Re-establishing the endangered Ojibwe Spirit Horse bloodline in Winnipeg

A Winnipeg horse stable is doing its part to keep a sacred breed of Indigenous horse alive. CTV’s Harrison Shin reports.

Years of effort from a Winnipeg horse stable to keep a sacred breed of Indigenous horse alive is finally paying off.

Sagehill Stables, located in south Winnipeg, announced that two Ojibwe Spirit Horse mares, Mandy and Lill, are both pregnant and due in May 2026.

The effort is part of the Ojibwe Spirit Horse Project—a project aiming to re-establish the endangered, Indigenous horse breed. Owner of Sagehill Stables, Gwen Donahoe, said there are less than 200 Ojibwe Spirit Horses left in North America.

“At one time, there were only four of them left. The individuals who have been spearheading the project across Canada and the United States have been working really hard and got the numbers up to 200,” Donahoe explained.

“The horses (once ran) loose in the forest, and they were considered a nuisance to farmers and property owners in the area … they tried to get rid of them.”

The stallion that bred the mares is Chase, a 15-year-old in his prime. He is from the Grey Raven Ranch—owned by Darcy Whitecrow and Kim Campbell—on Seine River First Nation in northwestern Ontario. Donahoe said they have been hosting Chase for a few years.

“We hosted Chase here in Manitoba so that other people with the Ojibwe Spirit Horse mares in Manitoba could use him for breeding,” Donahoe said.

Donahoe was ecstatic when she heard the pregnancy news.

“It’s our first year trying breeding and we have two pregnant mares with success right off the hop—so yeah, it’s hard to believe,” she said.

The emotion was shared with the community members taking care of the horses.

“We have a really great community of people, and we have a really great care team that take care of the horses, checks on them daily, and help financially,” Donahoe said.

“It just gave a lot more meaning and purpose to what we’re doing … as we have had these Spirit Horses here for a few years now, we’ve been working on training our staff how to tell the Ojibwe Spirit Horse story and spread the word about the Spirit Horses.

“This (news) just really ties it all together and makes the project (people) feel like we are accomplishing something.”