"...They first appeared to the people as a group of large, curly, red, dogs."

The first people to see the rare and astounding American Bakshir Curly horse were the Native Americans. They were described by some as "the horse before the horse." Known as the "Mystery (or) Mystical" Horse by the Lakota (Souix), these horses have shown up in paintings and writings that date back before the Europeans came to the "New World." In 1801-02, according to a pictograph, some Lakota (Souix) indians stole a few Curly horses from the Crow.
Just how these horses came to be on the North American continent is a mystery. Some believe that they crossed over what came to be known as the Bering Strait, thousands of years ago. However, this does not agree with the theory that the North American continent was barren of horses, the species having died out six to ten thousand years ago, until the Europeans arrival.
How they got here, we may never know. However, in 1898, they were re-discovered by a Peter Damele in Ely, Nevada, when he was surveying his property after a winter storm and found three strange, curly-coated horses huddled together.
Peter's son, Benny, bred the curly-coated horses for ranch work. Today, many Bakshir Curly horses in the US can trace their roots back to those horses.

The attibutes of this breed of horse make them very, very easy to distinguish from other horses. First of all, their coat is curly (which might explain their name!). However, the extent of their curls can very from 'crushed velvet' to tight ringlets covering their bodies. But this is usually only during the winter. In the summer, they shed their extravagant curls, leaving behind a coat that is either fairly straight, or gently waved. Their manes (and sometimes tails) are curly and fine, and often have a 'middle part'. One of the unusual characteristics of the Curly horses is that they shed out their mane and tail, regrowing it in winter.
Unlike some breeds, there is no colour limitation on these beautiful horses. Their colours range from a deep sorrel-red to tri-coloured pintos. Any colour a horse can be, chances are that a Bakshir Curly has been that colour, twice.
About ten percent or so have a "soft" gait, similar to Missouri Foxtrotters. The horses also do a lateral walk and a shuffling pace known as the "Indian Shuffle," or the "Curly Shuffle."
Foals are often born with curls coming out of their ears, and curly eyelashes that would put Covergirl out of business!

A purebred Bakshir Curly is medium in height, with many defining traits that seem to link it with primitive horses. Some Curlies have no ergo or small chestnuts. They have the soft, wide set eyes of some Oriental breeds (which is said to give them a wider range of vison). They have tough, hard, black hooves, sturdy bones, straight legs with straight movement, flat knees and strong hocks.
Bakshir's are different from other horses in that, instead of immediantly fleeing from something that frightens them, they tend to assess the situation. This makes them a rather safer mount, especially for small children or people who break very easily.
When they were first 'discovered', Bakshir Curly horses were used as Indian ponies, ranch horses, cowponies--basically any and everything that a horse could do, the Bakshirs did it. Now, not much has changed. The Bakshir Curly is one of the reasons to believe in "Quality, not Quantity!" They still do everything a horse can do, from Dressage to Rodeo, to just being a beautiful thing to look at and take care of.

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Sources:
American Bakshir Curly Registry.org
Equisearch.com
Richardson's Curly Horse Ranch
Curlyhorse.com
Gaitedhorse.com