Editing Appaloosa (section)

== Registration ==

{{main|Appaloosa Horse Club}}
[[File:Gedinne 050717 (1).JPG|thumb|left|A [[Pinto horse]] (left) has different markings than a Leopard Appaloosa (right)|alt=Two horses in a grassy field with trees and a road in the background. Both horses are colored brown and white, but the horse on the left has the colors in patches, while the horse on the right is spotted.]]
<!--Image tag says pinto horse is a paint, but paint is a breed and the horse in question does not have paint body type, so the generic term "pinto" is used here.-->
Located in [[Moscow, Idaho]], the ApHC is the principal body for the promotion and preservation of the Appaloosa breed and is an international organization.<ref name="ApHC History" /> Affiliate Appaloosa organizations exist in many South American and European countries, as well as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and Israel.<ref>{{cite web| title = Appaloosa Horse Club: International Affiliates | publisher = Appaloosa Horse Club| year = 2008 | url = http://www.appaloosa.com/clubs-affiliates/international/international.htm | access-date =February 12, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080215131557/http://www.appaloosa.com/clubs-affiliates/international/international.htm| archive-date= 15 February 2008 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref> The Appaloosa Horse Club has 33,000 members as of 2010,<ref name="ApHC History" /> circulation of the ''Appaloosa Journal'', which is included with most types of membership, was at 32,000 in 2008.<ref name=Circ>{{cite web|url=http://www.appaloosa.com/pdfs/sponsorlevels.PDF|title=Appaloosa Horse Club Sponsorship Levels|access-date=February 12, 2008|publisher=Appaloosa Horse Club|page=4|archive-date=April 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411122800/http://www.appaloosa.com/pdfs/sponsorlevels.PDF|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=membership>{{cite web | url = http://www.appaloosa.com/membership/membership.htm |title= ApHC Membership |access-date=February 12, 2008 |publisher=Appaloosa Horse Club| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080221012221/http://www.appaloosa.com/membership/membership.htm| archive-date= 21 February 2008 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref> The American Appaloosa Association was founded in 1983 by members opposed to the registration of plain-colored horses, as a result of the [[Appaloosa#Color rule controversy|color rule controversy]]. Based in Missouri, it has a membership of more than 2,000 as of 2008.<ref name="amapp">{{cite web| url=http://www.amappaloosa.com/mainpage.cfm|title=American Appaloosa Association|publisher= American Appaloosa Association |access-date=January 31, 2008}}</ref> Other "Appaloosa" registries have been founded for horses with leopard complex genetics that are not affiliated with the ApHC. These registries tend to have different foundation bloodstock and histories than the North American Appaloosa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.appaloosa.org.uk/breedhistory.htm|title=Breed History|publisher=The British Appaloosa Society|access-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308103640/http://www.appaloosa.org.uk/breedhistory.htm|archive-date=March 8, 2012|url-status = dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.appaloosa-stamboek.com/|title=Vereniging het Nederlandse Appaloosa Stamboek|publisher= Vereniging het Nederlandse Appaloosa Stamboek|access-date=May 11, 2011|language=nl}}</ref> The ApHC is by far the largest Appaloosa horse registry,<ref name="ApHC History" /><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.myhorse.com/mr-appaloosa.html |title=Mr. Appaloosa |author=Roberts, Honi |journal=Trail Rider |access-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801021051/http://www.myhorse.com/mr-appaloosa.html |archive-date=August 1, 2010 }}</ref> and it hosts one of the world's largest breed shows.{{sfn|Evans, ''Horses''|p=132}}

The Appaloosa is "a breed defined by ApHC bloodline requirements and preferred characteristics, including coat pattern".<ref name="ApHCrules" /> In other words, the Appaloosa is a distinct breed from limited bloodlines with distinct physical traits and a desired color, referred to as a "color preference". Appaloosas are not strictly a "[[color breed]]". All ApHC-registered Appaloosas must be the offspring of two registered Appaloosa parents or a registered Appaloosa and a horse from an approved breed registry, which includes Arabian horses, Quarter Horses, and Thoroughbreds. In all cases, one parent must always be a regular registered Appaloosa. The only exception to the bloodline requirements is in the case of Appaloosa-colored geldings or spayed mares with unknown pedigrees; owners may apply for "hardship registration" for these non-breeding horses. The ApHC does not accept horses with draft, pony, Pinto, or Paint breeding, and requires mature Appaloosas to stand, unshod, at least {{hands|14}}.<ref name=Rule205/>  If a horse has excessive white markings not associated with the Appaloosa pattern (such as those characteristic of a pinto) it cannot be registered unless it is verified through DNA testing that both parents have ApHC registration.<ref name="ApHCrules" />

Certain other characteristics are used to determine if a horse receives "regular" registration: striped hooves, white sclera visible when the eye is in a normal position, and mottled (spotted) skin around the eyes, lips, and genitalia. As the Appaloosa is one of the few horse breeds to exhibit skin mottling, this characteristic "...is a very basic and decisive indication of an Appaloosa."<ref name=Rule128>{{cite web|url= http://www.appaloosa.com/registration/handbook.htm|title= 2012 Appaloosa Horse Club Handbook|access-date= April 2, 2012|publisher= Appaloosa Horse Club|format= PDF|pages= Rule 128|archive-date= April 22, 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110422185434/http://appaloosa.com/registration/handbook.htm|url-status= dead}}</ref> Appaloosas born with visible coat pattern, or mottled skin and at least one other characteristic, are registered with "regular" papers and have full show and breeding privileges. A horse that meets bloodline requirements but is born without the recognized color pattern and characteristics can still be registered with the ApHC as a "non-characteristic" Appaloosa. These solid-colored, "non-characteristic" Appaloosas may not be shown at ApHC events unless the owner verifies the parentage through DNA testing and pays a supplementary fee to enter the horse into the ApHC's Performance Permit Program (PPP).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.appaloosa.com/registration/performance-permit.htm |title= Performance Permit Program |publisher= Appaloosa Horse Club |access-date= October 24, 2009 |archive-date= January 4, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100104193345/http://appaloosa.com/registration/performance-permit.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref>

=== 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" />