Editing Appaloosa (section)

=== Color rule controversy ===

[[File:Appaloosasnowcapmareandfoal.jpg|thumb|Mare and foal. The ApHC encourages early foal registration, even though coat patterns may change later.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.appaloosa.com/pdfs/FeeSchedule.pdf |title=2011 ApHC Fee Schedule |publisher=Appaloosa Horse Club|page=1|access-date = January 3, 2010}}</ref>|alt=a brown mare with a white rump running alongside her baby foal, who is black with a white rump]]

During the 1940s and 1950s, when both the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) and the [[American Quarter Horse Association]] (AQHA) were in their formative years, minimally marked or roan Appaloosas were sometimes used in Quarter Horse breeding programs.{{sfn|Holmes, ''Spotted Pride''|p=165}}  At the same time, it was noted that two solid-colored registered Quarter Horse parents would sometimes produce what Quarter Horse aficionados call a "[[cropout]]", a foal with white coloration similar to that of an Appaloosa or [[pinto horse|Pinto]]. For a considerable time, until DNA testing could verify parentage, the AQHA refused to register such horses. The ApHC did accept cropout horses that exhibited proper Appaloosa traits, while cropout pintos became the core of the [[American Paint Horse Association]]. Famous Appaloosas who were cropouts included Colida, Joker B, Bright Eyes Brother and Wapiti.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/cms/famoushorses.asp|title=Famous horses|publisher=The Appaloosa Museum|year=2007|access-date=December 31, 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090107024513/http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/cms/famoushorses.asp|archive-date=7 January 2009|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In the late 1970s, the color controversy went in the opposite direction within the Appaloosa registry. The ApHC's decision in 1982 to allow solid-colored or "non-characteristic" Appaloosas to be registered resulted in substantial debate within the Appaloosa breeding community.{{sfn|Stanger, ''Fifty Years of Appaloosa History''|p=163}} Until then, a foal of Appaloosa parents that had insufficient color was often denied registration, although non-characteristic Appaloosas were allowed into the registry. But breeder experience had shown that some solid Appaloosas could throw a spotted foal in a subsequent generation, at least when bred to a spotted Appaloosa. In addition, many horses with a solid coat exhibited secondary characteristics such as skin mottling, the white sclera, and striped hooves.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.appaloosa.com/registration/tips-for-registration.htm |title= Tips for Registering Your Appaloosa |publisher=Appaloosa Horse Club|access-date=January 31, 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080213121435/http://www.appaloosa.com/registration/tips-for-registration.htm| archive-date= 13 February 2008 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref> The controversy stirred by the ApHC's decision was intense. In 1983 a number of Appaloosa breeders opposed to the registration of solid-colored horses formed the American Appaloosa Association, a breakaway organization.<ref name="amapp" />