Minutia: Newfoundland Horses

Hello again! I think I'm gonna try to make a series of these "Minutia" TLs, small, self-contained TLs which mostly just affect a very localised or isolated region or culture, preferably one that doesn't get much use in Alternate History.

I got the idea for this one in reading some of the replies of this thread, and imagining a Minutia TL to go along with that idea. Well, the Beothuk were pretty small back then, and have been pretty isolated throughout history, so... here we are!

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On his expedition that would eventually lead him to the place known in the sagas as Vinland, the legendary Leif Ericson brought a small herd of 20 horses. They were to be used in the establishment of a colony in the land described by Bjarni Herjolfsson, for transport of goods and building materials over the unknown terrain, and as food.

Many of these horses, the ancestors to the breeds that would become known back in Iceland as the Icelandic Horse, and in the New World as the Cabot Horse, ended up getting left behind when the Vikings left their settlements. The original horses were quite small, sure-footed, and capable of withstanding colder climates.

800px-IcelandicHorseInWinter.jpg

An Icelandic Horse

After many weeks of sailing, camp was finally made in the land named Vinland in the sagas. The horses (and the other livestock, they had brought some cattle and sheeps as well) were eventually put into pens made of small stones. Occasional expeditions were made inland either on horseback or leading a horse to carry berries or lumber that would be collected. The Vikings had several run-ins with the native people-- of which very little is known, and who are referred to by modern historians as the Beothuk Culture-- who they called skraelings and occasionally engaged in trade with.

The natives were initially afraid of the enormous muscular beasts the Vikings kept with them, but gradually saw how the newcomers used them as pack animals, and tasted some cow meat. They were very grateful of the meat, as it meant that instead of following the herds of caribou, some groups could stay put during migration season, and traded with or raided the Viking settlement for horse and other meat. A pregnant mare was lost in one of these raids, much to the annoyance of all of the Vikings, and to the great benefit of the natives, who began raising the mare and the foal, along with several other previously captured or escaped horses.

Leif’s expedition remained at that first camp for a winter, then travelled further south for another winter, and frequently travelled inland and far to the south to collect supplies.

Archaeological evidence and historical accounts of “peculiar men on foot hunting horses with dogs” has found that a small herd of horses related to the Cabot Horse existed in the area of eastern New Brunswick, but was hunted to extinction by the local Mi’kmaq by the year 1640. This herd probably descended from some horses who escaped their Scandinavian masters on one of these expeditions.

The second winter was very similar to the first, although now the natives were more bold, and knew the value of the horses. One evening, in the dead of winter, a magnificently large native force attacked. It seems as though several families (the natives lived and hunted in extended family units of about 30-50) had banded together to liberate as much of the livestock as possible. The ambushed and ferocious Vikings managed to kill a few of the raiders, but not before they had made off with all but three horses, both of the remaining cows, and all of the sheep (although how many of these they had simply set free, and how many they had control of is uncertain).

Infuriated, the expedition abandoned the settlement within a month, returning home with timber sorely needed in Greenland, some trinkets received from the natives, and the last three horses (two of which were eaten on the return journey).

For a while after the departure of the Vikings, several families kept their horses and sheeps and cows (the latter two of which eventually died out completely due to their prime use being meat), but soon these families apparently became very ill, suffering from an illness which is now widely accepted to have been brought on by the introduction of the foreign livestock. There is very little documentation of the disease, or indeed of the Beothuk Culture at all, as they never had a written form of their language, were apparently very isolated from the mainland, and all but died out as a result of this disease.

Upon return to Greenland, Leif’s expedition spoke of the terrible uncivilized barbarous skraelings, and how they had stolen their horses and cows and sheep. Needless to say, not many people were super eager to return to Vinland, but the timber they’d gathered was well-received, and further expeditions were sent to Markland for several centuries to get more of it. There were, as well, some later attempts to resettle Vinland, most notably that of Thorvald Ericson (the written account of which presents some startling images of the disease ravaging the Beothuk Culture, and the Vikings terror at it), and that of Thorfinn Karlsefni (Karlsefni did not in fact stay in Newfoundland, but further south, around Nova Scotia).

The horses, now mostly free to roam the island, began to grow in number. The introduction of others by Thorvald Ericson’s expedition a few years later provided an artificial increase in population, and allowed them to grow as a herd. The horses, no longer artificially selected to be good mounts or pack animals, began to diverge from their Icelandic cousins. They have grown taller and less brawny than the Icelandic horse, although their hair and coats remain full and their rumps wide, and they have retained their capacity for five-gaitedness, capable of incredible bursts of speed similar to the tölt of the Icelandic Horse. The coat colours seen in Cabot Horses, however, is very limited, ranging from chestnut to black, with occasional grey patches.

