"The word given, the horsemen start in a body, loading and firing on horseback, and leaving the dead animals to be identified after the run is over. The kind of horse used is called a "buffalo runner," and is very valuable. A good one will cost from 50 to 70 pounds sterling. The sagacity of the animal is chiefly shewn in bringing his rider alongside the retreating buffalo, and in avoiding the numerous pitfalls abounding on the prairie. The most treacherous of the latter are the badger holes." - Joseph James Hargrave 1871
The world Joseph James Hargrave is writing about is the 1870s. At that time, horses help earn the Métis a living by being an essential part of the buffalo hunts. To put that 70 pounds in 1870s perspective, the value of a good horse would set you back the equivalent of about £6,000 ($8,350) in 2016.
As the fur trade pushed farther and farther to the west, trappers, traders, and busy mums needed a food supply that would not spoil. Dried buffalo meat mixed with fat and wild berries known as pemmican was the food for that price point. If you aren't familiar with this fast-food of the old west, think of pemmican as the frozen pizza of 1870. Usually bison, (but it can be other game such as elk, moose, whatever,) and berries, (whatever you happen to have around for berries.) You take the meat and dry it for a few days. Then you pound it into almost a power-like state with rocks, and mix it with equal weight in melted fat. Mold it into a little shape or stuff it into a rawhide sack, 90 lb (41 kg) was fairly standard, and you're ready to road trip. *Insert road-sickness joke here*
Métis horse tack was proudly adorned with intricate quill and beadwork decorations. You will often seen a mixture of Native American patterns and French Catholic imagery. People then saved items for special occasions, just like we do today. A saddle like this would have been used rarely, which is why even though this Métis saddle dates from 1890, it looks in such good shape, you'd think it was a new.
Your more everyday saddle would have been a less-flashy leathery and/or wood construction. Stirrups would be wood or metal, if metal was available. Blankets were a common, but optional extra. A hide could also serve. Horseback riding was a flexible affair that ranged from bareback to a full saddle if you could purchase one.
Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry that most people outside of North America have never heard of. Written with a small “m,” metis is really an old French word for “mixed.” Today, you see “Métis” with a capital “M,” but for reasons that make us very glad our branch of study at uni was not nearly so political.
If you have a minute, check out this group of Métis musicians I encountered just a week ago in Winnipeg. They were kind enough to perform and let me record their music on my phone, even though I wasn't personally brave enough to wear the red sash. Merci beaucoup!
For more historic horse drawing goodness, you can catch how to draw horses.