Editing Appaloosa (section)

== History ==

[[File:Adam Frans van der Meulen - Louis XIV at the taking of Besançon (1674).jpg|thumb|left|A 1674 painting of [[King]] [[Louis XIV]] of [[Kingdom of France|France]] on a spotted [[Baroque horse|Baroque]] horse.|alt=Painting of a man holding a sword while riding a rearing horse]]

Recent research has suggested that Eurasian prehistoric cave paintings depicting leopard-spotted horses may have accurately reflected a [[phenotype]] of ancient wild horse.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume= 108| issue=46|pages=18626–18630|date=November 15, 2011 |title=Genotypes of prehistoric horses match phenotypes painted in Paleolithic works of cave art|author=Pruvost, Bellone|publisher=National Academy of Sciences USA|doi=10.1073/pnas.1108982108|display-authors=etal|pmid=22065780|pmc=3219153|doi-access= free}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335913/title/Prehistoric_horses_came_in_leopard_print |title=Prehistoric Horses Came In Leopard Print |magazine=Science News |access-date=2012-05-07 |archive-date=2012-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004041215/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/335913/title/Prehistoric_horses_came_in_leopard_print |url-status=dead }}</ref>   Domesticated horses with leopard complex spotting patterns have been depicted in art dating as far back as Ancient Greece, [[Persian Empire|Ancient Persia]], and the Han Dynasty in China; later depictions appeared in 11th-century France and 12th-century England.<ref name="Museum">{{cite web| url= http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/cms/default.asp?contentID=521| title= History of the Appaloosa| access-date= January 31, 2008| publisher= The Appaloosa Museum| archive-url= https://archive.today/20080118212732/http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/cms/default.asp?contentID=521| archive-date= 18 January 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name=Ancient>{{cite journal|last= Peckinpah|first=Robert L. |date=January 1953 |title=Appaloosa Ancient History |journal=Horse Lover's Magazine|pages=26–29}}</ref> French paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries show horses with spotted coats being used as riding horses, and other records indicate they were also used as coach horses at the court of [[Louis XIV of France]].{{sfn|Richardson, ''Appaloosa''|pp=12–16}} In mid-18th-century Europe, there was a great demand for horses with the leopard complex spotting pattern among the nobility and royalty. These horses were used in the schools of horsemanship, for parade use, and other forms of display.<ref name=HotSpots>{{cite journal|last=Bennett |first=Deb |date=March 1997 |title=Hot Spots |journal=[[Equus (magazine)|Equus]] |volume=233|page=57}}</ref> Modern horse breeds in Europe today that have leopard complex spotting include the [[Knabstrupper]] and the Pinzgau, or [[Noriker horse]].<ref name="Museum" />

The Spanish probably obtained spotted horses through trade with southern Austria and Hungary, where the color pattern was known to exist.{{sfn|Crowell, ''Cavalcade''|p=299}} The [[Conquistador]]s and Spanish settlers then brought some vividly marked horses to the [[Americas]] when [[Evolution of the horse#Return to the Americas|they first arrived]] in the early 16th century.{{sfn|Crowell, ''Cavalcade''|p=299}}{{sfn|Richardson, ''Appaloosa''|pp=17–18}} One horse with snowflake patterning was listed with the 16 horses brought to Mexico by [[Hernán Cortés|Cortez]],{{sfn|Bennett, ''Conquerors''|p=196}} and additional spotted horses were mentioned by Spanish writers by 1604.{{sfn|Bennett, ''Conquerors''|p=207}} Others arrived in the western hemisphere when spotted horses went out of style in late 18th-century Europe,{{sfn|Bennett, ''Conquerors''|p=391}} and were shipped to Mexico,<ref name=Meredith/> California and Oregon.{{sfn|Bennett, ''Conquerors''|p=391}}

=== Nez Perce people ===

[[File:Nezperceindians1895ish.jpg|thumb|Two Nez Perce men with an Appaloosa, about 1895|alt=In the foreground, two Native American men wearing cowboy attire sit crosslegged on the ground. In the background, a dark colored horse with a white and black spotted rump stands saddled and bridled.]]

