Appaloosa

What is an Appaloosa?

An American stock horse defined by the leopard complex (LP) coat patterns - blanket, leopard, snowflake, snowcap and others - plus three identifying characteristics: mottled skin around the muzzle and genitals, striped hooves, and a visible white sclera around the eye.

Not every Appaloosa is spotted. Solid-coloured horses from Appaloosa parents are registered and are genetically the same animal.

History and origins

Spotted horses appear in art from prehistory onward. The American breed comes from horses bred by the Nez Perce people of the Palouse region in Idaho and Washington, who were exceptional horse breeders and produced a fast, hardy, sure-footed animal.

The herd was largely destroyed after the Nez Perce War of 1877. The Appaloosa Horse Club was founded in 1938 to rebuild the breed, using Quarter Horse, Arabian and Thoroughbred blood.

Appearance and size

142-163cm, 430-570kg. Compact and muscular, in the American stock horse mould, with a strong hindquarter and good feet in most lines.

Mane and tail are often sparse - a breed characteristic rather than a fault. Coat patterns change through life, often becoming more extensive, which surprises people who bought a foal expecting it to stay the same.

Temperament and personality

Sensible, willing and even-tempered, from the stock horse background. They are used for trail riding, western disciplines, jumping and endurance, and they are generally straightforward to handle.

They have a reputation for independence and for being stubborn if handled unfairly, which is fairly typical of working stock breeds.

Intelligence and trainability

Bright and trainable, with a good work ethic. They learn quickly and hold their training, and they suit riders who want a horse that thinks.

Children and other pets

Suitable for competent children and confident adults. The temperament is generally sound and the size range means one can be found to suit.

Easy in a herd.

Health problems

Two conditions are tied directly to the gene that makes the spots, and both matter.

Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB). Horses homozygous for the leopard complex gene (LP/LP) are night blind from birth, without exception. They see normally in daylight and are functionally blind in low light, which affects turnout, stabling and hacking at dusk. There is a DNA test for LP zygosity and a buyer should know the result.

Equine recurrent uveitis (moon blindness). Appaloosas are roughly eight times more likely to develop it than other breeds, and more likely to go blind from it. It is a recurring painful inflammation of the eye. Signs are squinting, tearing, cloudiness and light sensitivity, and it needs prompt veterinary treatment every time.

Otherwise hardy: good feet in most lines, though some are thin-soled; laminitis risk as with any good doer; melanoma in the greys.

Twenty-five to thirty years.

Daily care routine

Daily checks, feet out daily, and look at the eyes every day. In this breed a squinting or weeping eye is a same-day veterinary matter, not a wait-and-see.

Farrier every six to eight weeks, teeth annually, vaccinations annually, worm counts through the season.

Grooming and coat care

Straightforward. The sparse mane and tail need little. Pink skin under white patches sunburns - particularly the muzzle - and needs sun cream or a fly mask with a nose flap in summer.

Exercise needs

Four to six days a week for a horse in work. Versatile and sound, with good stamina - they do endurance, western, jumping and long trail work equally well.

Feeding and diet

Forage first. Good doers, so measured hay and a balancer rather than hard feed unless in real work. Watch the weight.

Price

£3,000-£10,000 for a registered riding horse; more for a proven competition or breeding animal.

Keeping one costs £3,000-£8,000 a year. Insurance is worth checking carefully: some insurers exclude eye conditions for this breed, which given the uveitis rate is a meaningful exclusion.

Buying advice

Ask for the LP zygosity DNA result. A horse that is LP/LP is night blind, and while many live perfectly good lives, you need to know before you turn it out in a strange field at dusk.

Have the vetting include a proper ophthalmic examination, and ask directly whether the horse has ever had a cloudy or weeping eye.

Check the passport and microchip, and ask about registration - the British Appaloosa Society and the ApHC both maintain records.

Do not pay a premium for a loud pattern on a foal. The pattern will change, and the solid foal in the same field is the same breed.