Appaloosas - character traits

ycbm

ycbm

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Most people know, I think, I have a blanket spotted appaloosa cross with lots of big brown sports.

He's three now, gelded six months, and I'm getting an idea of his temperament. He's a curious combination of brave, respectful, over sensitive and mutinously stubborn if he doesn't want his feet picked out.

Is this just him, or normal for an Appy?

What have I got to look forward to as he ages?
 
I describe mine as the most intelligent horse I've ever worked with....it's not always a compliment. Her current trick is dismantling the electric fencing (it's connected to the mains!). Watching her work out how to do it and changing her plans if she gets stung by it is fascinating.

Stubborn, opinionated and curious also spring to mind. I am HER human and everyone else has better remember it!
 
It might depend on the lines, but the 3 appaloosas I know by the same stallion are very intelligent. Amazingly so. She gets stuff very quickly, and then gets bored. Doing the preparation work for backing her has been incredibly easy as nothing I've done has seemed to faze her. We did an in hand polework/core strength clinic that involved her going over some raised poles in different patterns a few days after I'd made sure she could at least walk over one on the ground. She did everything right and didn't touch a single pole.

Brave - yes.
Respectful - yes, but I've had her since she was 6 months old. I've met a couple who were anything but.
Over sensitive - definitely sensitive. I think that goes with the intelligence in her case.
Stubborn - can be

Another trait is curiousity - something may initially worry her, but she'll generally want to inspect it. I think it's to see if she can eat it, as she is very food oriented. Positive reinforcement training using treats works really well with her.
A love of food (more so than the average horse) is there in every appaloosa I've met!

She also has a lot of opinions!
 
Very food orientated. Tick.

takes a saddle and bridle no issues. Lunges on a headcollar.

Not bothered at all by leaning over and being patted on both sides.

But currently not happy for me to take my feet off the step and put my weight full on him. I can feel him hunching, so I stop and we'll work up to that slowly. No rush, he's very immature.

I find him difficult to work out at the moment. He's a peculiar mix of traits!
 
TTK said:
Brave, loyal, opinionated & slightly unhinged. Is your appy related in any way to Amazing Blue?
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Unregistered father! He's got a huge movement, would that fit with those blood lines? Every bit as good as the ten grand warmblood from GP dressage lines I bought a few years back. And sounder I hope!!


He was really upset by the winter snow. Made him go a bit doolally. And absolutely loopy fruit on any amount of alfalfa :D
 
Interesting what you said about the snow - it's what we think triggered the latest tie-up in mine. She was very stressed each time it snowed. I put it down to the fact she could probably see at night and couldn't understand why - but yours has spots so doesn't have the night vision issue.

Quirky definitely!
 
I’ve only known a small handful personally and none of them have endeared me to want one. I’d say generally quite stubborn and opinionated.

That said there was a regular poster on here, Vicky? With one called Dotty and she looked super cool.
 
It was very marked each time, And we had two weeks between each lot, it was definitely triggered by the snow. He would pick two points and run backward and forward between them for a minute or more. All while there others in the yard stood and watched him in disbelief Very odd.

I don't think I'm going to be the first person on his back.
 
ihatework said:
I’ve only known a small handful personally and none of them have endeared me to want one. I’d say generally quite stubborn and opinionated.

That said there was a regular poster on here, Vicky? With one called Dotty and she looked super cool.
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Jury is definitely out on whether he will be staying.
 
I've got my third :) The first mare was unregistered, clever, loyal, opinionated, moved beautifully, was very claustrophobic and was terrified of large vehicles, a one woman horse, or rather she though the woman should be a one horse woman Lived till she was 33.
Second mare was pure bred, with a lot of arab, carrots and alfalfa sent her bonkers. absolutely traffic proof but hugely reactive to odd things like different coloured tarmac, white flowers that weren't ther the last time she passed that way, Herdwick sheep (others were ok), she would not wee under saddle and once hid behind a car at a show so she could "go". Another clever girl with beautiful movement. She also thought that I belonged to her, lived intil she was 22 (lost her in January of this year)

The third is the current one, been here for nearly five years, has been lightly backed and will be ridden away this year, it has taken this long to get her to stop being as maddly reactive as she was. She is loyal, thank goodness, very clever she immediately worked out how to get reward from the treat ball, but VERY reactive, her movement is spectacular, floats along, another who believes that she owns me :)
 
Mmmmm. Problem is he was bought to replace one I waited for years to grow up.

If he stays as reactive as he is right now, then he'll be broken and sold.

I think he's an absolutely cracking good horse, but I'm too old to wait years for him to get his act together.

He seems, at the moment, to be utterly shocked that I might ever tell him off for stuff he does wrong. I think he thinks I should be his person, and he is upset that I think he's my horse!

How old is your third YG?


