Editing Appaloosa (section)

=== 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>