Traditional Californio Horse Gear

This accurate display of traditional Californio horse gear is great for the historian and the horsemen.

At the present time, I am a high school history teacher by trade. When you teach history, there are quite a few different ways to help your students understand the information. You can present the information using a book, video, lecture, PowerPoint, a combination of these, or different methods. You can also use primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are those sources that come directly from a time period or event. Secondary sources are those that other people created after referencing primary sources. Think of a textbook. Personally, when I teach, I try to use as many primary sources as possible to help my students learn. Why? When I explain it to them, I ask them if they would rather learn what it is like to go to the moon from me or Neil Armstrong. It’s a no-brainer.

While primary sources are great at learning information, my own experience has taught me that they are still not the best method of using history. In my life, the thing that has taught me the most about history is what is called living history. Living history is where the learner actually does something people in the past did. The more accurately you can replicate the tools, materials, and processes, the more you can understand the past. My example here is usually creating fire by friction.

For those of you who don’t know, historically, people all around the world used to create fire by rubbing sticks together. This method of starting a fire is called “friction fire,” because the friction between the two sticks creates the heat necessary to start a fire. I’ve built a fair number of friction fires, and I believe it is an experience that really helped me understand the concept of living history. You see, the process of rubbing two sticks together to the point they generate enough heat to create a coal is the same today as it has always been. 50, 500, or 5,000 years ago, the process was the same. Friction fire builders today experience the same fatigue, challenges, and focus that people did when Christ was alive. “Living,” or doing, history teaches you things that add so much more depth than simply watching or reading.

Recently, I came across a neat YouTuber whose expertise is traditional Californio horse gear. His videos are a blend of museum-quality artifacts and living history demonstrations. The gentleman has put together a number of interesting videos for the historically minded. Watching his videos, the man’s attention to detail is obvious, and his authentic gear can teach you quite a lot about what it was like to be a Californio horseman in the 19th century.

However, I don’t think this fellow’s channel is just for historians. I think that any horseman can appreciate what he is presenting. That’s because one of the most common forms of living history is horsemanship. When we saddle up and ride today, we are doing something that people have been doing for a long time.

Currently, one of my classes is studying cavalries in world history. One of the things that they have discovered is just how similar cavalry tack and tactics were across space and time. Several of the students have quite a lot of riding experience, and when they see how the Mongols’ horse tack is essentially the same gear they use, it helps them understand the deep roots of horsemanship and connects them to a very old craft. It also helps them understand how cultures around the world have created unique answers to the same fundamental challenges.

Anyone who has experience with horses can truly appreciate these videos on the traditional Californio horse gear. Although the gear is definitely historical, you can understand its purpose and utility. You may also appreciate how traditional Californio horse gear has evolved into the modern age. Our world is very different from the world of those Californios. However, riding a horse is still riding a horse. Over time, we’ve kept what works for us and changed the things we needed to for our modern day. If you take the time to watch this video, you should get a better idea of history, and see how other horsemen of the past came up with unique solutions for their horse culture.

Here it is, and I hope you enjoy.