The Appaloosa horse
Appaloosas usually show a leopard spotted coat, colorless sclera (the part of the eye around the cornea) and striped hooves.
The background of this unusual horse is not completely recognized. There is some proof that spotted horses were found in a number of geographical regions in 'the old world', and there are cave paintings which have been dated back to 18000BC illustrating spotted horses that might be the origins of the appaloosa we know today. It is quite likely that the spotted skin was by origin a type of camouflage, much as the zebra's stripes.
The contemporary Appaloosa descends from horses shipped over to The usa by colonists. These got into the hands of the Nez perce tribe, who masterfully turned them into the incredible horses that we recognize nowadays.
The horse was by origin known as the "Palouse horse", although gradually its name was changed into the present-day form, "Appaloosa".
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