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| The Appaloosa Horse |
In ancient times, Greek people favored art work featuring Appaloosas. People who settled in the Northwest part of the United States began calling them "The Palouse Horse". That may be where the name "Appaloosa" came from.
Today Appaloosas are very popular in Western riding events, but they can be seen in English events as well.
They are also often chosen for movie roles.
One health related issue that Appaloosas are prone to is called "Moon Blindness" or "Periodic Opthamia." No one knows why they are more likely to get this disease, but we know that they carry the gene that makes them more susceptible to the condition. Moon Blindness is a condition of the eye where the eye becomes cloudy and the horse will go blind for a time, but then it clears. Eventually, the horse will become totally blind in the effected eye. At the present time, there is no cure for the disease.
I hope you've enjoyed learning about these beautiful horses.
*Some information on this page was gathered from the internet.
I love Appaloosa horses, they are so beautiful. My daughter used to ride one. Hope you are having a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Suzanne. They are pretty and they are always different with so many patterns for their spots. We owned a couple of them when we had our riding school.
ReplyDeleteHope your weekend is fun, too!
Beautiful :) Aww I miss horseriding, I need to save up so I can go again!
ReplyDeleteYes, I hope you can save up so you can ride again. It's such fun and the horses would love it, too! Thanks for stopping by, Laura.
DeleteI was a real horse lover as a kid, had a horse, and worked in horse stables in Indiana and Connecticut. I like appaloosas, but I'm a sucker for palominos! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Lexa! I grew up at a horse farm. I'll bet you'd like my book, Tails of Sweetbrier. It's about the decision my dad made that changed my life and made my dreams come true. Maybe I'll write something about Palominos for you. D
DeleteI love Appaloosa, they are so beautiful. It's been a long time since I rode a horse, but I used to work at a film farm with horses and lots of other animals too and even got to work at a stables that helped disabled children learn to ride, which was awesome. Oh the good old days :)
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with the programs for disabled children. They are wonderful and can work miracles. My dad started a riding school and he made a decision that changed everything for me. I wrote about my experiences in my book, Tails of Sweetbrier.
DeleteBeautiful horses. Thanks for sharing about them.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed reading about the Appaloosas, Susanne. They are so unusual and pretty.
DeleteAppaloosas are such pretty horses! What exactly is Moon Blindness?
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry, thanks for stopping by. Moon Blindness is a condition where a horse has periods where they are blind and then their vision clears. But eventually, they have no sight in the effected eye. It could be a genetic condition, where certain breeds are more likely to get it. One of Holly's ponies had it, but he carried on as he normally would. He still would jump anything in sight!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful horses! And I did enjoy learning about them, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of Moon Blindness before. How awful! :(
Hi Julie,
DeleteThank you so much for stopping by! Moon Blindness is awful and we all wish they had a cure for it, as well as a cause. Hopefully, they will find those things soon. When we lived at the riding school, we had two horses who got it. It was sad for them, but they carried on well afterwards.
Beautiful horses! I didn't know about the moon blindness - it's interesting that it can come and go.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tyrean. So happy you stopped by and were kind enough to comment. Yes, Moon Blindness is very strange the way it starts with just attacks where the eye is cloudy and then it will look normal for a while. It's unfortunate that there is no cure yet, just medication for the early stages.
ReplyDelete