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 blooded 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 fine horse that the Nez Perce were credited with breeding, and the army had scattered to  the corners of the country. They used appaloosa- colored  stock where ever it could be found, and advocated crossing to purebred  Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Morgans and other fine riding horses where necessary and possible, to refine and re-create an Appaloosa worthy of its legendary glory. 

The  Appaloosa Horse Club issued its first written Breed Standard in the 1940s.  Breeding rules continued to evolve. Crossing out to other breeds was not discouraged. The "Tentative" registration system was set up in the 1950s so that  Appaloosas with an other-breed or unknown parent could earn "regular" ApHC papers by producing a certain number of registered Appaloosa offspring.


The Appaloosa was marketed early-on as "America's Best Rough Country Stock Horse".  Being a "stock horse" did not mean a completely Western type however-- Appaloosas excelled in both Egnlish and Western sport from the beginnings of the registry. In the ensuing decades, the type of Appaloosa seen being rewarded in the ApHC show ring moved closer to the American stock horse type represented and dominated by the Quarter Horse. The ApHC Breed Standard was re-written in the 1950s, and again in the 1980s, but still remained general enough to include athletic correct Appaloosas suitable for varying disciplines. Through the 70's and early 80's, categories were  also established 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. 

Based on the most current research on Appaloosa genetics,  Appaloosas of spotted blanket and spotted leopard patterns (which many people find most attractive) will carry  and be able to pass along the gene for being non-characteristic solid.  Up to 30% of Appaloosas registered each year are non-characteristic solids. 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 colors and  patterns.

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.


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