THE HORSES

THE HORSES OF ERATH COUNTY: This Texas County Ain't Horsin' Around
By Michael Tummillo

When Texas seceded from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War, the new Confederate government now faced the task of participating in the war while still defending the Texas frontier from Indian attacks.

The Confederates actually tried several methods for maintaining order on the frontier. Their final attempt to deal with the Indian menace was the Frontier Organization, established in 1864, a militia of able-bodied male citizens who lived in frontier counties and were not otherwise serving the Confederate cause. The militia was purely defensive and had neither the manpower nor the leadership to mount offensives against marauding Indians. By 1864, the Indians were conducting large raids against forts and settlements all along the frontier.

The Ellison Springs Indian Fight was typical of frontier engagements during the Civil War. On August 8, 1864, a small force of about a dozen troopers intercepted about thirty Indians carrying blankets and bridles for the horses they were planning to steal from the whites. The Indians easily repelled the soldiers, killing three of them, and went on to steal fifty horses near, where else… Stephenville!

FOR TEXANS, THIS ISN’T HORSEPLAY

Though the possibility of Indian raids in Texas today is highly improbable, the number of horses that can be found in and around Stephenville, the county seat of Erath County, is steadily climbing.

Texas is recognized throughout the world as horse country. There are nearly one and a quarter million equines in Texas and we lead the nation in registered American Quarter Horses, Appaloosa’s, American Paint Horses and American Miniature Horses. We’re second only to California in Arabians. We have over twice as many American Quarter horses as #2 Oklahoma and over one and a half as many American Paints as California, second in that department. Fully 15% of the entire nation’s 6.9 million equines reside in Texas.

Want more? Major breed associations headquartered in Texas include the American Quarter Horse association, the National Cutting Horse Association, the American Miniature Horse Association, and the American Paint Horse Association. More national level horse shows are held in Texas than in any other state. Texas is home to five race tracks, three of which are very new Class 1 tracks.