wyomingpat wrote:
Only negative is that their night time vision is usually very bad.<br><br>Post edited by: wyomingpat, at: 2008/04/06 21:41

Hi Pat, welcome to the westernshop. Glad to find another appy enthusiast and qh too - all is not lost - I am not alone!

Should mention about Pat's comment about night blindness - it is Congenital Stationary Night Blindness and is believed to be associated with the spotting gene - most prevalent in Few Spot appys. There are a number of tests that can be run to diagnose it - if bred to a non-app you have virtually no risk of offspring inheriting the trait. If anyone is interested, I have a number of articles about the condition - both basic and rather more technical. It is common in some breeds of dogs too....although not the dalmation!

I have had two with this condition, it is not "moonblindness" - that is different again. You normally get warning signs if horse has it - we call one of our "kerthump" as that is how you know where she is in the winter if she is out.......the sound she makes when she walks into the wall, post, tree, you..... They are worst in dim or failing light - bright light to shadow doesn't help either.

Jude.

My friend has an 18 year appaloosa that she's had for about 10 years. She was the first horse she looked at as a very keen teenager and took him straight away! She have just about no background info on him, apart from being told he used to be a trotting horse but we've seen no sign of that! He used to be a real handful, but he's an absolute sweetheart now and that's without any expert training or the like. He's amazing in traffic, for the farrier - a star all round. He's a character, though! Another thumbs up for appaloosas! (And I've heard plenty of stories about their far-from-desired temperament too...)

TOTALLY TOTALLY TOTALLY in love with the breed!
HAve a few wouldnt have ANYTHING else........or maybe a boring ole well mannered WB type? - totally trainable- doing impecable dressage- totally sane out riding...............NO!!!!!! FAR too boring!
Stay with my MAD- LOVEABLE-BEAUTIFUL-INTELLIGENT spotty friends!
Good choice you made- may you have many many years of love & fun!
Trish.x.x.x.

Hi - I attach a photo of Star in the Snowy Mountains on a pack trip.

He is solid as a rock ouut here - rding near home he can run scared of a plastic bag. Met a moose and he was fine - not bumped into any bears yet!