Welcome to the Equestrian Outreach Appalosa Page

The Appaloosa is a horse breed known for its preferred leopard-spotted coat pattern and other distinctive physical characteristics. While there is evidence of leopard-spotted horses dating back to the Paleolithic era in Europe, the Nez Perce people of the American Pacific Northwest developed the American breed. They were once referred to by white settlers as the "Palouse horse", possibly after the Palouse River, which ran through the heart of Nez Perce country. Gradually, the name evolved into "Appaloosa". The Nez Perce people lost most of their horses following the end of the Nez Perce War in 1877 and the breed fell into decline for several decades. However, a small number of dedicated breeders kept the Appaloosa alive for several decades until a registry was formed in 1938. Today the Appaloosa is one of the most popular breeds in the United States, and it was named the official state horse of Idaho in 1975.
The Appaloosa is best known as a stock horse used in a number of western riding disciplines, but is also a versatile breed with representatives seen in many other types of equestrian activity, as well as in many movies. The color pattern of the Appaloosa is of great interest to those who study equine coat color genetics, as both the coat pattern and several other physical characteristics are linked to the "Lp" or "leopard" gene or gene complex, but the precise inheritance mechanism is not fully understood. The Appaloosa has influenced many other horse breeds, including several gaited horse breeds.
The earliest evidence of horses with a spotted coat pattern is from the cave paintings dating from the Upper Paleolithic era, circa 18,000 BC found at Lascaux and Peche-Merle in France. Domesticated horses with blanket spotting patterns have also been depicted in the art of Ancient Persia, in Ancient Greece, the "Celestial horses" of the T'ang Dynasty in China, and 11th century France. Paintings from France in the 16th and 17th century show horses with Appaloosa coat patterns being used as riding horses, and other records indicate they were also used as coach horses at the court of King Louis XIV of France. In mid-18th century Europe, there was a high demand for horses with the Appaloosa coat pattern among the nobility and royalty. These horses were used in the schools of horsemanship and for parade and display use.

It is unclear how spotted horses arrived in the Americas, although the Spanish Conquistadors may have brought some vividly marked horses with them when they first arrived in the early 1500s. One horse with snowflake patterning was listed with the 16 horses brought to Mexico by Cortez. Additional spotted horses were noted by Spanish writers in 1604. Additional numbers arrived when spotted horses went out of style in late-18th century Europe, resulting in large numbers shipped to the west coast of America and traded to Spanish settlers and the Indian people of the Pacific Northwest, a voyage survived only by the hardiest animals.