Why does it seem so many people hate Appaloosas?

Question

So I'm just wonderign after reading a question a girl asked about naming an appaloosa horse and seeing the negative responses she got regarding appys what is the big deal with you peopel that ahte them? I have owned several apps and will continueto ALWAYS have atleast one. So liek I said what is the deal? They are great athletes, have amazing stamina and have tons of personality to boot. They are loyal and try their hardest at everything you ask them to. the only thing I can think of is they are too smart for their own good a lot of times..... what is everyone's opinion?

So i am LOVING the answers I am getting, most all of you are not negative towards the breed. I will admit Biscuit can be a lil stubborn but with very little coaxing he gets over it relatively quickly! Here are a couple fo pics i my goofy guy. He's got such a great personality and LOVES to play all the time. You'll see what I mean in these photos
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r288/Runturn24/Biscuit82807.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r288/Runturn24/biscuitnnolan1.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r288/Runturn24/hehmemaug007.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r288/Runturn24/hehmemaug029.jpg

this last pic he is sticking his tounge out at the camera which is soemthing he ALWAYS does when in crossties

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r288/Runturn24/hehmemaug009.jpg

and yes he is fat and needs more riding but i am 7 months pg riht now and can't ride much, lunge work is about all he gets. lol and yes i have an obsession about neon green!!!!!!! lol

Chantelle you hit the nail on the head with what question i was refering to!!!! good memory:) I'm glad to see that there are many people out there that do love appies:) And all that have thus far commented on Biscuit or "Biscuits N Gravy" as the girls I trail ride with call him, thanks! He's my special lil goofball. took me 5 long years to find him after my other appy Deal died. They are almost carbon copies of each other:) Looks and goofy personalities wise:)

oh and as a final note I'm not into just appies. I love ALL breed sof horse. There is a quote saying a good horse is never a bad color I go one further and say a good horse is never a bad breed. I think it is all in how you train them and treat them.

For those wondering if an appy is all I own it is not. I own a AQHA reg mare, her arab/qh daughter and her APHA reg daughter .... so 4 horses 4 different breeds and i have nothing negative to say about any of the breeds they come from.....Champagnae n diamonds without being rude myself I think you just need to open your mind about appies, you know some painst don't have the prettiest coat apttern either and i have seen some down right ugly paint horses, but I'm not going to ask someone why why why would they want one of that breed b/c of yadadadad and their coiats suck and yadadadada It's their choice and don't deserve rude mean or vindictive answers over their choice of breed to buy.

so folks have emailed wanting to know the problem with Chapagne Diamonds answer well here is what her answer was for the girl wanting a name for appy "WHY??? would ANYONE want an appy?????
Anyone who rides an Appy or an arab is too poor to buy a horse & too proud to ride a cow.....
Hey twohorse: hard to respect something even a dog won't eat!!!!!
"ON THE EIGHTH DAY GOD CREATED QUARTER HORSES, ON THE NINTH DAY HE "PAINTED" THE GOOD ONES"
Now how b****** of an answer was that? Let me assure you Chapagne I AM NOT TOO POOR TO BUY A GOOD HORSE NOR TOO PROUD TO RIDE A COW. I CERTAINLY make enough in a year to afford what ever i wanted, I chose appaloosa b/c of their personalitys and loyalty. As for being to proud to ride a cow... been there done that as for fun my cousins & i used to train some of their dairy cows , which coincidentally looked like some paint horses , to ride . so maybe you should SHUT UP&OPEN YOUR MIND or is too small to see that God created all breeds EQUAL???

Answer 1

Good horses come in all sizes and colors. The problem is that people are not willing to look past what they like and ride to see this. I have ridden saddlebreds, jumpers, paso finos, quarter horses, paints, appaloosas, TWH, and a host of others. And have liked them all. There is good and bad in every breed. You just have to get past the "dumb" in some people. I know a guy who swore that paints where the dumbest things on the face of the planet. "All common headed and ill bred" where his exact words. Said hell would freeze over before he ever rode one. And that same guy (who I married in spite of what he said about my horses) now has 7 paint horses and loves every one of them. Brags on them. You have to think about when you are sitting on your horse laughing about what someone else rides, there is also someone who probably thinks you are crazy for what you ride.


