The Texas Canyon Battle Where U.S. Cavalry Captured 1,400 Native Horses — Then Destroyed About 1,000 Of Them
The Horses As A Strategic Choice
Mackenzie’s decision to destroy the horses — to shoot approximately 1,000 animals rather than scatter them or release them — was not improvised.
It reflected a strategic calculation about what would most effectively end the capacity for resistance.
In the immediate term, shooting the horses denied the families who had escaped from the canyon the possibility of rapid horse recovery.
The Plains horses that lived on the Staked Plains were not feral animals that could be caught by anyone who happened upon them.
They were known horses, known to their owners, often with specific training and histories.
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