People often say, “a horse needs a job,” as though life as an equine couldn’t be complete without trotting into the office occasionally. Historically, horses really did take on essential work, from carrying soldiers into battle to driving the gentry around town (as anyone who’s watched The Gilded Age knows.) Even in our own times, when horses are less necessary for most human activities, they’re still sometimes pressed into service. Of course, it helps if a horse is well-suited to their assigned occupation. So, before recruiting a horse for any of the following positions, consider some of the necessary qualifications.

Visionary, humanitarian, force of nature, mother - The horse community is full of everyday heroes. Sometimes those everyday heroes inspire someone to give back in such an incredible capacity that it creates an exponentially stronger community — one that, at the start, is hard to envision. Little did the horse community in 1970s Ontario know that by embracing a recently immigrated, newly widowed mother of four, they would be inspiring a horse community visionary who would change the face and accessibility of horsemanship throughout the world.

The Lac La Croix Indigenous pony, named after the Lac La Croix First Nation, now the Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation, primarily existed in northwestern Ontario and across the United States border into Minnesota. This unique pony breed, considered to be developed by the Indigenous Peoples, was used for winter transportation, running trap lines, hauling logs and ice, and pulling sleighs. As forest dwellers, the breed boasts strong hooves to endure the rocky terrain of the Canadian Shield; fuzzy ears to protect them from insects; and often a dorsal stripe down its back and zebra stripes on its legs.

Roxanne Salinas of Bear Hollow Farm in Lone Butte, BC, has been a tireless advocate and historian of Canada’s National Horse for a quarter century. As we celebrate Canada Day 2025 and all things Canadian, Ms. Salinas gives us a sneak peek into her upcoming book, Canada’s National Horse: A History.