The Appaloosa horse
Appaloosas commonly show a leopard spotted coat, colorless sclera (the part of the eye close to the cornea) and vertically striped hooves.
The history of this attractive horse is not completely recognized. There is proof that spotted horses were being bred in quite a few nation-states in Europe, and there are cave paintings dating back to 18000BC clearly showing spotty horses that could well be be related to the horse we know today. It is quite likely that the mottled coat was originally a type of camouflage, similar to the stripes on a zebra.
The present-day Appaloosa is descended from horses shipped to The usa by conquistadors. These were acquired by the Nez perce indian tribe, who adeptly turned them into the first-rate horses that we love these days.
Appaloosas were first called the "Palouse horse", but bit by bit the name transformed into the modern-day version, "Appaloosa".
|
