Abstract

In recent years, the United States has been in a constant state of war, resulting in a reassertion of our society’s need for patriotic symbols and questions regarding local and global perceptions of currently-used symbols. This study asks the question: Is the visual representation of a horse recognizable as having meaning and value as a patriotic symbol of the United States of America? The review of existing literature explores the historical relationship between humankind and the horse in the United States of America from the first European settlements to today. The review also investigates the values that our culture attributes to the symbolism of the horse and will compare them to values that are attributed to other patriotic symbols to establish an understanding of those values in our society. This study uses a survey and quantitative assessments of popular perceptions of the horse as a symbol. The results of this study are intended to help designers better understand values associated with the symbol of the horse and its potential use as a patriotic element in design.