By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

WILMINGTON, Ohio — In southwestern Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana, the thoroughbred and standardbred thrive in numbers more than any other breed of horse. In the show ring, the Tennessee Walker and Arabian are the most sought-after breeds.
But, slowly making headway in area show rings and even racetracks is the Appaloosa, a breed known more for its spotted hindquarter markings than anything else.

“It’s a breed that just doesn’t get the attention it deserves,” said Appalachian Appaloosa Assoc. President Greg Miller. “It’s been forgotten. There’s a strong misconception that they’re a certain kind of horse, but they can be any kind of horse you want them to be.”

Miller is sold on the Appaloosa. He owns 29 on his farm near Chillicothe, Ohio.

Today’s Appaloosas compete in the upper echelon of virtually every sport imaginable – from cutting to combined training, and reining to racing. In 1947 there were just 200 registered horses and 100 Appaloosa Horse Club members. Now, there are roughly 600,000 Appaloosas and 27,000 members nationwide who add more than 8,000 horses to the registry each year.

Miller, who formed this chapter in 2003 with the help of club members Kelly Engle-Thompson and Vickie Gaudreau, has 60 members from southwestern Ohio.

“A lot of people think they’re bullheaded and stubborn, but they’re really savvy and intelligent,” said Gaudreau, the club’s vice president, who owns five Appaloosas near Columbus. “The Appaloosa have personality, and a lot of people can’t deal with personality.”

“My first horse was a Quarter Horse, but I like the color of the Appaloosa,” Miller said.

There are four noticeable characteristics of the breed, most notably the leopard- or Dalmatian-like spots around the animal’s hindquarters. But any Appaloosa owner can attest their breed may also be solid in color or have white blankets, which look like a covering of fresh, fallen snow over their backs, loins or hips.
Other distinct marks include mottled skin, white sclera and striped hooves. Mottled is the irregularly pigmented skin that is most apparent around the horse’s muzzle, eyes and genitals. The white sclera surrounding the iris of the eye lends to many Appaloosas the appearance of a distinctly human-looking eye. And, they have vertical stripes on their hooves in the absence of white leg markings.

According to those in the Appaloosa Horse Club, the horse can be officially bred to Arabians, giving each horse a double registration. Appaloosas are also crossed with Quarter Horses and thoroughbreds.

“Appaloosas and Arabians are so much alike,” Miller said. “But most of my horses’ bloodlines are pure and go back to some of the original Appaloosas.”

The Appaloosa’s colorful ancestry can be traced to earliest recorded time, but it’s in the American melting pot that the spotted horse established itself as a true breed. The Nez Perce Indians of the Northwest deserve much of the credit for the Appaloosa horses in the country today. They were renowned horsemen.

The Nez Perce were the only Native Americans to selectively breed their horses, using only the best animals to build their herds. The influx of white settlers to the Northwest, however, changed all that
When the Nez Perce rebelled against the treaties being imposed upon them, war ensued and eventually, the Nez Perce were forced to relinquish their horses. Soon, the characteristics so prized by these natives were lost or diluted due to indiscriminate breeding.