I want to add a comment to the person who made the statement about the Arabs, saying she preferred her "Quarter Horse Paints" . Here is a big ol news flash. One of the biggest Quarter Horse breeders of the day actually was breeding from horses that were of Arabian heritage. How do you think he got those famous "heads" and there was a reason one of stallions was named" Sheik". So sugar, in truth, you are most likely riding an Arab or the relative of one. And since Quarter and Paints are both manmade breeds consisting of a mix of several different horses, and a lot of the Arabs and Appaloosa can trace their bloodlines back for hundreds of years (or more), I would keep my mouth shut on how you think these horse are not worth talking about. You are putting down your own horses relatives.

Answer 2

I am right with you! I am finding people don't really care for appy's and I just don't understand why! They are sweet, gentle, (for the most part...every breed as the exceptions horse) good natured horses. I have worked with and owned many appy's in my time and I have loved every single one of them!
In fact when I was younger (about 14 or so) my dad and I went to a horse auction and picked up an appy colt for about $100. He was from the origional Tobey's Hopey's Pete Indian line. We weren't sure how he would do as a stud, but he was the most incredible horse I have ever owned!!!! We kept him a stud just for the fact that there was absolutely no reason to geld him...he was even more docile than my quarter horse gelding. He never got riled about anything and was the best horse I have ever owned!
After I met my husband he had an appy horse who was absolutely amazing! After we had kids our kids would play with him and ride him by themselves at 2 years old. He was so gentle and cautious with the kids.
Appy's deffinately have a special place in my heart and I will never understand why people don't like them. They may not all be the best lookers but I would rather have a not good looking horse that my kids can ride by themselves safely and have fun with than a beautiful horse that is not safe.
There is not a single breed of horse that has not been stereotyped somehow...and there is not a single breed that the stereo type has been proven not true by a horse of that breed. Appy's are not an exception.

Answer 3

I see nothing wrong if the breed of appaloosa...I mean sure there are some appys out there that may be the most stupidest horse you've ever met but you'll find that in every breed and a breed shouldnt be catorgized like that. I think appy's are gorgeous. The only thing that makes me think twice about getting one is that sometimes a lot of them have hair problems and their mane and tail get really thin. But if someone offered me an appy that was trained I would take it in a heart beat....

Oh and my the way your horse is adorable.

Answer 4

The excuses I've always heard were that they're stupid, stubborn, crazy, etc. They do tend to have strong personalities, and the ones I've dealt with were definitely stubborn, but not stupid or crazy at all.
Personally I think it's the eyes that scare people. The white sclera makes them look unusual, sometimes it makes them look a little crazy, and I think people see that and jump to conclusions. After all, normally if you see the whites of a horse's eyes it's when they're upset or scared, so I think it's interpreted the wrong way.

Appies are great, I used to own a 1/2 App 1/2 TWH mare. She didn't look much like an Appy but she definitely got the Appy personality. I loved that horse, she was a lot of fun.

Answer 5

I have a quarter/app cross. He is so very sweet on the ground, a real doll baby. Under saddle, not fun. Spooky and unpredictable. I love him anyway. I never saw his behavior as breed specific. It's just who he is. Could definitely be his past training more so than his lineage. Everyone that comes to my house says he is the most beautiful animal I own. I disagree, but that's my opinion. When my husband bought him I thought he was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. It took about 2 days to fall in love with him. He is white/light gray, rust-colored "flea bites" with gray dappling up his legs and over his rump. He has a crazy mane, not as thin as some I've seen, and the most beautiful thick and full tail that is silver white to dark gray. My uncle had an appy mare that lookes so much like yours. We took her in the mountains on an all day trail ride and she was as good as gold - definitley bomb proof.

If I look out in the pasture and there is my son (6) being nuzzled by my appy while he is scratching his neck, it doesn't get any more beutiful than that.