The [[Nez Perce people]] lived in what today is eastern [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]], and [[North Central Idaho|north central Idaho]],{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|p=7}} where they engaged in agriculture as well as [[horse breeding]].{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|p=134}} The Nez Perce first obtained horses from the [[Shoshone]] around 1730.<ref name=Meredith>{{cite journal | title=Appalucy; Appaloosa; Appaloosie|last=Meredith |first=Mamie J. |journal=American Speech |volume=25 | issue = 4| date =December 1950| publisher= Duke University Press| page=310| jstor=453271}}</ref> They took advantage of the fact that they lived in excellent horse-breeding country, relatively safe from the raids of other tribes, and developed strict breeding selection practices for their animals, establishing breeding herds by 1750. They were one of the few tribes that actively used the practice of [[gelding]] inferior male horses and trading away poorer stock to remove unsuitable animals from the gene pool,<ref name="Museum" /><ref name=Spencer/> and thus were notable as horse breeders by the early 19th century.<ref name="Appaloosa History">{{cite web|url= http://www.appaloosa.com/association/history.htm |title= Appaloosa History |publisher= Appaloosa Horse Club|access-date=January 31, 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080219224347/http://www.appaloosa.com/association/history.htm| archive-date= 19 February 2008 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref>

Early Nez Perce horses were considered to be of high quality. [[Meriwether Lewis]] of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] wrote in his February 15, 1806, journal entry:  "Their horses appear to be of an excellent race; they are lofty, eligantly {{sic}} formed, active and durable: in short many of them look like fine English coarsers {{sic}} and would make a figure in any country."{{sfn|Moulton, ''Lewis and Clark Journals''|p=333}} Lewis did note spotting patterns, saying, "... some of these horses are pided [pied] with large spots of white irregularly scattered and intermixed with the black brown bey {{sic}} or some other dark colour".{{sfn|Moulton, ''Lewis and Clark Journals''|p=333}} By "pied", Lewis may have been referring to leopard-spotted patterns seen in the modern Appaloosa,{{sfn|Moulton, ''Lewis and Clark Journals''|p=333}}{{sfn|Bennett, ''Conquerors''|p=390}} though Lewis also noted that "much the larger portion are of a uniform colour".{{sfn|Moulton, ''Lewis and Clark Journals''|p=333}} The [[Appaloosa Horse Club]] estimates that only about ten percent of the horses owned by the Nez Perce at the time were spotted.<ref name="Appaloosa History" />  While the Nez Perce originally had many solid-colored horses and only began to emphasize color in their breeding some time after the visit of Lewis and Clark, by the late 19th century they had many spotted horses.{{sfn|Bennett, ''Conquerors''|pp=390, 392}} As white settlers moved into traditional Nez Perce lands, a successful trade in horses enriched the Nez Perce, who in 1861 bred horses described as "elegant chargers, fit to mount a prince."{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|p=14}} At a time when ordinary horses could be purchased for $15, non-Indians who had purchased Appaloosa horses from the Nez Perce turned down offers of as much as $600.{{sfn|Ciarloni, "Shaping Stock Horses"|p=82}}

=== Nez Perce War ===

{{see also|Nez Perce War}}

Peace with the United States dated back to an alliance arranged by Lewis and Clark,{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|pp=5–6}} but the encroachment of gold miners in the 1860s and settlers in the 1870s put pressure on the Nez Perce.{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|pp=135–136}} Although a treaty of 1855 originally allowed them to keep most of their traditional land, another in 1863 reduced the land allotted to them by 90&nbsp;percent.{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|p=9}} The Nez Perce who refused to give up their land under the 1863 treaty included a band living in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon, led by Heinmot Tooyalakekt, widely known as [[Chief Joseph]].{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|p=4}} Tensions rose, and in May 1877, General [[Oliver Otis Howard]] called a council and ordered the non-treaty bands to move to the reservation.{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|pp=135–136}}{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|pp=14–15}} Chief Joseph considered military resistance futile,<ref name=PBS>{{cite web | url = https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/chiefjoseph.htm |title=Chief Joseph| work= New Perspectives on the West|publisher = The West Film Project/WETA/PBS/ | year = 2001 | access-date =December 12, 2010 }}</ref> and by June 14, 1877, had gathered about 600 people at a site near present-day [[Grangeville, Idaho]].{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|pp=5–6}} But on that day a small group of warriors<!--from White Bird's band--> staged an attack on nearby white settlers,{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|pp=135–136}} which led to the Nez Perce War.{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|pp=5–6}} After several small battles in Idaho,{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|pp=5–6}} more than 800&nbsp;Nez Perce, mostly non-warriors, took 2000 head of various livestock including horses and fled into [[Montana]], then traveled southeast, dipping into [[Yellowstone National Park]].{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|pp=135–136}}{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|p=4}}  A small number of Nez Perce fighters, probably fewer than 200,<ref name=PBS/> successfully held off larger forces of the U.S. Army in several skirmishes, including the two-day [[Battle of the Big Hole]] in southwestern Montana.{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|pp=135–136}} They then moved northeast and attempted to seek refuge with the [[Crow Nation]]; rebuffed, they headed for safety in Canada.{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|pp=135–136}}

