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Appaloosa horse
| Country Of Origin | United States |
| History and Background | Recent research has suggested that Eurasian prehistoric cave paintings depicting leopard-spotted horses may have accurately reflected a phenotype of ancient wild horse. Domesticated horses with leopard complex spotting patterns have been depicted in art dating as far back as Ancient Greece, Ancient Persia, and the Han Dynasty in China; later depictions appeared in 11th-century France and 12th-century England. French paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries show horses with spotted coats being used as riding horses, and other records indicate they were also used as coach horses at the court of Louis XIV of France. In mid-18th-century Europe, there was a great demand for horses with the leopard complex spotting pattern among the nobility and royalty. These horses were used in the schools of horsemanship, for parade use, and other forms of display. Modern horse breeds in Europe today that have leopard complex spotting include the Knabstrupper and the Pinzgau, or Noriker horse. The Spanish probably obtained spotted horses through trade with southern Austria and Hungary, where the color pattern was known to exist. The Conquistadors and Spanish settlers then brought some vividly marked horses to the Americas when they first arrived in the early 16th century. One horse with snowflake patterning was listed with the 16 horses brought to Mexico by Cortez, and additional spotted horses were mentioned by Spanish writers by 1604. Others arrived in the western hemisphere when spotted horses went out of style in late 18th-century Europe, and were shipped to Mexico, California and Oregon. Nez Perce people; The Nez Perce people lived in what today is eastern Washington, Oregon, and western Idaho, where they engaged in agriculture as well as horse breeding. The Nez Perce first obtained horses from the Shoshone around 1730. They took advantage of the fact that they lived in excellent horse-breeding country, relatively safe from the raids of other tribes, and developed strict breeding selection practices for their animals, establishing breeding herds by 1750. They were one of the few tribes that actively used the practice of gelding inferior male horses and trading away poorer stock to remove unsuitable animals from the gene pool, and thus were notable as horse breeders by the early 19th century. Early Nez Perce horses were considered to be of high quality. Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition wrote in his February 15, 1806, journal entry: "Their horses appear to be of an excellent race; they are lofty, elegantly formed, active and durable: in short many of them look like fine English coursers and would make a figure in any country."Lewis did note spotting patterns, saying, "... some of these horses are pied with large spots of white irregularly scattered and intermixed with the black, brown, bey or some other dark colour". By "pied", Lewis may have been referring to leopard-spotted patterns seen in the modern Appaloosa, though Lewis also noted that "much the larger portion are of a uniform colour". The Appaloosa Horse Club estimates that only about ten percent of the horses owned by the Nez Perce at the time were spotted. While the Nez Perce originally had many solid-coloured horses and only began to emphasize colour in their breeding some time after the visit of Lewis and Clark, by the late 19th century they had many spotted horses. As white settlers moved into traditional Nez Perce lands, a successful trade in horses enriched the Nez Perce, who in 1861 bred horses described as "elegant chargers, fit to mount a prince."At a time when ordinary horses could be purchased for $15, non-Indians who had purchased Appaloosa horses from the Nez Perce turned down offers of as much as $600. Nez Perce War; Peace with the United States dated back to an alliance arranged by Lewis and Clark, but the encroachment of gold miners in the 1860s and settlers in the 1870s put pressure on the Nez Perce. Although a treaty of 1855 originally allowed them to keep most of their traditional land, another in 1863 reduced the land allotted to them by 90 percent. The Nez Perce who refused to give up their land under the 1863 treaty included a band living in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon, led by Heinmot Tooyalakekt, widely known as Chief Joseph Tensions rose, and in May 1877, General Oliver Howard called a council and ordered the non-treaty bands to move to the reservation. Chief Joseph considered military resistance futile, and by June 14, 1877, had gathered about 600 people at a site near present-day Grangeville, Idaho. But on that day a small group of warriors staged an attack on nearby white settlers, which led to the Nez Perce War. After several small battles in Idaho, more than 800 Nez Perce, mostly non-warriors, took 2000 head of various livestock including horses and fled into Montana, then traveled southeast, dipping into Yellowstone National Park. A small number of Nez Perce fighters, probably fewer than 200, successfully held off larger forces of the U.S. Army in several skirmishes, including the two-day Battle of the Big Hole in southwestern Montana. They then moved northeast and attempted to seek refuge with the Crow Nation; rebuffed, they headed for safety in Canada. Throughout this journey of about 1,400 miles (2,300 km) the Nez Perce relied heavily on their fast, agile and hardy Appaloosa horses. The journey came to an end when they stopped to rest near the Bears Paw Mountains in Montana, 40 miles (64 km) from the Canadian border. Unbeknownst to the Nez Perce, Colonel Nelson A. Miles had led an infantry-cavalry column from Fort Keogh in pursuit. On October 5, 1877, after a five-day fight, Joseph surrendered. The battle—and the war—was over. With most of the war chiefs dead, and the non-combatants cold and starving, Joseph declared that he would "fight no more forever". Aftermath of the Nez Perce War; When the U.S. 7th Cavalry accepted the surrender of Chief Joseph and the remaining Nez Perce, they immediately took more than 1,000 of the tribe's horses, sold what they could and shot many of the rest. But a significant population of horses had been left behind in the Wallowa valley when the Nez Perce began their retreat, and additional animals escaped or were abandoned along the way. The Nez Perce were ultimately settled on reservation lands in north central Idaho,a were allowed few horses, and were required by the Army to crossbreed to draft horses in an attempt to create farm horses. The Nez Perce tribe never regained its former position as breeders of Appaloosas. In the late 20th century, they began a program to develop a new horse breed, the Nez Perce horse, with the intent to resurrect their horse culture, tradition of selective breeding, and horsemanship. Although a remnant population of Appaloosa horses remained after 1877, they were virtually forgotten as a distinct breed for almost 60 years. A few quality horses continued to be bred, mostly those captured or purchased by settlers and used as working ranch horses. Others were used in circuses and related forms of entertainment, such as Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The horses were originally called "Palouse horses" by settlers, a reference to the Palouse River that ran through the heart of what was once Nez Perce country. Gradually, the name evolved into "Apalouse", and then "Appaloosa". Other early variations of the name included "Appalucy", "Apalousey" and "Appaloosie". In one 1948 book, the breed was called the "Opelousa horse", described as a "hardy tough breed of Indian and Spanish horse" used by backwoodsmen of the late 18th century to transport goods to New Orleans for sale. By the 1950s, "Appaloosa" was regarded as the correct spelling. Revitalization; The Appaloosa came to the attention of the general public in January 1937 in Western Horseman magazine when Francis D. Haines, a history professor from Lewiston, Idaho, published an article describing the breed's history and urging its preservation. Haines had performed extensive research, traveling with a friend and Appaloosa aficionado named George Hatley, visiting numerous Nez Perce villages, collecting history, and taking photographs. The article generated strong interest in the horse breed, and led to the founding of the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) by Claude Thompson and a small group of other dedicated breeders in 1938. The registry was originally housed in Moro, Oregon; but in 1947 the organization moved to Moscow, Idaho, under the leadership of George Hatley. The Appaloosa Museum foundation was formed in 1975 to preserve the history of the Appaloosa horse. The Western Horseman magazine, and particularly its long-time publisher, Dick Spencer, continued to support and promote the breed through many subsequent articles. A significant crossbreeding influence used to revitalize the Appaloosa was the Arabian horse, as evidenced by early registration lists that show Arabian-Appaloosa crossbreeds as ten of the first fifteen horses registered with the ApHC. For example, one of Claude Thompson's major herd sires was Ferras, an Arabian stallion bred by W.K. Kellogg from horses imported from the Crabbet Arabian Stud of England. Ferras sired Red Eagle, a prominent Appaloosa stallion added to the Appaloosa Hall of Fame in 1988. Later, Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse lines were added, as well as crosses from other breeds, including Morgans and Standardbreds. In 1983 the ApHC reduced the number of allowable outcrosses to three main breeds: the Arabian horse, the American Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred. By 1978 the ApHC was the third largest horse registry for light horse breeds. From 1938 to 2007 more than 670,000 Appaloosas were registered by the ApHC. The state of Idaho adopted the Appaloosa as its official state horse on March 25, 1975, when Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus signed the enabling legislation. Idaho offers a custom license plate featuring an Appaloosa horse, the first state to offer a plate featuring a state horse. |
| Use Today | Long-distance riding horse, Racing horse, Stock horse, Parade horse, Pleasure horse, Show horse, Ranch work |
| Height | 14.2 to 16 hands high (58-64 inches, 147-162 centimeters) |
| Colour | The Leopard pattern displays in a number of ways; Varnish Roan, Snowflake, Snowcap, Leopard, Frost, Few spot leopard |
| Characteristics | The Appaloosa is best known for its distinctive, preferred leopard complex spotted coat. Spotting occurs in several overlay patterns on one of several recognized base coat colours. There are three other distinctive, "core" characteristics: mottled skin, striped hooves, and eyes with a white sclera. Skin mottling is usually seen around the muzzle, eyes, anus, and genitalia. Striped hooves are a common trait, quite noticeable on Appaloosas, but not unique to the breed. The sclera is the part of the eye surrounding the iris; although all horses show white around the eye if the eye is rolled back, to have a readily visible white sclera with the eye in a normal position is a distinctive characteristic seen more often in Appaloosas than in other breeds. Because the occasional individual is born with little or no visible spotting pattern, the ApHC allows "regular" registration of horses with mottled skin plus at least one of the other core characteristics. Horses with two ApHC parents but no "identifiable Appaloosa characteristics" are registered as "non-characteristic," a limited special registration status. There is a wide range of body types in the Appaloosa, in part because the leopard complex characteristics are its primary identifying factors, and also because several different horse breeds influenced its development. The weight range varies from 950 to 1,250 pounds (430 to 570 kg). However, the ApHC does not allow pony or draft breeding. The original "old time" or "old type" Appaloosa was a tall, narrow-bodied, rangy horse. The body style reflected a mix that started with the traditional Spanish horses already common on the plains of America before 1700. Then, 18th-century European bloodlines were added, particularly those of the "pied" horses popular in that period and shipped en masse to the Americas once the colour had become unfashionable in Europe. These horses were similar to a tall, slim Thoroughbred-Andalusian type of horse popular in Bourbon-era Spain. The original Appaloosa tended to have a convex facial profile that resembled that of the warmblood-Jennet crosses first developed in the 16th century during the reign of Charles V. The old-type Appaloosa was later modified by the addition of draft horse blood after the 1877 defeat of the Nez Perce, when U.S. Government policy forced the Indians to become farmers and provided them with draft horse mares to breed to existing stallions. The original Appaloosas frequently had a sparse mane and tail, but that was not a primary characteristic as many early Appaloosas did have full manes and tails. There is a possible genetic link between the leopard complex and sparse mane and tail growth, although the precise relationship is unknown. After the formation of the Appaloosa Horse Club in 1938, a more modern type developed after the addition of American Quarter Horse and Arabian bloodlines. The addition of Quarter Horse lines produced Appaloosas that performed better in sprint racing and in halter competition. Many cutting and reining horses resulted from old-type Appaloosas crossed on Arabian bloodlines, particularly via the Appaloosa foundation stallion Red Eagle. An infusion of Thoroughbred blood was added during the 1970s to produce horses more suited for racing. Many current breeders also attempt to breed away from the sparse, "rat tail" trait, and therefore modern Appaloosas have fuller manes and tails. |
| Personality and Temperament | The Appaloosa is independent, intelligent, and courageous. It can also be fierce -- making it an ideal war horse in the past. Currently, it is considered one of the best riding horses, especially for those who know how to handle horses. |