Answer 6

I work with a Belgian Draft w/ a docked tail and the flies are awful to her as well. There are a few tricks that I have found to work. The first thing you should do is control the fly population. Move poop and dirty bedding far away from the pastures and barn, try to eliminate any standing water near the property, as well as lots of tall grasses. Fly predators are available online and in some animal supply stores, those are relatively cheap and you would only need one pack for two horses, if you have never heard of them, it is a small insect that feeds on fly larvae, which really helps with the problem. Next, if the horse has enough of a tail you can braid bailing twine into the tail. Yes, this might look a little trashy, but there is always twine available in the barn and it stands up to the daily habits of horses out in the field. I would also invest in a fly sheet, they are inexpensive and cover so much of the body from flies that they are worth it. A fly mask is a must as flies are attracted to the liquid around the eye, and like to hang out around the ears. Fly spray, as you can tell, is sort of a sham. There is not actually anything in it to repel flies, only a mild poison that kills the fly later, once its not bugging the horse anymore. So really, all the fly spray is doing is eliminating a tiny percentage of the fly population, but is doing nothing to really keep the flies off of the horse. Finally, if all else fails, there are some oral products available for horses, most contain garlic, that claim to help keep flies off of the horse. I have seen some on SmartPak that have been well reviewed. I would try the other things first before I started feeding something to fix the problem as I am always wary of adding supplements. Good luck! Your horse will be thanking you!

Answer 7

People dislike Appaloosas for the same reason they dislike Arabs, ponies, mules, mares, gaited horses, TBs and any other breed or type of horse.
They heard it from someone that they looked up to.
Same reason everyone loves QHs and geldings.
I've owned or ridden almost every breed that wouldn't be considered rare. I've like idividuals of every breed. My personal preference would be to not have a QH and to not have a gelding tho my very best horse ever was a QH, Arab and Shetland cross gelding. My second favorite horse was a QH. But as a general rule I'd rather ride something else. Just my preference.
When someone says something that's too generalised I always ask why they think that. Then how many horses of that breed or sex have they worked with themselves. It doesn't change their minds but it does, usually, make them think about their belief and that's the best ;you can hope for.

Answer 8

Apparently, they have a good reputation for being stubborn. I had a mare that was part welsh, and part appy. When I went to get her from the trainer, he asked what breed she was. She's marked like a paint, but looking at her tail and mane will tell you she's got some appy in her. When I told him, he said that if he would've known that, he wouldn't have taken her becuase the last app he had was stubborn and bucked all the time.

:D My girl never bucked once or too awfully stubborn. I've been around 2 apps in my life, and neither one left me with a bad image.

Answer 9

I think many appy's are beautiful, I wonder about the hatred myself, I rode this appy who was quite ugly, his personallity was too. he bucked while we were just sitting there talking.

fortunantly I didn't get bucked off. I rode another who ran away with me, he was very well trained horse yet still ran away, another appy we had she was sweet, but half blind. her name was angel. my hubby learned to ride on her and he was a green as they come.

I don't like appys because of the poor breeding by many people who are only concerned about the big money on the color, and neglect to avoid breeding horses with genetic blindness, this one lady who I liked, she had a blind mare she bred. I thought that is irresponsible. the blindness was genetic.

So I avoid them because the blindness is a serious problem around here. as for a appy being different then other horses, I say hogwash! a horse is a horse by any other color it is still a horse.

RRRRR

Answer 10

I have no idea. My first horse was an Appy and he was just wonderful. He had the best personality and would do anything for you!!

I had him for eight years and there are at least 2 incidents where I was close to falling off and he kept me on his back!!

Once we were going through a stream and when we were going up the bank his feet sunk really fast and deep. I fell forward onto his neck and although he was sinking he threw his head up to throw me onto his neck before he pulled his legs out.

Another time I was loosing my balance and he actually shifted his body so I would stay on.

He could go, go, go all day and gallop his heart out but when I would put my young son up on him he was so gentle.

He passed away about 9 years ago (at 26) but I still really miss him.

Here is a pic:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e182/CLFsPics/AnthonyTuffy-1.jpg