The Appaloosa
Appaloosas characteristically have a mottled coat, white sclera (the bit of the eye around the cornea) and striped hooves.
The breed history of this attractive horse is not totally recognized. There is evidence that spotted horses were living in a good many countries in Asia and europe, and archeologists have found cave pictures dating back to 18000BC clearly showing spotted horses that might be the origins of the appaloosa we know today. It seems likely that the spotted pattern was first a form of camouflage, serving a similar purpose to the stripes on a zebra.
The modern-day Appaloosa descends from horses brought to Mexico and the u.s. by early colonists. These were passed to the Indigenous people known as the 'nez perce', who expertly bred them into the fantastic horses that we admire at the present time.
This wonderful horse was initially called the "Palouse horse", although bit by bit the name transformed into the present-day adaptation, "Appaloosa".
The Mustang Horse
The mustang is a wellknown horse that is held by many people as a symbolic representation of the romantic and cowboy spirit of the American wild west.
Although Mustangs are usually called 'wild' horses, the more appropriate word is 'feral' horses as all so-called 'wild' horses in Mexico and the u.s. are bred from horses that were originally domestic horses carried to The usa by the settlers.
Almost all of these imported horses were of Spanish or Arabian breeding stock, although they also included all conceivable colours and many horse lovers types and breeds.
A few of these independent and brave horses got loose or were taken by indigenous peoples, and swiftly spread right through the whole of the u.s..
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