The Nez Perce Horse is a spotted horse breed of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho. The Nez Perce Horse Registry (NPHR) program began in 1995 in Lapwai, Idaho and is based on cross-breeding the old-line Appaloosa horses (the Wallowa herd) with an ancient Central Asian breed called Akhal-Teke.[1]
The Nez Perce Horse is "fit to carry the Nez Perce name," according to Rudy Shebala, director of the Tribe’s Horse Registry and the Nez Perce Young Horsemen program.[2]
The Akhal-Teke is an ancient breed that originated in Turkmenistan (near Afghanistan). They are known for their superb endurance and "metallic" coats. The Akhal-Tekecoat colors commonly include palominos, buckskins, and dark bays. A typical Nez Perce Horse is a buckskin or palomino with Appaloosa characteristics—mottled skin with a spotted coat or a blanket.
The Nez Perce Horse's conformation is longer and leaner than the Quarter Horses or other stock horses of the Western U.S., with narrower shoulders and hindquarters, a longer back, and a lean runner's appearance. They are good at long rides and compete well in endurance races; they are also good jumpers. The Nez Perce Horses are often gaited, with a fast and smooth running walk.
The Nez Perce people are historically known for their selective horse breeding practices, according to NPHR breeders Jon and Rosa Yearout.[3]
These are the horse breeds considered to originate wholly or partly in Canada and the United States. Many have complex or obscure histories, so inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively from those countries.
A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a limited geographic region, or even feral "breeds" that are naturally selected. Depending on definition, hundreds of "breeds" exist today, developed for many different uses. Horse breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: spirited "hot bloods" with speed and endurance; "cold bloods," such as draft horses and some ponies, suitable for slow, heavy work; and "warmbloods," developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, often focusing on creating breeds for specific riding purposes, particularly in Europe.
The Nez Perce are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region has been occupied for at least 11,500 years.
The Akhal-Teke is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, thin manes and a distinctive metallic sheen. The shiny coat of the breed led to their nickname, "Golden Horses". These horses are adapted to severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest existing horse breeds. There are currently about 6,600 Akhal-Tekes in the world, mostly in Turkmenistan, although they are also found throughout Europe and North America. Akhal is the name of the line of oases along the north slope of the Kopet Dag mountains in Turkmenistan. It has been inhabited by the Tekke tribe of Turkmens.
The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting patterns overlaid on top of one of several recognized base coat colors. The color pattern of the Appaloosa is of interest to those who study equine coat color genetics, as it and several other physical characteristics are linked to the leopard complex mutation (LP). Appaloosas are prone to develop equine recurrent uveitis and congenital stationary night blindness; the latter has been linked to the leopard complex.
A color breed refers to groupings of horses whose registration is based primarily on their coat color, regardless of the horse's actual breed or breed type.
Palomino is a genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the inter-breeding of Spanish horses with those from the United States. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" (chestnut) base coat. Palomino is created by a genetic mechanism of incomplete dominance, hence it is not considered true-breeding. However, most color breed registries that record palomino horses were founded before equine coat color genetics were understood as well as they are today, therefore the standard definition of a palomino is based on the visible coat color, not heritability nor the underlying presence of the dilution gene.
The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors. Developed from a base of spotted horses with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred bloodlines, the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) breed registry is now one of the largest in North America. The registry allows some non-spotted animals to be registered as "Solid Paint Bred" and considers the American Paint Horse to be a horse breed with distinct characteristics, not merely a color breed.
The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay base coat and the cream gene will be buckskin or perlino. A black base coat with the cream gene becomes the not-always-recognized smoky black or a smoky cream. Cream horses, even those with blue eyes, are not white horses. Dilution coloring is also not related to any of the white spotting patterns.
The champagne gene is a simple dominant allele responsible for a number of rare horse coat colors. The most distinctive traits of horses with the champagne gene are the hazel eyes and pinkish, freckled skin, which are bright blue and bright pink at birth, respectively. The coat color is also affected: any hairs that would have been red are gold, and any hairs that would have been black are chocolate brown. If a horse inherits the champagne gene from either or both parents, a coat that would otherwise be chestnut is instead gold champagne, with bay corresponding to amber champagne, seal brown to sable champagne, and black to classic champagne. A horse must have at least one champagne parent to inherit the champagne gene, for which there is now a DNA test.