When the next wave of explorers and colonists arrived in the 16th century in the island which became known as Newfoundland, the Beothuk were estimated to number around 200 by the most generous of estimates, and dwindled more between European pressures, intermarriage, and the immigrating Mi’kmaq and Inuit. The horses were seen as magnificently odd beasts, but it wasn’t until much later that historians realised the true significance of the existence of the Cabot Horses in Newfoundland.

Today, they are prized across the world for their hardiness, amazing speed, and unique history. There still exist several herds of wild Cabot Horses in Newfoundland, and their preservation has been one of the province's main concerns for the past few years.
 
Very nice and concise.

Forest ponies are a staple of much of North and Eastern Europe and they are often semi-feral. This seems pretty natural a development.
 
It's possible.. there is wild horses in Canada, like the famous Sable Island's population... As long they are a solid 'starter groups', that could do.
 
Is this the horse with the very unique trot? Making it very easy to ride, or am I thinking of something else?
 
KillerT, you're thinking of the right horse. The Icelandic horse, in addition to the traditional gaits of walking, trotting, cantering, and galloping, has a gait called the tolt. It's not technically a trot, as the horse is moving its legs laterally instead of diagonally, making it a smoother, easier ride for covering more ground. Depending on the horse, the tolt can be as slow as a brisk walk or as fast as a slow canter.
 
Thanks for the positive responses everyone! I quite like writing these tiny timelines, and I'm pretty happy about this one. I'm looking at some other islands that I can screw around with and trying to sort something out. Pitcairn... Haida Gwaii...
 
If I'm not wrong, do you want a feral herd of horses (from Icelandic origin?) surviving some centuries in Newfoundland until the European arrival?

If this is the case, forget it. Until 19th century, Newfoundland was heavily populated with a subpopulation of wolves (now extinct) so it's hard to believe that any non-protected herd of horses, considering that these horses were unused to wolf presence (apart of its domestic origin, wolves never habited in Iceland), could survive to a predator they wouldn't know how to fight, in a restricted range of territory (they would have more chances in the mainland).
 
If I'm not wrong, do you want a feral herd of horses (from Icelandic origin?) surviving some centuries in Newfoundland until the European arrival?

If this is the case, forget it. Until 19th century, Newfoundland was heavily populated with a subpopulation of wolves (now extinct) so it's hard to believe that any non-protected herd of horses, considering that these horses were unused to wolf presence (apart of its domestic origin, wolves never habited in Iceland), could survive to a predator they wouldn't know how to fight, in a restricted range of territory (they would have more chances in the mainland).

Actually, I started writing this without any end-goal, just to see where it would go.

Really? Wow, okay. There was no mention of this subspecies in any of my research. Do you have any sources that say exactly how large the population was? I've just found a website that mentions "as much as 120,000", but only really in reference to the eradication efforts in the 20th century.

Now, while there might not be wolves in Iceland, there appear to be wolves native to Greenland (which is where the expedition came from), so it's not it's not like these horses are completely naive of the danger. Sure, this would give them a predator and definitely slow their population growth, but they could adapt a strategy where they hang around the herds of caribou, and use them as cover.

As I said though, it's not like I'm super attached to the outcome of this, I'm more interested in the what if. So, now what if? The decimation of the Beothuk would remove the wolves' only meaningful predator, so the population could run rampant, maybe leading to a see-saw between number of wolves and number of caribou, and potentially just an ecological mess in Newfoundland.
 
Actually, I started writing this without any end-goal, just to see where it would go.

Really? Wow, okay. There was no mention of this subspecies in any of my research. Do you have any sources that say exactly how large the population was? I've just found a website that mentions "as much as 120,000", but only really in reference to the eradication efforts in the 20th century.

Now, while there might not be wolves in Iceland, there appear to be wolves native to Greenland (which is where the expedition came from), so it's not it's not like these horses are completely naive of the danger. Sure, this would give them a predator and definitely slow their population growth, but they could adapt a strategy where they hang around the herds of caribou, and use them as cover.

As I said though, it's not like I'm super attached to the outcome of this, I'm more interested in the what if. So, now what if? The decimation of the Beothuk would remove the wolves' only meaningful predator, so the population could run rampant, maybe leading to a see-saw between number of wolves and number of caribou, and potentially just an ecological mess in Newfoundland.

Why do not try the Anticosti island? I think it was predator-free and suitable for a small herd of horses.
 
Why do not try the Anticosti island? I think it was predator-free and suitable for a small herd of horses.

I doubt the Vikings ever got into the gulf of the St. Lawrence, they mostly landed around the east coast of Nova Scotia down to around Boston, IIRC. Also, if they did, to land at Anticosti would be far more work than it would be worth, owing to the cliffs. The Magdalen Islands or PEI would be more likely landing spots in the gulf of St. Lawrence.
 
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