Appaloosa

About the breed

The Appaloosa (Equus ferus caballus) is an American riding horse breed best recognised by its spotted coat patterns, mottled skin, white sclera and striped hooves. Horses usually stand 14.2–16 hands, or about 147–163 cm at the withers, and weigh around 450–500 kg. The breed took shape among the Nez Perce people of the north-western United States; today its studbook is kept by the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC), which describes it as an all-round horse for Western riding, trail, racing and family leisure.

Origins: the horses of the Nez Perce and the Palouse country

The Appaloosa comes from the Palouse region of the north-western United States, where the Nez Perce bred horses selectively in the 18th century. In the ApHC's account, the Nez Perce came to know the Appaloosa in the early 1700s and valued it for its intelligence, stamina and coat patterns, gelding or trading away horses they judged inferior. Oklahoma State University adds that most peoples of the Northwest were mounted by about 1710, and that historians regard the Nez Perce as the first tribe to breed selectively for traits such as intelligence and speed.

On 15 February 1806 the explorer Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal that the horses of the nations living on the plains of the Columbia, the Nez Perce (whom he called Chopunnish) among them, were "lofty eligantly [sic] formed active and durable". Some were pied with large white spots irregularly mixed with black, brown or another dark colour, though by his account much the larger portion were of a uniform colour. How many of the Nez Perce horses were spotted is unknown; the ApHC puts one possible estimate at around ten per cent. Settlers called them "a Palouse horse" after the Palouse River, and the name drifted through "Palousey" and "Appalousey" to Appaloosa.

How spotted horses reached North America is not settled. The ApHC handbook calls arrival with Spanish conquistadors via Mexico in the 1600s a widely accepted theory, while Britannica says the breed is said to descend from mustangs that were themselves descended from Spanish horses. According to the ApHC, spotted horses already appear in Ice Age cave art in south-western France and in Chinese art from around 500 BC.

The 1877 war, the ApHC and the breed today

For the non-treaty bands of the Nez Perce, who call themselves nimíipuu, the war of 1877 was a turning point. The ApHC handbook describes how, led by Chief Joseph and other chiefs, they retreated towards Canada over 1,350 miles (about 2,170 km) and surrendered less than 40 miles from the border. According to the National Park Service (NPS), those who surrendered had expected to go home, but 432 people were sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, that winter and exiled to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) the following summer, while others escaped to Canada. Only in 1885 were they allowed to return to the Pacific Northwest. The ApHC states that their horses were confiscated and either destroyed or sold, and the survivors were absorbed into other breeds.

Interest revived after a 1937 article in Western Horseman, "The Appaloosa, or Palouse Horse". A year later, in 1938, the Appaloosa Horse Club was formed with five charter members, led by its first president Claude Thompson of Moro, Oregon. The club says more than 700,000 Appaloosas have been registered since then, and Idaho adopted the Appaloosa as its state horse in 1975. The ApHC also has international affiliates in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, Hungary and Switzerland.

The Nez Perce keep their own horse tradition alive today; according to the NPS, most nimíipuu live on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho, the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon or the Colville Reservation in Washington, and some remain in Canada. Indian Country Today reported in 2003 that in 1992 the tribe received a grant for a three-part programme: horsemanship for young people, a breeding programme and a culturally appropriate commercial trail-riding business. Within it the tribe began breeding the Nez Perce Horse, an Appaloosa and Akhal-Teke cross. Programme director Rudy Shebala explained the choice by the belief that the Akhal-Teke is one of the ingredients of the Spanish horse historically introduced to the Nez Perce. The same article noted that a check of ApHC records had found only two mares tracing back to the tribe's horses.

Appaloosa height, weight and conformation

The Appaloosa is a medium to large riding horse. Britannica and the Canadian club Appaloosa Horse Association of Alberta both give 14.2–16 hands; with a hand of 10.2 cm, as the ApHC handbook defines it, that is roughly 147–163 cm at the withers. Britannica gives a weight of 450–500 kg and the Alberta club about 1,000 pounds (roughly 450 kg); the studbook standard sets no weight, so these are guide figures.

The ApHC standard describes a symmetrical horse with a straight, lean head, a prominent eye and medium-sized pointed ears. The chest is deep, the shoulders sloping and well muscled, the withers prominent, the back short and straight, the loin short and wide, and the hips long, sloping and muscular. Hooves should be rounded, deep and wide at the heels. Britannica sums up the build as light but sturdy.

Coat patterns and the leopard complex (LP) gene

The Appaloosa's typical patterns are caused by the leopard complex gene, LP, which is inherited as an incomplete dominant. Under the ApHC standard the base colour can be almost anything, including dilutes, duns, greys and roans, and the pattern ranges from a solid horse with no spots to one spotted all over or one with a white "blanket" over the hips. The Alberta club lists eight basic categories, among them blanket, blanket with spots, leopard, roan and solid. The ApHC standard notes that no two Appaloosas are marked alike and that a horse's pattern can change dramatically over its lifetime.

The UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) explains that LP is an insertion of 1378 base pairs in the TRPM1 gene. Horses with one copy (N/LP) show dark spots within their white areas, while horses with two copies (LP/LP) have few or no spots. The amount of white is not set by the number of LP copies but by other genes, PATN1 among them. Horses carrying LP progressively lose pigment in the coat with age, which is why many Appaloosas grow lighter as they get older.

Mottled skin, white sclera and striped hooves

Besides the coat pattern, the ApHC recognises three further characteristics: mottled skin, white sclera and striped hooves. Mottled skin is an irregular pattern of pigmented and unpigmented spots around the muzzle, eyes, anus and genitals; the ApHC handbook calls it a very basic and decisive indication of an Appaloosa. White sclera must fully encircle the dark iris, though the registrar may discount it on a horse with a blaze or bald face. Striped hooves show bold vertical light and dark stripes on legs without white markings.

For Regular (#) registration the ApHC handbook requires an Appaloosa coat pattern, or mottled skin plus one other characteristic. One parent must be a Regular-registered Appaloosa; the other may be an Appaloosa, an American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) horse, a purebred Arabian recorded with the AHA or a WAHO member registry, or a Thoroughbred recorded with the Jockey Club. Horses without visible characteristics are registered as N and can advance to Regular if a genetic test shows they carry LP.

Temperament: what is an Appaloosa like?

The Appaloosa is known as a calm, patient and cooperative horse. The ApHC handbook highlights its trainability and work ethic, and Oklahoma State University its eager-to-please attitude and gentle disposition. The ApHC relates that close daily contact with the Nez Perce called for a quiet, sensible disposition: horses carried infants in cradleboards and stepped carefully around children playing in camp.

These are descriptions from a breed registry and a university breed profile, not a guarantee for every horse. Appaloosas come from varied bloodlines that may include Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds or Arabians, so they differ in responsiveness and energy. An individual's character also depends on age, schooling and experience. In horses with two copies of LP, night blindness is another factor, as they see poorly in low light.

What Appaloosas are used for

The Appaloosa is an all-round horse found in almost every discipline. The ApHC lists racing, working cattle, dressage, jumping, Western pleasure, endurance and service as a dependable family horse, and its handbook adds showing, ranch work, trail, parades and polo. The Alberta club also names eventing, reining, cutting, working cow horse and barrel racing.

The ApHC runs its own racing programme with track records, as well as endurance, distance and trail-riding programmes, including the Chief Joseph Trail Ride.

Is an Appaloosa suitable for beginners and children?

An Appaloosa can suit a beginner, but only with conditions. The ApHC and the Alberta club describe it as a mount for riders of all levels and trustworthy with children, yet that holds for a well-schooled, calm and healthy individual rather than for every horse of the breed. A young or highly responsive competition horse needs an experienced rider. For children, only a proven quiet horse ridden under the supervision of a qualified person makes sense.

