See N Spots wrote:
vixen of doom wrote:
forthefutureofthebreed wrote:
From the looks of it, they've done nothing but encourage the Appaloosa to change from a distinct breed into nothing but a new color pattern for Quarter Horse lovers to play with. And that is just sad.

There is a foundation appaloosa registry and organization - just as in quarterhorses. So there are breeders who are attempting to keep the original bloodlines pure and in place and while I don't particularly like that breeding or look, I'm not gonna dis them for their program.

There is a lot of discussion about improving the breeds here on this site. I think given the low numbers of Nez Perce who need horses that can outlast the cavalry versus relatively high number people who want their little girl to show in walk trot and showmanship or do freestyle reining, that crossing apps with quarters or TB is improving the breed by keeping it marketable and growing in popularity.

You can't seriously be telling me it's a good thing to breed OUT the toughness and endurance of a breed and instead push towards slow, family-oriented breeding? I don't think it's ever been proven that a horse capable of working high-stress/high-endurance jobs are going to be any less capable to walk around a ring than one that isn't capable of doing those high-stress/high-endurance jobs. Though I do agree in working to keep them marketable, I like the idea of using outside blood to improve on them and add a little more 'pretty' into Appy lines.

The issue isn't so much in preserving the actual bloodlines themselves (at least in my mind) as preserving the type itself. That's where I'm not a big fan of the Foundation registries, they focus too much on the bloodlines and not enough on the type. Especially with Appaloosas, since so little of the original bloodlines are left, and most of those are crossed with who-knows-what. I think the Appaloosa could use a lot of improvement, and a lot of work on getting back to that original type. Turning them into Quarter Horses with spots doesn't improve them as a breed, it just changes them into something else. Quarter horse blood might not be a bad thing to use in Aps, but it shouldn't be used to the point where it takes over. What's the point in that? It doesn't improve on Appaloosa traits it erases them.

Honestly, Appaloosas would probably be better improved if something like the Crioulo or even knabstruppers were added as acceptable outcross breeds, since they at least share a lot of Appaloosa look and, with the Crioulos, a lot of the same Spanish ancestry. Quarter Horses are not the end-all-be-all of horse flesh, and I can't see them as the perfect out-cross for Appaloosas when their original uses were so different. ie: Sprint racing and cow working vs long distance trekking and hunting.