Throughout this journey of about {{convert|1400|mi|km}}<ref name=PBS/> the Nez Perce relied heavily on their fast, agile and hardy Appaloosa horses.{{sfn|Haines, ''Appaloosa''|pp=92–95}} The journey came to an end when they stopped to rest near the [[Bears Paw Mountains]] in Montana, {{convert|40|mi|km}} from the [[Canada–United States border|Canada–US border]]. Unbeknownst to the Nez Perce, Colonel [[Nelson A. Miles]] had led an infantry-cavalry column from [[Fort Keogh]] in pursuit. On October 5, 1877, after a five-day fight, Joseph surrendered. The battle—and the war—was over.{{sfn|Haines, ''Appaloosa''|pp=92–95}}{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|p=138}} With most of the war chiefs dead, and the noncombatants cold and starving, Joseph declared that he would "fight no more forever".{{sfn|Malone Roeder & Lang, ''Montana''|p=138}}{{sfn|Richardson, ''Appaloosa''|p=23}}

=== Aftermath of the Nez Perce War ===

When the U.S. 7th Cavalry accepted the surrender of Chief Joseph and the remaining Nez Perce, they immediately took more than 1,000 of the tribe's horses, sold what they could and shot many of the rest. But a significant population of horses had been left behind in the Wallowa valley when the Nez Perce began their retreat, and additional animals escaped or were abandoned along the way.<ref name="Museum" /> The Nez Perce were ultimately settled on [[Nez Perce tribe#Nez Perce Indian Reservation|reservation lands]] in north central Idaho,{{efn|Chief Joseph and his band were settled in central Washington on the [[Colville Indian Reservation]].{{sfn|West, "Nez Perce and Their Trials"|p=4}}}} were allowed few horses, and were required by the Army to [[crossbreed]] to [[draft horse]]s in an attempt to create farm horses.{{sfn|Richardson, ''Appaloosa''|p=24–25}} The Nez Perce tribe never regained its former position as breeders of Appaloosas. In the late 20th century, they began a program to develop a new horse breed, the [[Nez Perce horse]], with the intent to resurrect their horse culture, tradition of selective breeding, and horsemanship.<ref name=Murphy/>

Although a remnant population of Appaloosa horses remained after 1877, they were virtually forgotten as a distinct breed for almost 60&nbsp;years.<ref name="Museum" />  A few quality horses continued to be bred, mostly those captured or purchased by settlers and used as working [[ranch]] horses. Others were used in circuses and related forms of entertainment, such as [[Buffalo Bill's Wild West|Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show]]{{sfn|Haines, ''Appaloosa''|pp=96–98}} and [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]]. The horses were originally called  "Palouse horses" by settlers, a reference to the [[Palouse River]] that ran through the heart of what was once Nez Perce country.{{sfn|Crowell, ''Cavalcade''|pp=296–297}} Gradually, the name evolved into "Apalouse", and then "Appaloosa".<ref name=Spencer>{{cite journal|last= Spencer III|first=Dick |date=December 1958 |title=Appaloosas |journal= Western Livestock Journal|pages=50, 53–55}}</ref>{{sfn|Crowell, ''Cavalcade''|pp=296–297}} Other early variations of the name included "Appalucy", "Apalousey" and "Appaloosie". In one 1948 book, the breed was called the "Opelousa horse", described as a "hardy tough breed of Indian and Spanish horse" used by backwoodsmen of the late 18th century to transport goods to New Orleans for sale. By the 1950s, "Appaloosa" was regarded as the correct spelling.<ref name=Meredith/><ref>{{cite journal|title='Opelousas,' Another Spelling of 'Appalucy'|author=Meredith, Mamie J.|journal=American Speech|volume=27|issue=2|page=150|date=May 1952|jstor=454356}}</ref>

=== Revitalization ===
<!-- FAIR USE of File:AppyPlate.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AppyPlate.jpg for rationale -->
[[File:AppyPlate.jpg|thumb|alt=An Idaho car license plate with a running horse on the left side. The horse is brown with a brown and white spotted rump|The state of Idaho offers a license plate featuring the Appaloosa horse.]]