It also helps to know whether a horse carries two copies of LP, since such horses see poorly in low light. UC Davis explains that the LP test helps breeders, owners and clinicians identify these horses and informs management decisions.

Care: hooves, teeth, vaccination and worming

Caring for an Appaloosa is moderately demanding and much like caring for any riding horse. The coat needs regular grooming, the skin and legs regular checks, and the hooves picking out every day. The UK welfare code for horses (DEFRA) says hooves should be trimmed or re-shod as the farrier advises, usually every 4–8 weeks, and that a vet or equine dental technician should inspect the teeth at least once a year.

The same code recommends drawing up a parasite control programme, including faecal worm egg counts, in consultation with a vet, and discussing vaccinations with the vet, as the right choice depends on the horse's age and use. With an Appaloosa it also pays to watch the eyes: UC Davis lists redness, tearing and squinting as possible early signs of eye problems.

Feeding, exercise and equine company

Forage is the basis of the diet: hay and grazing, with continuous access to fresh, clean water. The DEFRA code points out that horses in the wild spend 16–20 hours a day foraging, so outside work they should have almost constant access to hay, grass or haylage. Concentrates should not exceed what the horse needs for its work, and vitamins and minerals are added when grazing falls short. The code stresses that a very overweight horse is as much a welfare concern as an underweight one.

An Appaloosa needs daily movement and the company of other horses. DEFRA describes horses as herd animals that should be able to socialise with their own species, noting that isolation can harm them psychologically. Daily turnout to graze and socialise may also lower the risk of abnormal behaviours such as crib-biting and weaving. Alongside turnout, the horse needs regular work suited to its age and fitness.

Health: night blindness (CSNB) and recurrent uveitis

The two key health topics in the Appaloosa are congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) and equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). UC Davis explains that every horse with two copies of LP (LP/LP) has CSNB: it cannot see in low light, is born with the condition, and the condition does not appear to worsen with age. Horses with one copy are not night blind but can pass the gene on. A study by Sandmeyer and colleagues (2007) found CSNB in all the LP/LP horses examined and in none with one or no copies.

ERU, most often marked by repeated episodes of inflammation of the uveal tract (the middle layer of the eye), is the most common cause of blindness in horses. According to the UC Davis Center for Equine Health, it affects 2–25% of horses worldwide, about 56% of affected horses eventually go blind, and there is no cure. Appaloosas are eight times more likely to develop ERU than other breeds studied, mostly in the insidious form: persistent low-grade inflammation without obvious pain. LP/LP horses are at highest risk, although not all of them are affected. UC Davis advises that LP/LP horses have their eyes examined frequently by a veterinary ophthalmologist.

The ApHC also offers a six-disease health panel (PSSM1, HYPP, HERDA, GBED, MH and MYHM), covering the same six diseases as the AQHA's panel for Quarter Horses. Under the ApHC handbook, foals of AQHA-registered sires and dams born on or after 1 January 2007 with HYPP status N/H or H/H must be HYPP tested. No lifespan figure specific to the Appaloosa exists; the Merck Veterinary Manual gives 25–30 years for horses in general.

Difference between the Appaloosa and the Paint Horse

The Appaloosa and the American Paint Horse are both coloured, but their patterns and backgrounds differ. In the Appaloosa the pattern comes from the LP gene, which also brings mottled skin, white sclera, striped hooves and gradual lightening of the coat. The Paint, as the Slovenian association SIQHA describes it, is a Quarter Horse type with a coloured pattern, registered by the American Paint Horse Association. LP is not unique to the Appaloosa: UC Davis also lists it in the Knabstrupper, the Noriker and the Pony of the Americas.

Who the Appaloosa suits

The Appaloosa suits riders looking for a versatile, hardy and usually calm horse for Western riding, trail or leisure. It suits less well anyone drawn only by the coat pattern who does not check the horse's eye health and schooling. It needs a stable with daily turnout and equine company, forage-based feeding, regular work, a farrier, an equine dentist and a vet. Keeping records of vaccinations, farrier visits and eye examinations is useful.

Pros & cons