are still speaking to each other. The placement of their tail, one ear back, one ear forward; it elicits a direct response from the other horses. Always talking. Some of the herd mates have developed their own speak between each other, that is a little different. And it can change when herd mates change partners.
all heads grazing. At least half the herd is looking around while the others graze, and then they come up when the others go down. But what a sight to see when they all go racing at full speed, manes and tails flying high, the sound of hooves thundering, just like in the movies. Happy horses. When the horses are out in pasture, I often get asked how I get them to come back in, especially when they are in the upper 40, farthest away. It goes back to the kything. About the time I finish setting the feed out I am thinking of them, particularly our lead mare, Zantia. I am sure she sees an image of the rooms loaded with hay and maintenance feed. About that time, they come running in from wherever they were and are waiting at the gate. When the grass is first green from winter, they are a bit resistant to coming in. When I know the green grass is no match for what I am offering, I go to the ranch bell. I give it four whacks. That says I mean business and don’t
FROM THE TIME THEY ARE STILL WET FROM “ BIRTHING, DURING THOSE TWO TO THREE HOURS
OF IMPRINTING, I INTRODUCE MYSELF AND THEIR WORLD AND HOW WE ARE GOING TO LEARN TO TALK TO EACH OTHER. IT IS THE START OF A WONDERFUL JOURNEY TOGETHER.
WHERE WE LIVE — OUT PAST THE GREAT BEYOND We sit at 6500 feet elevation on the backside of the Manzano Mountains. Rolling hills provide good muscle building and a panorama of two basins to the north and south. We are surrounded by much bigger ranches, making our place quite isolated. The snows get deep some winters, and the rain can sometimes flood. Our horses are fed on personal diets, but they get daily access to the pasture, stallions and mares at different times. We don’t keep them roomed, only for feedings and night time. Otherwise they are out in paddocks and pastures. We have always let our horses be as horses. Yes, they get nicked, scratched, and cut at times. There is inherent risk posed by other residents, too. We’ve had rattlesnake bites to treat on a few occasions, and some nearby ranchers have lost cattle and horses to mountain lions. There is the other resident, a lone Mexican Wolf we see on very rare occasions. Coyotes are plenty but don’t pose a threat as I occasionally see them walk among the horses passing through to elsewhere. I am very confident in the horses’ survival ability and their keen senses to protect themselves. The babies don’t go out to pasture until they are yearlings. I’ve watched the horses in the field, and at no time are
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GILBRIAR ALAMO (WR Firestorm x Gokartilee) and Andrew riding to Top Three First Level Dressage at the Region 8 Championship in Albuquerque. I need to mention, Andrew is very much involved in their training from day one. His work schedule doesn’t afford him the same freedom of time as I have, being retired. But he has a special gift in his quietude that the dogs and horses find comforting and trusting. They have a different bond with him.
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make me have to come fetch you with the truck. Nobody is going to be happy when that happens. Suspension of privileges to the pasture goes into effect immediately. They will then most often come right away. Lucky them. Because we live out past the beyond, services can sometimes be hard to acquire because of deep snows, muddy roads and washouts. Andrew and I are self-sufficient. Between his registered nursing skills, my earlier veterinary tech and medical laboratory skill and knowledge of plant pharmacy, we handle nearly all our veterinary work. We tackle suturing, treatments, and minor surgeries as needed. I have also taught myself how to properly trim and shoe our horses. Life here is a bit isolated, but the quietude is a blessing. However, it does make some of my goals harder to achieve. Someday I hope to compete in Europe at a World Game or higher. The Internet, books and magazines provide a world of knowledge, but the going can be slower than I want it to be. Though I am quite physically fit — I feel about the
same as I was in my 30’s — at my age, the days fly by faster than the speed of light. So I don’t know that I have a lot of time between now and those goals. Still, it’s a beautiful journey no matter where we end up.
WHY WE LOVE THE ARABIAN HORSE The trait I most admire in the Arabian horse is their high level of intelligence, much more so than any other breed of horse. A good example of that: I observed one of our geldings after I had asked everyone to go to their rooms. As Manzano kept opening his door, the wind kept closing it. After the third time, he stopped for a few seconds, looked at that door and then nosed it open again, but this time he held it open and backed his hind in first and let go of the door. Voilà he was in. He took a moment to analyze the situation, devise a plan and then execute it. Is that reasoning? I say yes. In older times, Apaches didn’t keep horses. They took from the Mexican Rancheros their best and fastest mounts. Apaches preferred any fast horse. No particular breed, but very fine Thoroughbreds are found on Apache reservations. In recent years I have met Apaches and other Native Americans who have Arabians. They talk about how smart and quick they are, and such easy keepers. They don’t tire easily, and can work all day. The intelligence of the Arabian has made it so very easy for us to bring them up, their ability to comprehend, understand so quickly and to reason. They desire to be with us, hang with us. They are inquisitive about everything. When I try to dig a few post holes I am surrounded by a herd. Poking their noses into the hole, pawing the dirt away that I just piled up, nuzzling my hair. Snorting, sniffing, blowing. At times I will ask, “Don’t you all have something else to be doing, that I might get this work done please?” I admire their connection to people, their ability to relate. Their strong ties to us. The common story is that the Bedouins kept their Arabians inside the tents with them, allowing them to become intimate
TRAINED OR INNATE WITHIN THEM? “IS ISTHERETHAT SOME RECOLLECTION OF ANCIENT HISTORY THEY RETAIN? TWO SEPARATE BODIES BUT ONE JOINED SPIRIT.
WINDANCER MAJEED MRAZ (WinDancer Miraz x Gilbriar Gday), 2016 Sport Horse National Reserve Champion Training Level AAOTR, 2018 Sport Horse National Top Ten Dressage Training Level ATR and First Level AAOTR.
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Our herd, heading out to pasture one snowy day.
with their horses. I can see evidence of that. When I first was learning to ride I came off my horse, Alamo, not once but several times and he didn’t take off, he came back to me and he knelt down next to me with one front foot tucked under him, like a bow. I got up off the ground and mounted him, he rose up on all fours, and we were off. Years later I read that Bedouins taught their war horses to kneel so that a fallen warrior could more easily mount and be carried away. I remember those times Alamo did that for me. Is that trained or innate within them? Is there some recollection of ancient history they retain? Two separate bodies but one joined spirit. And last but not least, is beauty. The Arabian is the most beautiful of all breeds. Their refined, sculpted features, those large, dark, liquid eyes, the muscular lithe build that shows strength
without bulk. I want pretty, but without the first two traits, beauty is just like a wall hanging, doing nothing but pretty. I do so enjoy watching them strut and prance, giving off that aura of style in the arena or at home. The powerful essence of confidence, yet exuding an air of tranquility and calmness at the same time. I am sensitive to things and people around me, and the horses are too. They know I hear them, we are in tune with each other. Arabians have a special connection to people, a heightened sensitivity, even more so when they feel it returned in kind. Being around them, touching them in passing, I will have these Avatar moments, a linking that delivers a session of thoughts to me. All our horses are our family. Not the means to an end, but the partnership in a long, loving journey in our pursuit of equestrian excellence.
ALL OUR HORSES ARE OUR FAMILY. NOT THE “MEANS TO AN END, BUT THE PARTNERSHIP IN A LONG, LOVING JOURNEY IN OUR PURSUIT OF EQUESTRIAN EXCELLENCE.
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