Appaloosa Horses
14.2hh-15.2hh
Spotted with five principal coat patterns
The Appaloosa is an American Spotted Breed, which was developed by the Nez Percé Indians in the mid 18th century from horses introduced by the Spanish conquistadores. The name is derived from the Palouse River. The Nez Percé were the first tribe to systematically breed horses. The tribe was famous for the quality of their horses. While color was important, they also required hardy, practical work and war horses.
The breed was virtually wiped out in the late 1800's by the US government. In 1938, based on the few surviving descendants of the Nez Percé horses, the breed was revitalized by the Appaloosa Horse Club in Oregon. In less than 50 years it became the third largest in the world.
The five recognized coat patterns are Leopard, characterized by a white area over all or part of the body and dark, egg-shaped spots within the white area; Snowflake, in which white spotting occurs all over the body but is usually concentrated over the hips; Blanket, where the coat color over the hips can be either white or spotted.
Marbleized, where there is a mottled patter all over the body; and Frost, which consists of white specks on a dark background. In addition to Appaloosa's also have mottled skin. The sclera, the area of the eye surrounding the iris, is white, and the hooves are marked with vertical black and white stripes that are reported to make them stronger.
Interesting fact: The Appaloosa's tail and mane is typically fine and sparse. This feature was encouraged to avoid entanglement with thorny scrub.
These rugged little horses are used today as a stock and pleasure horses, as well as for racing and jumping. Known for it's strong legs and excellent feet, they also make a great endurance horse. There is even a gaited variety, known as the Walkaloosa.
Their popularity has spread all over the world. In the UK, the British Appaloosa Society operates a grading system with the goal of producing a studbook in the future.
