The coat patterns now collectively recognized as "appaloosa" 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 on the American continent.
The North American History of the appaloosa began with spotted horses being brought to the New World from Europe and possibly Russia through settlement and trade. Up until their association with the Nez Perce (Neemeepoo) Native American Indians 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, the first and largest registry for Appaloosas, was founded in 1938 in the USA by a farmer and horse breeder by the name of Claude Thompson. This marked the beginning of the formal development of the Appaloosa as a breed, by gathering breeders, recording horses, and establishing and tracking pedigrees.
Thompson 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 and other quality light-breed types where necessary and possible, to refine and return the Appaloosa to its former glory.
Over the next decades, the Appaloosa breed continued to evolve and grow. The "Tentative" registration system was set up in the 1950's so that Appaloosas with an other-breed or unknown parentage could earn "regular" ApHC papers by producing a certain number of registered Appaloosa offspring. Breeds on the approved list for Appaloosa parentage included Arabians, Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, and Morgans. Horses with unknown or unregistered parentage but typical recognizable Appaloosa color could be hardshipped in the Tentative category.
The Appaloosa was advertised and bred forward as "The World's Best Rough Country Stock Horse". Its reputation as a tough, responsive, and willing partner spread around the world. In all-breed competition, Appaloosas were becoming recognized for their talents in areas such as cutting, racing, jumping, endurance riding, and as youth and family mounts. The ApHC was one of their first breed registries to develop an extensive show and competition model for youth, and many people today remember the Appaloosa as the horse of their childhood.
Through the 70's and early 80's, as it became obvious that the variety of coat patterns produced in Appaloosa breeding programs persistently included a significant % of solid, non-characteristic horses (those born without Appaloosa spots). Categories were created allowing registration and showing of these solids from approved Appaloosa parentage. Also at this time the allowed breeds for Appaloosa parentage were restricted to registered Appaloosas, Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and Quarter Horses.
The History of the Appaloosa horse shows us a melting pot of preferences and talents, and the current Appaloosa breed reflects that variety-- the choice in Appaloosa types and colors seen today is scintillating. Today is an exciting time for renewed interest in the Appaloosa, this enduring and multi-faceted Original American Stock Horse.
