The Appaloosa horse became legendary after Chief Joseph’s effort to evade confinement and lead his band of Nez Perce to freedom in Canada.   He eluded and outran the US Army for over 1,400 miles of the roughest terrain in the United States.  The army continually brought in fresh mounts of the finest horses available to them, yet they were a poor match for the great Nez Perce Horse.  The Nez Perce and the Pacific Northwest environment had produced a horse that was unequaled in it’s ability to traverse rugged terrain and work under extreme hardship. 

 

Eventually, the Nez Perce were unable to outrun those who pursued them, and exhausted and starving, Chief Joseph chose to surrender just short of the Canadian border.  The army, both afraid and impressed by the Nez Perce horse, attempted to destroy the animals by shooting them. Many died at their hands. Some escaped into Canada, and a few others were sold to local ranchers.  The Appaloosas that survived the massacre were destined to become the foundation for the Appaloosa breed in the Northwestern U.S. and Southern Canada.  The army destroyed as many stallions as possible and replaced them with draft-blood stallions. Some Nez Perce Indians both on and off the reservation were able to hide their stallions and breeding stock and continued to produce the pure Nez Perce horse, but on a small scale. The original Nez Perce horse that had once proudly displayed it’s refined heritage, had but a precious few  horses left.  The typical reservation Appaloosa became a coarse, clumsy, drafty animal. 

 

An Oregon rancher, Claude Thompson, learned of the plight of the Nez Perce horses in the early 1930s. He was appalled by the efforts to eradicate the Nez Perce breed, which had come to be called the Appaloosa. He and other concerned ranchers founded the Appaloosa Horse Club whose goal was to protect, preserve, and promote the Appaloosa breed. Since there were so few Appaloosa without strong draft influence, Thompson advocated a limited cross breeding between the draft type Appaloosa mares and refined Arabian or Thoroughbred stallions to build up the breeding stock. The crossbreeds were then bred back to the best Nez Perce type Appaloosa. This produced the first Foundation Appaloosa. Over the next years horses with exceptional characteristics were given an "F", the foundation designation, next to their registration number.

 

While Thompson advocated a limited out crossing to "refined" breeds to increase the breeding stock, The Appaloosa Horse Club has continued to permit virtually unlimited out crossing to other breeds, mostly the Quarter Horse. This has led to a general scarcity of "F" horses in the pedigree of the modern Appaloosa (which could be over 95% Quarter Horse). However there is an increasing number of people who value the distinct and exceptional qualities of the early Appaloosa. These individuals selectively breed horses with a high percentage of "F" horses in their pedigree. While the original Nez Perce horse may never be recreated, convergent breeding of it’s descendants can produce a good approximation. We think we would be remiss to discount the excellence of the Nez Perce breeding program. It was, after all, Nez Perce horses that Claude Thompson, George Hatley and other conscientious horsemen worked so hard to recover.  

 

To read an excellent piece on the Nez Perce and their flight for freedom visit The Appaloosa and the Nez Perce.

Appaloosas with Classic Foundation Bloodlines

Renaissance Foundation Appaloosa Farm

Appaloosa History