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Appaloosa
Appaloosas are known for their colorful spotted coats. They also have a compact body and strong legs.
A long time ago, the Nez Perce Indians were the first people to breed Appaloosas. Today, people use this breed for riding and cattle herding.
Height: 14-16 hh (horse hands)
Color: Spotted (coat patterns vary)
Body Type: Light
This breed comes from...
Washington/Idaho Border
Explore the traits of this breed!
SIDE VIEW
Why do all Appaloosas have spotted coats? This unique skin patterning is caused by a gene called the "leopard complex" gene.
Look at its noticeable withers. All Appaloosas share this trait. It helps them hold a saddle well. At the withers, this horse is 16 hands (5 ft 4 in, 163 cm) high.
This horse has a white spotted "blanket" over its hips. It "covers" the horses base color—chestnut varnish roan.
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FRONT and BACK VIEW
This horse has round and muscular hindquarters. Appaloosas are often crossbred with Quarter Horses, which share this trait.
Hoofs usually have vertical stripes on them. But this trait is not seen in horses with white leg markings.
Around the muzzle, Appaloosas have patches of unpigmented skin. They can easily get sunburned!
Like our human eyes, this horse's eyes have white sclera that surrounds dark irises.
See this dark spot surrounded by a lighter-colored ring? It's called a "peacock spot."
Its tail is wispy and sparse.
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about traits
The Appaloosa Story
In the early 1700s, the Nez Perce Indians in the American Northwest began breeding horses from Spain. This new breed was called Appaloosa, after the Palouse River.
By the early 1800s, Appaloosas were known for being fast, sure-footed, sturdy, and willing. The Nez Perce used their horses to hunt buffalo, for horseracing, in battle, and to trade and sell. Many Nez Perce Appaloosas had spotted coats.
In 1877, the U.S. Army forced the Nez Perce off their land. In the battle that followed, the majority of the Nez Perce's spotted horses were killed, lost, or stolen. The spotted Appaloosas that survived the conflict are believed to have provided some of the foundation stock for the breed today.
Appaloosa | Arabian | Belgian Draft | Connemara | Friesian | Haflinger | Hanoverian | Icelandic Horse | Lusitano | Miniature Horse | Morgan | Oldenburg | Paint | Percheron | Quarter Horse | Selle Français | Thoroughbred
Credits:
All images, © AMNH.