Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Color me ignorant, but what is so special about the appaloosa breed 
that it warrants all this DNA research as opposed to all the European 
spotted breeds?

Don't know if I worded that question exactly the way I wanted for 
people to understand the answer I'm looking for, so I'll try a 
different approach.  There are numerous breeds other than the appaloosa 
that are spotted in that manner - the noriker of Austria, the altai and 
the Knabstruper of Denmark.  I believe there is also a spotted breed 
from China.  It is believed that all the European spotted breeds 
descend from the Spanish horses - which were heavily spotted 2000 years 
ago, but not all spotted breeds come from Spain.  The steppe horsemen, 
(Russian) 'barbarians', had spotted horses 4000 years ago.  So, why all 
the interest in appaloosa DNA?  There were spotted horses everywhere.  
When people started coming to the New World they brought their horses 
with them.  Since the vast majority of the horses were from Spain and 
Spain was big into spotted horses, doesn't it make since that 
appaloosas got their spots from Spanish horses?  Why not spend those 
dollars trying to figure out if the Chinese spotted horses are related 
in some way to the Spanish horses perhaps via the Russian spotted 
horses?

That being said, I'm off to Chicago for a week and won't be taking my 
computer with me, so poke fun at my ignorance without immediate 
response.

Tori

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REAL endurance is your water freezing IN the cantle bags!
~ Heidi Sowards

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