The AraAppaloosa, also known as the Araloosa, Arappaloosa and the Ara-Appaloosa, is a horse breed that is designer crossbred between an Arabian horse and an Appaloosa, combining the refined phenotype of the Arabian with the leopard-spotted coloring of the Appaloosa. As both breeds are noted for endurance and intelligence, the resulting cross is usually able to excel at endurance riding as well as other disciplines performed by either breed, including ranch work, and a variety of horse show disciplines.
The Karabakh is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse breed. It is named after the Karabakh region, from which the breed originates. The breed is noted for its good temperament and speed; in 2004, a Karabakh horse named Kishmish from an Aghdam stud farm covered 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in 1.09 minutes and 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in 1.52 minutes.
The Spanish Mustang is an American horse breed descended from horses brought from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas. They are classified within the larger grouping of the Colonial Spanish horse, a type that today is rare in Spain. By the early 20th century, most of the once-vast herds of mustangs that had descended from the Spanish horses had been greatly reduced in size. Seeing that these horses were on the brink of extinction, some horseman began making efforts to find and preserve the remaining "Spanish Mustangs" drawing stock from feral and Native American herds, as well as ranch stock. The breed was one of the first to be part of a concerted preservation effort for horses of Spanish phenotype, and a breed registry was founded in 1957.
A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. Pinto coloration is also called paint, particolored, or in nations that use British English, simply coloured. Pinto horses have been around since shortly after the domestication of the horse.
The Appaloosa Horse Club, located in Moscow, Idaho, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the Appaloosa breed. The state of Idaho adopted the Appaloosa as its state horse in 1975. More than 630,000 Appaloosas have been registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club since its founding in 1938. The Appaloosa Horse Club is an international breed registry which records and preserves the breeds' heritage and history. The club is one of the top international equine breed registries, and is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and enhancing the Appaloosa breed.
The Colorado Ranger is a horse breed from the Colorado High Plains in the United States. The breed is descended from two stallions imported from Turkey to the US state of Virginia in the late 1800s. These stallions were then bred to ranch horses in Nebraska and Colorado, and in the early 1900s the two stallions who every registered Colorado Ranger traces to, Patches #1 and Max #2, were foaled. The breed was championed by rancher Mike Ruby, who founded the Colorado Ranger Horse Association in 1935. Original registry membership limits resulted in many Colorado Ranger horses being registered instead as Appaloosas, but pedigree research is ongoing to discover additional horses who trace their ancestry back to the original stallions.
The Knabstrupper or Knabstrup is a Danish breed of warmblood horse. It is principally a riding horse, but is also used as a harness horse and as a circus animal. It is broadly similar to the Frederiksborger, but often has a spotted coat. In the past, injudicious breeding for this characteristic alone compromised its constitution and conformation. In the years after the Second World War the mechanisation of agriculture led to a sharp fall in numbers, and by the 1960s no more than 100 of the horses remained. In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, with a world-wide population estimated at little over 2000.
The Nordlandshest/Lyngshest also known as the "Nordland/Lyngen horse", "nordland horse" or "Lyngen horse", is a horse breed originating in Norway. It is the smallest of the three Norwegian national horse breeds. It originated in the area surrounding the Lyngen fjord in what is now Lyngen Municipality. The horse was given the name Nordlandshest in 1968 by breeders in that area. The name change was hotly disputed by breeders in Lyngen and surrounding areas, but a compromise was later reached, and today the official name of the breed is both Nordlandshest and Lyngshest.
The American Bashkir Curly or North American Curly Horse is a North American breed of horse, characterized by an unusual curly coat of hair. It derives from American horses of Iberian origin, in which curly-coated individuals occasionally occur; it is unrelated to Asian horses such as the Bashkir and Lokai, which may also be curly-coated. The American Bashkir Curly has been extensively cross-bred with horses of other breeds, and varies widely in size and conformation; it may be of any color.
The American Indian Horse is defined by its breed registry as a horse that may carry the ancestry of the Spanish Barb, Arabian, Mustang, or "Foundation" Appaloosa. It is the descendant of horses originally brought to the Americas by the Spanish and obtained by Native American people. The registry was created in 1961 when some breeders of Colonial Spanish Horse bloodlines considered the Spanish Mustang breeders to be departing from the original "Indian horse" phenotype. The organization was started "for the purpose of collecting, recording and preserving the pedigrees of American Indian Horses." The registry also allows the "hybrids [sic] and descendants" of the original Spanish Colonial Horse to be registered. Horses registered with other breed registries to be double-registered with this organization if the horses meet the conformation requirements.
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