[Tydyecowgrrl]

Ok, Let me explain.


I just resently ended a 4 year search (and a 20 year dream) for my dream appaloosa with the purchase of a "bay roan" leopard 2 year old. He's not a TRUE leopard as he was born with a spotted blanket and then his front end roaned out to white reveiling the spots underneath. He has the varnishing on his legs and a brown muzzle as well as brown ears.. His breeder called him a leopard.. sure he "looks" leopard enough now but a TRUE leopard is BORN Leopard.. a Leopard doesnt change is color. They dont have semi-colored legs or solid muzzles?

In my search I ran across adds for Leopards for sale, some were actually real leopards and some were just roans like mine... Anyway.. alot of the adds used the word "RARE" in the title? Are loud colored appaloosas that HTF these days? I know Leopards are hard to breed for...(well, Decker Red Eagle Apps seems to have it down to a science lol).. but just a good colored app with spots from head to toe... are they really that rare?

It did take me awhile to find the one I wanted.. but that mostly had to do with location and breeding... But it did seem like the majority of apps for sale in the places I looked were just blanketed or frosted ect. What true leopards I did find they wanted like $6000 for as a weanling.... that was a bit over my spending limit.. lol.

So yeah... are Leopards/semi-leopards/spotted from head to tail appaloosas really that "Rare"?

What do ya'll think?


Jennifer

[SaddleUp158]

I didnt think they were, however I am not an appy person.

[Mutrok]

Well, since some of the time it is really hard to tell what is a true leopard a lot of times they are miss named and so really knowing how rare they are is hard. A good friend of mine has a "leopard" that was born exactly as he is today

Keep in mind he was born that color....but he is not a true leopard. When he is wet you can ses that he definately has a blanket and 4 white socks. He is registered bay roan w/a blanket. But he did not white out after being born he ws always just like that. His skin underneath on his neck and shoulders is black and where the blanket and on his legs is pink.

[Fire_Dawn]

I think he's so cute. Compared to all the horse colours in the world, not just appy colours, i'd say that its pretty rare. probably not as rare as grulla though.

[Tydyecowgrrl]

Maybe rare is the wrong word...lol

I'm just wondering of all the appaloosas regestered how many are leopard or leopard looking... like really loud... lot of spots.



I love that App Mutrok.. he looks alot like mine only with out the dark legs..


Jennifer

[Smoke N Lace]

Can you tell anything by the roaning on the head? I thought leopards had white heads with spots. Is that right or not?

[Top Dun]

In my opinion ALL appaloosa patterns are RARE because you won't find any two EXACTLY alike. Additionally I'd also have to say that most of the "loud" patterns are more rare because many of the "modern" breeders have been breeding AWAY from appaloosa patterning at all.
Heck Just look at the Appaloosa Journal and count the numbers of barely marked horses you see there. I've heard excuses like " the judges can't see past the color to judge the conformation correctly" And Oh so many other excuses.

I totally agree the Deckers have got leopard breeding down to a science because they have studied the appaloosa genetics information that's been handed down through the years and they know what works for their breeding program.


It's all a matter of knowing the genetics and studying the effects of genetics combinations.

for example if you breed a varnish roan to a solid or minimial blanket the best you can often hope for is either a roan or another minimal blanket.

BUT if you breed a fewspot to any other you have that chance of getting a leopard. But your best chances are when you breed fewspot to leopard or leopard to leopard.

However many "modern" breeders don't breed for that "loud color" because:
(Maybe one or more of the following reasons)
1. Don't like it
2. Feel it's not competitive enough in the show ring (especially at halter)
3. Like crossing out onto solid non-appaloosa breeds and in doing so they limit their LP (appaloosa genetic) coloration genes.


anyway that's my take on appaloosa patterns. My opinion is that the Appaloosa horse club has to many "Quarter horse with spots" type breeders instead of true appaloosa Breeders. The Deckers in my opinion are one of the "true appaloosa breeders"

[Stormyheart6160]

Oh my! I didn't realize there was such a thing as a Leopard Appy. That horse in the pic looks just like the 30 year old, sway back appy that I rescued and still have. Except that her mane and tail have more white in them.

[Top Dun]

One thing to consider that hasn't been mentioned here yet is that it's POSSIBLE that an appaloosa might carry TWO different genes such as one for a blanket and one for Leopard, but the Leopard on doesn't show at birth until after they start shedding. Sheila Archer of the Appaloosa project has suggested this as on possiblity for my filly Ladybug.
her sire was a fewspot. Her dam a solid (from a blanket sire and a roan mare) Ladybug was born looking like a blanket, but RAPIDLY changed to look like a leopard.
At foaling

at 8 months of age

At two years of age

At 4 years of age.



It's been suggested by some at the appaloosa project that it's possible (not yet confirmed just theory) for a horse to be born one pattern and then rapidly change to a secondary pattern due to some type of white suppression. Ie black and bay based horses EE or Ee might have some 'suppression" of the white that would make them look like a leopard at birth. And then at some time after birth the pattern overrides the suppression by a 'rapid roaning effect"

Anyway that's just theory at the moment but just thought I'd mention it.

[3WishesDun]

What a gorgeous horse Top Dun!