Do appaloosas get more spots as they age? Is there a general rule about temperaments for appaloosas?
Questions about Appaloosas
- Thread starter Marsha Cassada
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backwoodsnanny
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I can only speak for the one appaloosa that we have but she definitely has gotten more color as she aged. As a weanling the only appy visable striped bars on her hooves otherwise she looked like a solid black. The next year she had what would have passed for sabino roaning all over but I now know that it is called varnishing in an appy. In her second year she developed pink spots on her genitalia and a few on her nose. Last year her nose became fully mottled and she got a few spots on her rump. This year she is 4 and has the varnish almost all over and a nice blanket developing on her rump. She is so much fun to watch as she changes every year. I also dont know about temperment except for hers and she is a diva and believes she should be pampered. She is very smart and likes to be in control .
Lucky-C-Acres-Minis
Well-Known Member
As for more spots/coloring, it depends on the horse.. I've seen some color out and stay that way, while others keep coloring/changing year to year.. Those that carry varnish roan seem to be the ones that are constantly changing and sure do give you some while markings/coloration..
As for temperament, again, depends on the horse just like any other.. I've had some quiet/laid back appies and then I've had some hot-headed/spirited ones as well..
As for temperament, again, depends on the horse just like any other.. I've had some quiet/laid back appies and then I've had some hot-headed/spirited ones as well..
Thanks for the replies. I had a big horse as a child, and I don't remember him ever looking any different year to year. His was a blanket marking. Then someone told me they can start out with spots and lose them as they get older. Also was told that mares tend to lose their spots and stallions don't. So it made me curious.
Mine was rather hard headed, but overall a great kid horse. Just was curious if they seemed to display any consistant personality traits, or if they came in all types. So thanks for the replies!
Mine was rather hard headed, but overall a great kid horse. Just was curious if they seemed to display any consistant personality traits, or if they came in all types. So thanks for the replies!
Kim~Crayonboxminiatures
Well-Known Member
I love the intelligence that most Mini apps have, they are very quick to learn which can work for you or against you!
I like it because it doesn't take long to teach them something new, but on the other hand you can also inadvertantly teach them something annoying without realizing it!
Often you have to win over their trust and approval, they can be tough at first, they will test you. But once you are approved, they are your best friend for life and give you their heart and soul. They can be stubborn, but if you can make them see it's fun for both of you, they will give you their all.
I really love the unique personalities, wouldn't be without my little spotted beauties.
Often you have to win over their trust and approval, they can be tough at first, they will test you. But once you are approved, they are your best friend for life and give you their heart and soul. They can be stubborn, but if you can make them see it's fun for both of you, they will give you their all.
I really love the unique personalities, wouldn't be without my little spotted beauties.
My experience with appys come from my riding horses and I have had several that were blanket appaloosas and by the time they were ten they went white with spots. I had that was a roan and she stayed the same. I have a 13 yr. old roan app mare and she has been the same since I owned her 3 yrs ago.
As for personality..... I think they are very "independent" and when they get their mind set that they are not going to do something it takes a while to change it. I have had 2 riding apps that are also kind of crabby but they were also mares so you know hard telling they could have been solids and still could be crabby. not very helpful but just sharing my experience.
As for personality..... I think they are very "independent" and when they get their mind set that they are not going to do something it takes a while to change it. I have had 2 riding apps that are also kind of crabby but they were also mares so you know hard telling they could have been solids and still could be crabby. not very helpful but just sharing my experience.
Appys that start off bay or black etc with a white blanket with or without spots can lose their base color as the appy genes take over and turn them more white. But dark spots on an appy should not fade out unless they are being replaced with more spots, really more like moving around spots. If an appys dark spots are really fading out that means they have the graying gene
and are going to eventually turn white. Thats what we do NOT want in appys.
Just this year I had 2 fillies that I bred and own turn from solid to colored appys at 3 years old! And another mare I bought that was mostly appy characteristics suddenly produced bunches of white appy spots at 6 years old and Im sure will end up spotted all over eventually. Apps are just so much fun
Just this year I had 2 fillies that I bred and own turn from solid to colored appys at 3 years old! And another mare I bought that was mostly appy characteristics suddenly produced bunches of white appy spots at 6 years old and Im sure will end up spotted all over eventually. Apps are just so much fun
No answer to appy personalities....... The few we've owned have been very individual.
As for spotting out? I think it depends on the genetics. I've seen some get more and more spots as they age and max-ing out at age FIVE.
As for spotting out? I think it depends on the genetics. I've seen some get more and more spots as they age and max-ing out at age FIVE.
