Appaloosa

Summary

The Appaloosa is an American horse breed known for its characteristic spotted coat. It is named after the Palouse River which flows in Washington, in the area where the Appaloosa breed was originally developed.

Spotted horses had existed since pre-historic times in Europe and Asia, and were bred in various countries and by various civilizations throughout history. Spotted coats were more widespread among breeds in the past than they are today. An example of this are a number of Spanish breeds, such as the Andalusian, which today have only solid coats, but which, during the 16th century, had either solid coats or spotted ones.

Spanish spotted horses were brought to the Americas by Spanish conquistadores and settlers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Some of these horses escaped to the wild, while others were traded to Native American tribes, the most notable of which was the Nez Perce tribe. The Spanish spotted horses obtained by the Nez Perce are the ancestors of the Appaloosa breed.

The Nez Perce people had a natural talent for breeding horses, especially when it came to breeding for specific qualities. For example, the Nez Perce breeders were the first Native Americans to geld stallions who were weak and slow, or who had a flawed conformation or an insufficiently spotted coat. By preventing the flawed stallions from breeding, the Nez Perce breeders improved their stock over time. It was this effort of careful breeding which shaped these spotted horses into an actual breed: the Appaloosa.

In the 19th century, the U.S. cavalry chased the Nez Perce people in an attempt to capture them. The Nez Perce escaped on the backs of their Appaloosa horses. Since they bred their horses for their strength, speed, and endurance, the Appaloosa horses were able to travel fast without tiring, and therefore the U.S. cavalry never managed to capture the Nez Perce people. Eventually, however, the tribe's chief decided to surrender, because he wanted to spare his people from further suffering. In order to prevent the tribe from escaping again, the U.S. army confiscated and killed most of their Appaloosa horses, and the breed almost went extinct.

However, not everyone wanted to see this unique breed disappear, and therefore American breeders who managed to get hold of Appaloosa horses kept breeding them. In 1938, the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was established, and the Appaloosa was officially recognized as a breed. In order to maintain the original, lean conformation of the Appaloosa breed, the ApHC allowed crossing Appaloosas with Arabian horses. The offspring, which were labelled with the letter "F" next to their names, are listed in the eight first studbooks of the ApHC, and are now known as "Foundation Appaloosa". Today, any Appaloosa horse who traces back to these Foundation Appaloosa horses, and who has at least 75% Foundation blood, is considered as a Foundation Appaloosa (see the 'Foundation Appaloosa' for more info).

Foundation Appaloosas were good riding horses, but they weren't suited for the racing demands at the time, nor for the demands of Western disciplines. In order to improve their performance as racehorses and Western horses, the ApHC decided to allow breeders to cross their Appaloosa horses with Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, the latter being an extremely popular cross. This generated a new subtype of the Appaloosa horse: the Modern Appaloosa, whose conformation became more and more similar to that of the Quarter Horse (see the 'Modern Appaloosa' for more info).

Today, the Appaloosa is a popular breed, especially in the USA. Appaloosa horses are commonly used in Western disciplines, but many of them also excel in endurance riding.

The hallmark of the Appaloosa breed is its spotted coat, which can come in six patterns: leopard, snowflake, frost (also called 'roan blanket'), varnish roan (also called 'marble'), spotted blanket, and white blanket (also called 'snowcap'), all of which are caused by the leopard gene. In addition, even though Appaloosa horses can have a solid coat, they always have mottled skin around their eyes and muzzle, as well as striped hooves, traits that also characterize spotted horses.

Appaloosa horses come in a variety of base colors, and usually have a spotted coat, though solid-colored horses are born from time to time. Appaloosa horses stand between 14hh and 16.1hh

Coats and Height

Height: 15hh to 16.1hh

Details

Catchable in wild?

YES

Parentage requirements:

First parent has no breed requirements.

Second parent has no breed requirements.

Purebreeding:

Any combination of the following breeds: Appaloosa, Foundation Appaloosa, Modern Appaloosa, Thoroughbred, Thoroughbred - Hunter Type, Thoroughbred - Sprinter Type, Thoroughbred - Stayer Type, Arabian, Crabbetbred Arabian, Egyptian Arabian, Koheilan Arabian, Muniqi Arabian, Polish Arabian, Saqlawi Arabian, American Quarter Horse, American Quarter Halter Horse, American Quarter Race Horse, American Quarter Stock Horse, Foundation Quarter Horse

Breed hierarchy:

Grade Horse

→Grade Warm-blooded Horse

→Grade North American Stock Horse

→Appaloosa

→Foundation Appaloosa

→Modern Appaloosa