The Tal Michaels Memorial Running of the Horses [VIDEO]

The Tal Michaels Memorial Running of the Horses is a sight to see for sure. I can only imagine what it must be like standing feet away from this.

Tal Michaels Memorial Running of the Horses is held each July in Browning, Montana to kick of North American Indian Days. Tal was a Native American cowboy who died in 2006 at the age of 21 and the run is in tribute to him.

This is part of a big parade that kicks off the multi-day event which includes horse racing, rodeos, 4-H Fair, dances and lots of Native American tradition including naming the five newly elected members of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council.

I have to admit, this is quite the sight to see. The thunder of the hooves pounding the asphalt must be something else. I am a bit surprised though no one has been killed at this event watching a stampede run through town. I am more concerned though that Native Americans would run these horses this hard down an asphalt road. As you can see in this video, and others you can search, many of the horses have gaping wounds from where they have obviously slipped and fallen gathering some pretty good road rash.

When I think of Native American tradition, especially when it comes to horses, I totally understand the meaning behind this but I envision a stampede of horses through the wandering plains and open fields...not down an city street.

Maybe it's just me, but the horse owners I know, would never consider doing something like this to their animals. In my opinion, as traditional as this is, it should not be done on asphalt/pavement roads where traction is slim to none.