Appaloosas have been in existence for thousands of years. In the past,Chinese emperors called them "celestial horses." They were prized by the European artistocracy and Native Americans of the United States. Especially the Nez Perce tribe. They were the one Native American tribe that bred the Appaloosas efficiently and selectively. The tribe was considered as experts on horses. They only bred the very best stallions and all the others were gelded.
The ones that weren't good enough to be bred were traded with other tribes. The horses were strong,long legged horses. They could be ridden on rough terrain. At first,the Nez Perce gave the breed the name "paulouse" after the Paulouse river where the horses grazed.
After awhile,the Nez Perce were forced out of the United States,but surrendered before they even reached Montana. 50 years afterwards, the Appaloosa became a rare breed,but in 1938 the Appaloosa Horse Club was founded to rescue the spotted horse.
Appaloosas can be from 14.2 hands to 15.2 hands. For those of you who don't know,a hand is about 4 inches. They can be many different colors and patterns. Two of the patterns are snowflake and leopard. Snowflake is a dark body with white dusted on top. Like it snowed on top of the horse. Leopard is a white coat with dark spots scattered all over. Much like Kaitlyn's other horse Morris. Appaloosas are born with regular coloring and no spots or markings. Then as they age their original color fades and they then are spotted.Appaloosas can be used for just about everything.
this is a leopard pattern.Hope you enjoyed today's Breed Bite.
~Ellie
Really cool post! Well done :D
ReplyDeleteThat was neat! The Breed Bite idea was a good one :)
ReplyDelete- A.D.
That is really fascinating!
ReplyDelete-Alassea
thanks guys! I'm going to do a new one here soon.
ReplyDelete