SHIMMINS' NOKOTAS

Smoke Signal

( Nokota herd stallion)

Dakota

(Nokota herd stallion)

Nokota horses look very much like the northern Plains Indian horse of the late nineteenth century. They once ran wild in the Little Missouri Badlands, located in southwestern North Dakota. In the late 1940's, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park was developed. A few bands of wild horses were inadvertently enclosed within the park's boundary fence. By 1960, they were the last surviving wild horses in North Dakota. It is believed that Sitting Bull's horses contributed to these wild bands, since his confiscated ponies had been purchased by the Marquis de Mores, founder of the town of Medora, where the park headquarters are located. Between 1950-1970, the National Park Service attempted to remove all of the horses from the park. There were several large round-ups and public auctions.
In 1993, the state of North Dakota designated the Nokota as the "honorary state equine". However, the National Park Service has declined to reinstate them into the park.

Nokotas have two dominant coat colors. They are frame overo and roan. Both of these colors are associated with Spanish and Indian breeding. Other common colors are black, gray, red roan, and sabino. Nokota horses have extremely strong legs and feet. They are hardy and agile. Nokotas have good minds and dispositions.