Appaloosa History

The coat patterns now collectively known as "appaloosa patterns" have existed for millenia. The appaloosa coat pattern has fascinated Man since the first hunters recorded its spotted image on their cave walls in what is now France. The peoples of Europe and Asia coveted spotted mounts, wars were fought over and with them, and appaloosa patterned horses were often presented as gifts to the highest rulers. Legends abound about the power, tragedy, and courage of spotted horses, from Persia's Rustam and his spotted mount Rakush, to the Blood Sweating Horses of China, to the story of the Ghostwind Stallions, told by a Native American man here on our own American continent.

The North American History of the appaloosa began with the Nez Perce (Neemeepoo) Native American Indians. Up until the association with the Nez perce and their geographic location, the spotted horse and its various color patterns went by various names. The term "appaloosa" is thought to have been developed by the slurring together of the words "A Palousey", referring to the spotted horses from the Palouse River region.

The Nez Perce were documented to have had several thousand head of fleet, well formed horses, with some being appaloosa spotted. According to the Journal of Lewis and Clark, these horses were comparable to the finest Colonial horses in Virginia. When the Nez Perce were driven from their homeland by the U.S Army, their fine horses were dispersed-- some were destroyed, some escaped to join wild horse herds, and some found new jobs with soldiers, farmers, army Indian scouts, and even circuses.

The Appaloosa Horse Club was founded in 1938 by a farmer and horse breeder by the name of Claude Thompson. This marked the official beginnings of the Appaloosa as an American breed with recorded pedigrees. He and others had been gathering what they could of the spotted horses that were fast disappearing. They began the arduous task of preserving, improving and re-creating the animal that it had taken the Nez Perce hundreds of years to refine, and the army had scattered to the corners of the country in just a few decades. They used appaloosa- colored stock where ever it could be found, and advocated crossing to purebred Arabians where necessary and possible, to refine and return the Appaloosa to its former glory.

The Appaloosa Horse Club issued its first written Breed Standard after 1948. Breeding rules continued to evolve. Crossing out to other breeds was not discouraged. The "Tentative" registration system was set up in the 1950's so that Appaloosas with an other-breed or unknown parent could earn "regular" ApHC papers by producing a certain number of registered Appaloosa offspring.

In the ensuing decades, the type of Appaloosa seen being rewarded in the show ring moved closer to the American stock horse type. Through the 70's and early 80's, categories were also established and refined for the previously unregisterable solid non-characteristic products of Appaloosa breeding to be registered for use as breeding animals.

In 1982 a rule (the Certified Pedigree Option, or CPO) was passed allowing these solid non-characteristic Appaloosas a way to be shown in ApHC shows. This was controversial- seen by some as a confusion of the Appaloosa's colorful breed identity, but seen by others as a necessity to allow all horses produced from Appaloosa breeding programs the chance to be proven in the Appaloosa breed show. At this time, several other ApHC rules and classifications were changed or discontinued, including limiting the approved outside breeds from a high of 8 down to 3, and eliminating the ID and PC programs which had served in part to give parentage rights to grade horses and other non-appaloosas.

Registration numbers began falling soon after all of these changes were made. Despite this, CPO was in place unchanged for 20 years, and registrations stabilized in the early 1990's and remained stable for over 10 years. Then in 2002 a rule was enacted limiting the CPO process to N Appaloosas produced from two ApHC parents, leaving N Appaloosas produced from App x approved cross parentage unshowable. It was hoped this change would increase color and app x app breeding, but increases in % of color from 2002 -2006 were minimal, and registration numbers dropped substantially from both ApHC x approved cross and ApHC x ApHC breedings.

In 2006, the ApHC Board passed the Performance Permit Program. This returned show eligibility to N horses of any approved breeding by requiring that a Permit to compete be purchased for that purpose. Funds generated from the Permit Program will be used to reward colored Appaloosas competing at the territorial and zone level.

Up to 30% of Appaloosas registered each year are non-characteristic. Many members feel it is unrealistic and damaging to deny the opportunity for one third of our breed to compete and be proven, and welcome the Permit Program as a workable compromise. That said, it is important to note that the % of Appaloosa color produced can be increased by selective breeding- Those looking to enhance their good Appaloosa programs with higher color % can look to experienced breeders to share their knowledge about color production-- as well as following the genetic research that continues to uncover clues about Appaloosa color production.

With incentives for colored horses, continued promotion and education, inclusive show rules, and ever-expanding programs for the recreational owner, this is an exciting time for renewed interest in the Appaloosa, and for growth and stability to once again visit this enduring and multi-faceted Original American Stock Horse.