The Appaloosa came to the attention of the general public in January 1937 in ''[[Western Horseman]]'' magazine when Francis D. Haines, a history professor from [[Lewiston, Idaho]], published an article describing the breed's history and urging its preservation.{{sfn|Ciarloni, "Shaping Stock Horses"|p=82}} Haines had performed extensive research, traveling with a friend and Appaloosa aficionado named George Hatley, visiting numerous Nez Perce villages, collecting history, and taking photographs.{{sfn|Ciarloni, "Shaping Stock Horses"|p=83}} The article generated strong interest in the horse breed, and led to the founding of the [[Appaloosa Horse Club]] (ApHC) by Claude Thompson and a small group of other dedicated breeders in 1938.<ref name="ApHC History">{{cite web| url= http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/cms/default.asp?contentID=524| title= History of the ApHC| access-date= January 31, 2008| publisher= The Appaloosa Museum| archive-url= https://archive.today/20080206014113/http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/cms/default.asp?contentID=524| archive-date= 6 February 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Haines, ''Appaloosa''|p=98}} The registry was originally housed in [[Moro, Oregon]];{{sfn|Haines, ''Appaloosa''|p=98}} but in 1947 the organization moved to [[Moscow, Idaho]], under the leadership of George Hatley.{{sfn|Ciarloni, "Shaping Stock Horses"|p=83}}<ref name="ApHC History" />  The Appaloosa Museum foundation was formed in 1975 to preserve the history of the Appaloosa horse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.appaloosamuseum.org |title=Appaloosa Museum |access-date=January 31, 2008 |publisher=The Appaloosa Museum |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080228173719/http://www.appaloosamuseum.org/ |archive-date=February 28, 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref> The ''Western Horseman'' magazine, and particularly its longtime publisher, Dick Spencer, continued to support and promote the breed through many subsequent articles.{{sfn|Ciarloni, "Shaping Stock Horses"|pp=83–84}}

A significant [[crossbreed]]ing influence used to revitalize the Appaloosa was the Arabian horse, as evidenced by early registration lists that show Arabian-Appaloosa crossbreeds as ten of the first fifteen horses registered with the ApHC.{{sfn|Appaloosa Horse Club, ''Appaloosa Horse Club Stud Book, Vol. 1''}} For example, one of Claude Thompson's major herd sires was Ferras, an Arabian stallion bred by [[Will Keith Kellogg|W.K. Kellogg]] from horses imported from the [[Crabbet Arabian Stud]] of England.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite journal|last=Thorson |first=Juli S. |date=June 1997 |title=Claude Thompson: Appaloosa Forefather |journal=Appaloosa Journal|pages=40–45}}</ref> Ferras sired Red Eagle, a prominent Appaloosa stallion<ref name=Thompson/> added to the Appaloosa Hall of Fame in 1988. Later, Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse lines were added, as well as crosses from other breeds, including [[Morgan horse|Morgans]] and [[Standardbred horse|Standardbreds]].{{sfn|Appaloosa Horse Club, ''Appaloosa Horse Club Stud Book, Vol. 2 & 3''}} In 1983 the ApHC reduced the number of allowable outcrosses to three main breeds: the Arabian, the American Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred.<ref name=Rule204>{{cite web |url=http://www.appaloosa.com/registration/handbook.htm |title=2012 Appaloosa Horse Club Handbook |access-date=April 2, 2012 |format=PDF |work=Rule 204 A 1, 2, 3 |publisher=Appaloosa Horse Club |archive-date=April 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422185434/http://appaloosa.com/registration/handbook.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 1978 the ApHC was the third largest horse registry for light horse breeds.<ref name="ApHC History" />  From 1938 to 2007 more than 670,000&nbsp;Appaloosas were registered by the ApHC.<ref name=Facts>{{cite web |url= http://www.appaloosa.com/popupwindows/factsheet.htm |title= Appaloosa Horse Club Fact Sheet |access-date= February 1, 2007 |publisher= Appaloosa Horse Club |archive-date= October 23, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061023151456/http://www.appaloosa.com/popupwindows/factsheet.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=The Horse|url-access=registration |access-date=October 24, 2009 | url = http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12798|title=Overbreeding|author=Sellnow, Les|date=September 1, 2008}}</ref> The state of [[Idaho]] adopted the Appaloosa as its official state horse on March 25, 1975, when Idaho Governor [[Cecil D. Andrus|Cecil Andrus]] signed the enabling legislation.<ref name="Appaloosa History" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Idaho State Emblems |url=http://www.sos.idaho.gov/emblems/ |website=Idaho Secretary Of State |access-date=August 1, 2016 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720013014/http://www.sos.idaho.gov/emblems/ |archive-date=July 20, 2016 }}</ref>  Idaho also offers a custom license plate featuring an Appaloosa,<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.accessidaho.org/secure/itd/personalized/plates.html?ScriptForm.startstep=request&ScriptForm.startScriptForm.start.ScriptStepView.requestPLATE_TYPEvalue=11 |title= Personalized Plates for Your Vehicle & Souvenir Sample Plates |publisher=Idaho Transportation Department|access-date=January 31, 2008}}</ref> the first state to offer a plate featuring a state horse.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.appaloosa.com/popupwindows/licenseplate.htm |title= Everything you need to know about the Appaloosa License Plate |access-date= January 31, 2008 |publisher= Appaloosa Horse Club |archive-date= November 19, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071119102111/http://www.appaloosa.com/popupwindows/licenseplate.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref>