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The Appaloosa is a horse breed with preferred characteristics that include coat pattern.[1] It is best known for a distinctive leopard spotted coat color, but has other distinctive physical characteristics. The Nez Perce tribe of the American Pacific Northwest developed the breed. They were once referred to by white settlers as the "Palouse horse," probably because the Palouse River ran through the heart of Nez Perce country. Gradually, the name evolved into "Appaloosa."
The earliest evidence horses with a spotted coat pattern is from the cave paintings dating from the Upper Paleolithic era, circa 18,000 BC found at Lascaux and Peche-Merle in France.[2] Archaeologists have found later evidence of domesticated horses with blanket spotting patterns in the art of Ancient Persia, Ancient Greece, the T'ang Dynasty of China and 11th century France.[2]
Historians are not exactly sure of the path that spotted horses took in the Americas. Some scholars believe the Spanish Conquistadors brought some vividly-marked horses with them when they first arrived in the early 1500s, others believe that the Russian fur-traders brought them at a later date. Another theory holds that when spotted horses went out of style in late-18th century Europe, large numbers were shipped to the west coast of America and traded to Spanish settlers and the Indian people of the Pacific Northwest, a voyage survived only by the hardiest animals.[3] Each theory has some historical support.
What is known is that horses in general had reached the Pacific Northwest by 1700 and the Nez Perce Indian tribe who lived in what today is eastern Washington and Oregon, were known as notable horse breeders by the early 1800s.[4] The Nez Perce obtained their original horses from the Shoshone people, and from there 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 horses. They were one of the few tribes to actively use the practice of gelding inferior male horses, and actively traded away poorer stock to remove unsuitable animals from the gene pool.[2]
These 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, eligantly [sic] formed, active and durable: in short many of them look like fine English horses and would make a figure in any country." Lewis did note spotting patterns, saying, "…some of these horses are pided [sic] with large spots of white irregularly scattered and intermixed with black, brown, bey [sic] or some other dark color."[5]
By "pided", some historians argue that he meant pied, or pinto.[3] Even if Lewis did refer to leopard-spotted patterns seen in the modern Appaloosa, the Appaloosa Horse Club itself estimates that only about ten percent of the horses owned by the Nez Perce at the time were spotted.[6] It is clear the Nez Perce had many solid-colored horses in the early 1800s, and only began to emphasize color in their breeding program some time after the arrival of Lewis and Clark. In any case, the Nez Perce had many spotted horses by the late 1800s when they once again came to the attention of the rest of the world.[3]
The Nez Perce people were a relatively peaceful nation, many of whom engaged in agriculture as well as horse breeding. The encroachment of gold miners in the 1860s and settlers in the 1870s put pressure on the tribe to give up much of their land, and various treaties between 1855 and 1863 reduced their original treaty lands of seven million acres (28,000 km²) by 90%.[2]
Ultimately the Nez Perce drew the line at the Wallowa Valley of Oregon. While their leader, popularly known as Chief Joseph, was attempting to negotiate a new treaty, a small group of warriors attacked settlers in 1877, leading to a battle in the White Bird Canyon of Idaho and the 1877 Nez Perce War. Joseph then led about 800 of his people, mostly non-warriors, in a remarkable retreat southeast through Idaho and Montana and then back north across Yellowstone National Park, traveling over 1,300 miles while first trying to seek refuge with other tribes including the Shoshone and the Crow Nation, then ultimately deciding to try to reach safety in Canada. A small number of Nez Perce fighters, mounted on their fast, agile and hardy Appaloosa horses, 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.
However, the journey came to an end when they stopped to rest near the Bears Paw Mountains in Montana, 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Canadian border, thinking that they had shaken off their pursuers. But Nelson A. Miles, then a colonel, led his troops in a rapid march of over 200 miles (322 kilometers) to catch the Nez Perce. After a devastating five-day battle, the battle - and the war -was over. Chief Joseph declared in his famous speech that he'd "fight no more forever."
When the U.S. 7th Cavalry captured Chief Joseph and the remaining Nez Perce on October 5th 1877, they immediately took over 1,000 of the tribe's horses, sold what they could, and shot many of the rest. A significant population of horses hastily left behind in the Wallowa valley when the Nez Perce began their retreat still remained, and additional animals escaped or abandoned along the way.[2] The Nez Perce were ultimately settled on a reservation in north central Idaho, were allowed very few horses, and were required by the Army to breed what mares they still had to draft horse stallions in an attempt to create farm horses. Thus, though a remnant population of Appaloosa remained after 1877, the Appaloosa breed was virtually forgotten as a distinct breed for almost 60 years.[2] However, a few quality horses continued to be bred on, mostly those captured or purchased by white settlers and used as working ranch horses.
In 1937, the Appaloosa as a breed had caught the eye of the general public due to a series of articles in Western Horseman magazine, and in 1938 the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) was founded by Claude Thompson and a small group of other dedicated breeders.[7] The registry was originally housed in Moro, Oregon, then in 1947 moved to Moscow, Idaho.[8] The Appaloosa Museum foundation was formed in 1975 to preserve the history of the Appaloosa horse.[9]
By 1978, the ApHC was the third largest horse registry in the United States.[10] Today, the Appaloosa breed is one of America's most popular breeds and there are over 670,000 Appaloosas registered by the ApHC.[11] 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.[12] Idaho even offers a custom license plate featuring an Appaloosa horse,[13] the first state to offer a plate featuring a state horse.[14]
The Nez Perce tribe once again began a breeding program in 1995 to develop a distinct breed, the Nez Perce Horse. Based on crossbreeding the Appaloosa with a Central Asian breed called Akhal-Teke, the Nez Perce hope to resurrect their horse culture, a tradition of selective breeding and horsemanship that was destroyed by the 19th century Nez Perce war. The breeding program was financed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Nez Perce tribe, and the First Nations Development Institute, a nonprofit organization that promotes tribal business development.
Most Appaloosas are recognized by their colorful spotted coat patterns, striped hooves, mottled skin (most visible around their eyes and on their muzzle) and white sclera around the eye. Appaloosas can have brown, blue or hazel eyes. Sometimes they will have eyes of different colors.[15] However, some "N" registered Appaloosas do not display all of the typical traits and may appear to be "solid" (without spots, visible coat pattern or other characteristics generally associated with the breed.)
While the original, "old time" Appaloosas often had a sparse mane and tail, it was not a predisposition for the breed as a whole; many original Appaloosas had full manes and tails. Today the "rat tail" trait is usually bred away from and most "modern" Appaloosas have full manes and tails.
Because the registered pedigree of the Appaloosa is the primary qualification, and Appaloosa coloring a preferred identifying factor, there are several body styles found in the breed, including stock horses, sport (English) horses, pleasure horses, race horses and trail horses. Because of this wide variety, Appaloosas are used in many different disciplines. Other popular breeds with Appaloosa coloring include the Pony of the Americas, the Colorado Ranger, and the Tiger Horse.
The overwhelming majority of Appaloosas now seen in the horse show ring today have an athletic build that resembles that of the Appendix Quarter Horse and hunter type Thoroughbred. Excessive heavy muscling is not desired, as slow twitch muscles hinder a horse's speed and maneuverability.
The middle of the road "stock horse" build is well suited to western riding disciplines such as cutting, reining, rodeo and O-Mok-See sports such as barrel racing (Camas Prairie Stump Race) and pole bending (Nez Percé Stake Race) as well as short-length horse racing, generally at the quarter-mile distance. The "foundation" or "working" Appaloosa is still sometimes seen, especially on working ranches. This is a slightly smaller, leaner animal considered to be closer in type to the original Nez Perce bloodstock. There are also some Appaloosas that display more of a Thoroughbred or sport horse conformation. The Appaloosa Sport Horse is taller, with longer legs and a leaner build, bred to be used in English riding sports, in particular dressage and Hunter-style events.[16] A similarly spotted breed in Europe, with a sport horse build, is the Knabstrup.
The physical conformation of the original Appaloosa was typical of the range horses found in the western United States. Original or "old style" Appaloosas were highly regarded as hardy range horses and many early ranchers and horse breeders used roan or minimally marked Appaloosas in their programs, particularly in parts of Texas and Colorado. This had an impact on the development of the American Quarter Horse, especially with regard to the Peavy, Roberd and Casement herds.[17] However, a significant crossbreeding used to revitalize the Appaloosa was the Arabian horse, as evidenced by early registration lists which show crossbred Appaloosa/Arabians as making up ten of the first fifteen horses registered with the ApHC.[18] 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.[19] Ferras then sired Red Eagle, a prominent Appaloosa stallion, who was 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.[20] In 1983, the ApHC reduced the number of allowable outcrosses to three main breeds: the Arabian horse, the American Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred.[21]
The base color of the Appaloosa horse can include bay, black, chestnut, palomino, buckskin, dun and grulla. However, it is the unique spotting patterns that most people associate with the Appaloosa horse. These spotted markings are not the same as the "dapples" sometimes seen in grays and some other horse colors. Appaloosa markings overlay the base coat color, and have several pattern variations.[22]
Recognized spotting patterns of Appaloosas include the following:
The preface of the ApHC rule book states that the Appaloosa is "a breed defined by ApHC bloodline requirements and preferred characteristics, including coat pattern."[23] In other words, the Appaloosa is a distinct breed from limited bloodlines with distinct physical traits and a desired color, referred to by breeders as a "color preference." Thus, Appaloosas are not strictly a "color breed" as many people believe. All ApHC-registered Appaloosas must be the offspring of two registered Appaloosa parents or a registered Appaloosa and a horse from an approved breed registry. The ApHC lists Arabian horses, Quarter Horses, and Thoroughbreds as approved breeds. In all cases, one parent must always be a regular registered Appaloosa. The only exception to the bloodline requirements is in the case of Appaloosa colored geldings or spayed mares with unknown pedigrees; owners may apply for "hardship registration" for these non-breeding horses.[24]
In addition to the spotting patterns previously mentioned, certain other characteristics are used to determine if a horse receives "regular" registration, including:
Appaloosas which are born with visible coat pattern, or mottled skin and at least one other characteristic, are registered with "regular" papers and have full show and breeding privileges. A horse that meets ApHC bloodline requirements but is born without the recognized color pattern/characteristics can still be registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club because registry is based upon the pedigree of the horse reflecting a recognized Appaloosa bloodline. These solid colored, "non-characteristic" Appaloosas are registered with an "N" prefix on their registration papers, indicating the horse does not show the preferred Appaloosa color or characterstics. N-registered Appaloosas may not be shown at ApHC events unless the owner DNA parentage-verifies the N-registered horse and pays an extra fee to enter the horse into the ApHC's Performance Permit Program (PPP).[25] PPP horses can be shown in ApHC approved events; however, all solid non-characteristic Appaloosas do have breeding restrictions and can only be bred to a regular (#) papered Appaloosa. A (N) registered horse can be upgraded to regular registration at any time if the horse begins to show a color pattern and/or required Appaloosa characteristics.[26]
Genetic studies by Dr. Phillip Sponenberg and others suggest that Appaloosa color patterns occur when at least one parent carries the "Lp" gene.[27] While there is currently no DNA test for the gene, it is believed that it is located on a single autosomal dominant locus, and may possibly be a gene-complex rather than a single gene.[28] It should be noted that not every horse with the Lp gene will exhibit hair coat spotting. However, even some solid individuals will exhibit characteristics such as vertically striped hooves, white sclera of the eye, plus mottled skin around the eyes, lips, and genitalia.[29]
Sometimes, Appaloosas may also exhibit sabino or pinto type markings, but these are not desirable and are discouraged by the ApHC registration rules. The Appaloosa Project, a genetic study group, has also done extensive research on the interactions of Appaloosa and pinto genes and how they affect each other.[30] The genes that create these different patterns can all be present in the same horse. However, because pinto genes, particularly the overo pattern, may "cover-up" or obscure Appaloosa patterns, pinto breeding is discouraged by the ApHC, which will deny registration to some horses if they have excessive white markings.[31]
During the 1940s and 1950s, while both the ApHC and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) were in their formative years, minimally marked or roan Appaloosas were sometimes used in Quarter Horse breeding programs[32] At the same time, it was noted that two registered Quarter Horse parents would sometimes produce what was called a "crop-out" -- an appaloosa-colored foal. The ApHC accepted "crop-out" horses that exhibited proper Appaloosa traits. Famous Appaloosas who were "crop-outs" included Colida, Joker B, Bright Eyes Brother and Wapiti. These famous sires were all inducted into the ApHC Hall of Fame in 1988. Modern genetic studies now demonstrate that "crop-outs" cannot actually occur. Any horse that shows Appaloosa markings must carry the Lp gene, which must be present in at least one parent.[33]
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