What’s your opinion on an Appaloosa?

16 Answers

• A real Appaloosa (not the ones that have been cross-bred so much with paints, QHs and TBs they barely resemble the breed standard if at all) are tough, hardy, sure-footed and easy keepers. They may not be everyone’s ideal horse with their rat tails, sparse manes, big bodies, skinny legs and large feet but they are amazing trail horses and incredibly tough. Also known for staying sound later in life. Some consider them difficult to handle but that is because they have such an independent nature.

  This is the kind of Appaloosa I’m talking about:

  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00…

  Unfortunately this is what is seen passing for Appaloosas nowadays since their has been so much out-crossing:

  http://www.betterequine.net/Ranches/Foundation-All…

  So sad breeders have bred all the traits out of them that were so carefully put in by the Nez Perce. It’s becoming harder and harder to find real Appaloosas these days.

• Appaloosas are probably one of the most varied breeds out there. Since I was 12 I’ve been riding and showing appaloosas. I’ve competed in breed shows all around the northeastern united states, and throughout the years I have owned five of them. Honestly, there really isn’t any one way to describe an appaloosa because all five appaloosas I’ve owned have been completely different in appearance, build and temperament.

  Appaloosas can range in height from pony to upwards of 17 hands. Because of the interbreeding with thoroughbreds, quarter horses, arabians, and morgans, appaloosas can resemble any of those breeds, or any combination of such breeds in conformation. They can also resemble the foundation type which is the classic, rugged, unrefined, look of the original appaloosa. Because of their variety, appaloosas can move in a lot of different ways. Some are smooth and some are choppy. Some move long and low, and some have more action. They can be any colour except pinto. This means you’ll find colours as rare as amber champagne, as well as those more common. Some appaloosas have spots and some don’t. Some have a lot of spots and some only have a few. These spots can migrate, appear and disappear each time they shed. Sometimes there are dramatic transformations, and sometimes appaloosa patterns remain relatively the same for their whole lives. And contrary to what many people have said here, appaloosa don’t all have sparse manes and rat tails. Many appaloosas have thick, abundant manes and tails because of all the crossbreeding. Appaloosas can excel in most any discipline (depending on their breeding), including hunt seat, field hunting, eventing, dressage, western pleasure, western riding, reining, gaming, jumping, trail, and pleasure driving. There are even appaloosa races out there if that’s what you’re into. Of the five appaloosas my family has owned, we still currently own three, and each of those three is completely different. They can be marish or not, food driven or not, aggressive or laid back, flighty or brave.

  Through my experiences, I’ve learned that Appaloosas are so different on the individual level, and that there are so many types within the breed that if you want to look into owning an appaloosa, you should decide what’s right for you, and look for that type. You decide what type of riding you want to do, how many hands would fit you best, and what temperament compliments your personality and experience level, and chances are, you’ll find an appaloosa that fits.

  http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y52/kiltsrhott/my…

• Appaloosa Horse Temperament

• Appaloosa Temperament

• https://shorturl.im/I5bIo

  I wouldn’t look at her, myself. First, her breeding sounds suspect. Neither the Appaloosa registry nor the Paint registry allows characteristics of the other. If a breeder bred the two, they don’t know a lot – which to me means they didn’t select for other characteristics, either; they just bred two horses cuz they were ‘pretty’ and had nice markings. I would go with a straight quarter horse, a qh cross, or a paint if you want color. These are good all around horses – which is what you need to do both reining and jumping! I have not seen appaloosas I felt were capable of doing both disciplines. This breed had to make a lot of quality sacrifices to bring the color pattern back into being (which I applaud them for doing!) but I don’t personally feel the breed has yet recovered from those early sacrifices. The average appaloosa is just not a performance horse. It’s a color horse. My opinion; yours may vary. Paints, on the other hand, were not bred for. The AQHA in fact denied them registration for many many years, just because they were pintos. The accident of color occurred on top of breeding for quality, so the paint breed started with pretty much the quality of the quarter horse breed. A purist judge may subconsciously mark your horse down because of the cross breeding here. they shouldn’t, as both disciplines are performance based, but it happens. However, if this is what you want, by all means go look at her! There are exceptions to every generality; she could be perfect. My answer here is based on the sole fact that she’s an ap/paint cross, not any knowledge of the individual horse.

• App’s have such a bad rap… they are really great horses! Like any breed, they all have different personality’s and temperaments, but overall I think they are wonderful horses. I have been around lots of them and never seen a “Crazy Appaloosa” like people always say they are. Like any breed, it’s more the owner than the horse… As far as the color change… There coats change throughout there life, most of the ones I have been around tend like have a little more white every year when they shed out there winter coat. I have seen several that were almost solid chestnut, bay, sorrel, etc at birth (not including the spots of course lol) and looked like a totally different horse by age 10 because they grey out so much. Leopard apps stay pretty much the same color for there whole life though. As with the temperament, the color varies with the horse. One things guaranteed, if it’s an app it’s gonna be unique and colorful no matter what!

• My appaloosa is the best horse a girl could have. He has a lot of character, is really tall, is cute, and he is extremely smart. Appaloosa horses are most popular for fiding western and show jumping. They originated from the united states and are usually white and covered with spots. (depending on your type of appaloosa). They usually range from 14.2-16.0 hh(or 58-64 inches). The Appaloosa’s limbs are notably stron, and the hooves are good and hard. The Nez-Perce Indians never shod their horses. They are known to be extremely intelegent and cooperative despite the white eye suggesting otherwize. They are usually strong, compact horses, although the the breed is defined by color rather than bloodlines, they can vary tremendously both in size and shape. They are popular for Western, jumping and endurance riding as well as for general competition classes. With my experience with my appaloosa, they are all of the above. He is very well tempered and listens to everything I ask. I only once have had a problem with him. A few years ago, he went lame and his leg began developing a big lump on his leg. he limped when he walked and would not be able to trot or canter. 2 years later, after checking up on him, we found he was able to canter, jump and even swim! (he likes to swim. Don’t ask how) Anyway, my point is, is that the appaloosa is a great horse to have. If you had a choice, i would definitley go for one. Good Luck! I hope this helps

• In general, appaloosa horses are excellent in the western world as well as the English Arena. In general they are a sturdy breed, good hooves some can have rather sparse mane and tail hair, but that is slowly being bred out of them with the crossing of the QH blood to the Appaloosa breed. I find that their temperaments are great, learning ability quick, and make great baby sitters, and trail horses. Of course every horse of any breed has its own expertise and quirks as well as heath. As for changing color, yes most of them do change color some throughout their lives. I had a registered Black with white blanket. When he died at the age of 32 he had very little if any black areas on him, mostly white roan look to him and the dark hairs were more brown then black. His white blanket that he sported as a 2 year old was pretty well gone and had spread all over the body. If I remember correctly his coat started changing noticabley probably when he was around 10 and it was a slow process as the years went by.

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  What's your opinion on an Appaloosa?

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  When do their coats change?

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• Katie Bell, Appaloosa’s are nothing like quarter horses! nothing!but i have had personal experiences with Appaloosas. They can have a very hot temper but are very sweet! my Appaloosa changed color about 3 weeks ago. and she only turns a little darker, but other than that she looks so skinny when she sheds!

  Happy Trails!