Why is the graying gene/turning white undesirable in an appy? Because of losing spots, or is there a health reason?
Lucky-C-Acres-Minis
Well-Known Member
When greying you lose the color/patterns in the appies..
Sun Runner Stables
Well-Known Member
Hi Marsha-
I had big appies for awhile, but don't have any in the minis currently.
As far as the grey gene, it is only a bad thing in so far as the color expression. Say you have a Really loudly marked foal born with wild color! Great for most breeders, this may mean a decent selling price along with conformation and bloodlines. However, if said loud foal turned grey, all that wonderful color would disappear!
This is not something that anyone who breeds for color wants at All.
I really enjoy grey ponies, and think that it's a really classic color, but then again, I showed hunter ponies, and that was a color that was in fashion.
I had big appies for awhile, but don't have any in the minis currently.
As far as the grey gene, it is only a bad thing in so far as the color expression. Say you have a Really loudly marked foal born with wild color! Great for most breeders, this may mean a decent selling price along with conformation and bloodlines. However, if said loud foal turned grey, all that wonderful color would disappear!
This is not something that anyone who breeds for color wants at All.
I really enjoy grey ponies, and think that it's a really classic color, but then again, I showed hunter ponies, and that was a color that was in fashion.
Having had nothing but pretty much Appies since 1973, we have had some that never changed from the color they were born with, and some that changed dramatically. Most of them, whether fillies or colts, developed more color with age, never losing any.
Roans are born solid, so will develope more with time. I have a mare now that was born solid, as was her dam, and my mare didnt really start to color til she was three or four. We had a full sized horse that didnt color out til she was five, and a friend's mare didnt until the age of 13!!!!
As far as disposition, I love the Appies, they are smart and tough. We worked our full sized horses hard, and they outdid anything else on the ranch and still had something left. They have a LOT of stamina and I find that the Minis have some of those same great characteristics.
Of course, after having the large variety, I had to have the same in the middle (POA) and wee sized horses too.
My older stallion has always been a perfect gentleman- I've always told folks if he was a man, I would have married him, LOL. I would trust this horse with my life- really. Personalities differ, just like they do with any horse, and just like any horse, some of it depends on how they have been treated and trained in their lifetime.
I do not and will not have any grays in my herd. My neighbor has a fabulous gray mare, that has produced two LOUD colored black and white pinto foals that had stunning markings- only to have both of them gray out and lose it all. I didnt realize that she was a pinto at birth too... you would never know.
If you want outstanding color that will remain outstanding, you dont want a gray horse for breeding then. I want my spots and intense color to stay that way! As do many folks who breed for any type of 'color', rather than to fade into total white in a hurry.
Keep in mind the gray gene is something completely different than the Appy roaning gene, a silver dapple, or things of that nature. The base color (black, bay, chestnut, etc...) will still stay bright, regardless of the roaning that is coming in. Some Appies roan out a LOT, but may have spots that stay, or will still have varnish marks, dark marks on their legs, etc.... they dont just turn completely white, including the spots.
Roans are born solid, so will develope more with time. I have a mare now that was born solid, as was her dam, and my mare didnt really start to color til she was three or four. We had a full sized horse that didnt color out til she was five, and a friend's mare didnt until the age of 13!!!!
As far as disposition, I love the Appies, they are smart and tough. We worked our full sized horses hard, and they outdid anything else on the ranch and still had something left. They have a LOT of stamina and I find that the Minis have some of those same great characteristics.
Of course, after having the large variety, I had to have the same in the middle (POA) and wee sized horses too.
My older stallion has always been a perfect gentleman- I've always told folks if he was a man, I would have married him, LOL. I would trust this horse with my life- really. Personalities differ, just like they do with any horse, and just like any horse, some of it depends on how they have been treated and trained in their lifetime.
I do not and will not have any grays in my herd. My neighbor has a fabulous gray mare, that has produced two LOUD colored black and white pinto foals that had stunning markings- only to have both of them gray out and lose it all. I didnt realize that she was a pinto at birth too... you would never know.
If you want outstanding color that will remain outstanding, you dont want a gray horse for breeding then. I want my spots and intense color to stay that way! As do many folks who breed for any type of 'color', rather than to fade into total white in a hurry.
Keep in mind the gray gene is something completely different than the Appy roaning gene, a silver dapple, or things of that nature. The base color (black, bay, chestnut, etc...) will still stay bright, regardless of the roaning that is coming in. Some Appies roan out a LOT, but may have spots that stay, or will still have varnish marks, dark marks on their legs, etc.... they dont just turn completely white, including the spots.
