Summary
An appaloosa is a breed best known for its spotted coat. Appaloosas have tremendous versatility and are very trainable docile animals. They are used in various equestrian disciplines from show jumping and dressage to western and general riding.
Characteristics
Appaloosas have four identifiable characteristics;
Mottled skin
Mottled skin is a unique trait of an appaloosa. It is a tell-tale physical characteristic of the breed. Mottled skin can be evident around the eye, muzzle, nostrils, lips and genitalia of the animal.
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Striped hooves
A lot of appaloosas have distinctly light and dark vertically striped hooves. Lighter coloured animals tend to have thinner stripes in their hooves.
White sclera (the white area of the eye that surrounds the iris)
White sclera, many appaloosas often have this characteristic, sometimes called a human eye, where the white area is visible around the iris.
Coat pattern
The appaloosa has many different coat patterns, they are highly variable and many do not fall into specific categories.
Leopard spot appaloosa
Leopard coat pattern has a white base colour with dark spots distributed evenly over the animal’s whole body.
White blanket appaloosa
A white area normally over the loin and hip area on a contrasting base colour.
Blanket spot appaloosa
A white area normally over the loin and hip area which has dark spots within the white on a contrasting base colour.
Snowflake appaloosa
A dark base colour, with white spots over the whole body. These appaloosas often “colour out” with age to become a roan.
Solid colour appaloosa
A small proportion of the appaloosa horses are born a solid colour don’t “colour out” or develop colour traits in maturity.
Marble or Roan appaloosa
A Roan appaloosa is usually a blue or red roan. These appaloosas usually have “varnish marks”- darker patches.
Frosted hip appaloosa
A dark base with spots normally over the loin and hip area.
Near Leopard appaloosa
A leopard coat pattern but with a darker colour head and legs. Often with age 
the dark colour fades, so the animal becomes a full leopard spot appaloosa.
History
The appaloosa is one of the oldest identifiable breeds in the world.
Prehistoric cave paintings dating back 20,000 years ago feature appaloosas.
The modern records of the appaloosa are linked to the American native Indian, especially the Nez Perce tribe.
The Nez Perce Indians selectively breed the appaloosa and created animals of outstanding excellence, and used them for buffalo runners and war horses.
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