PS sorry you lost the one this year :(
 
There does seem to be a theme that Appy's have THEIR human. Reminds me of my cat at times in terms of having a human slave....

Sorry you lost yours this year YorksG.
 
ycbm said:
Mmmmm. Problem is he was bought to replace one I waited for years to grow up.

If he stays as reactive as he is right now, then he'll be broken and sold.

I think he's an absolutely cracking good horse, but I'm too old to wait years for him to get his act together.

He seems, at the moment, to be utterly shocked that I might ever tell him off for stuff he does wrong. I think he thinks I should be his person, and he is upset that I think he's my horse!

How old is your third YG?


PS sorry you lost the one this year :(
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She is eight, or possibly seven (some confusion with the passport)! She was, in her defence, backed as a three year old, in six weeks (or less), going from having to be herded onto a transporter to being ridden for sale, they did her no favours :( She would have done better coming here as unbacked, as I have had to undo bad handling and completely re-start her, but she is a lovely creature.
The old girl was bought as a nine year old and we did an amazing amount of stuff together, she loved showing and fancy dress rides :D She will always be missed

SEL said:
There does seem to be a theme that Appy's have THEIR human. Reminds me of my cat at times in terms of having a human slave....

Sorry you lost yours this year YorksG.
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Thank you, and indeed I am owned by Appy's :)
 
YorksG said:
a one woman horse, or rather she though the woman should be a one horse woman
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Yep - this too! As well as working out the treat ball and apple bobbing in seconds.

Mine's not reactive to alfalfa at all - it was a large part of her diet for ages.

I'm very sorry you lost your second one YorksG
 
SEL said:
There does seem to be a theme that Appy's have THEIR human. Reminds me of my cat at times in terms of having a human slave....

Sorry you lost yours this year YorksG.
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I often describe my mare as being more like a cat than a horse :D mind's from knab rather than appy stock, but I guess there's a fair amount of lines shared... It's interesting what you're all saying about the snow as Arty also had a complete brain melt in the snow - I genuinely started to think that there was something horribly wrong with her :eek3:

She is also the absolute epitome of the type of horse you ask, negotiate and collaborate with, rather than one you tell. She absolutely loves any kind of stimulation though so she is generally a joy to do anything with. But she has a very definite NO switch, and trying to train her in a conventional way when she's saying no can produce some spectacular reactions. Bribery however, gets me everywhere :D Though that can be a bit of a double edged sword as she very quickly clocks onto actions that result in a sweetie. So the it's a case of use then lose the treats quickly, so as not to incur a 'but I should get a sweet for this' type strop.

In general though I think she's just the most brilliant, funny, clever, wonderful little horse I've ever come across and I absolutely adore her.

Sorry about your appy YG :(
 
I'm laughing out loud at some of these descriptions. Cassie is Appy x Arab x Welsh so a lot of her attributes could be put down to any of those breeds. But the cat thing is spot on. She is totally self sufficient and independent just like a cat, but demands attention when she feels she is missing out on something. She's scared of virtually nothing, but if something worries her, she won't run from it, just does Welshie snorts then works it out. She doesn't care whether she is in or out on her own, or with others. She takes not a blind bit of notice when horses join or leave a warm up area. And she definitely understands everything I say to her! ;) :D
 
Ive had mare Appy mare 20 years, yes she can be stubborn but will work through it, opinionated, yup. But she can be trusting, shes just lost the sight in one eye, and seemed quite reassured when I went to her, ( it was daughters day to do the horses and she contacted me saying she thought Freckles had gone blind, and she was stressing, I went up and she whinnied and came straight to me) Ive also got her son Harley, he is very different to her, I had him gelded aged 10 (hes now 11) and hes always been very laid back, brave, and a bit of a dope on a rope, My daughter also has mother and son, ( both appies) again both different, mare is bossy, stressy, gelding is very laid back.
 
My four live with an Appy mare. I first knew her when she was at the riding school I learnt at. She was very quickly sold onto a friend of mine who fell in love with her, but TBH, she was never very suited to being a school horse. She's always been an incredibly quirky character, but safe too. I absolutely adore the old girl: she's such a funny soul but I have the biggest soft spot for her.

The only other Appy I've known well was a mare that my sister part loaned for a little while - a very little while! She wasn't a nasty natured horse, but she was stubborn, pig-headed, and opinionated. In all honesty, you couldn't have paid me to have her. I don't recall her being overly reactive, but she had a real tendency to tank off home when the mood took her.

Based on the two of them, I don't think I'd have one of my own. However, if your boy ends up taking after the other side of his breeding, I've met lots of nice Standardbreds (am I remembering that right?), and I'd have one of those in a heartbeat.
 
Yes, half American trotter JJS, registered part bred Standardbred. I hope he takes after that half too, but his character doesn't seem to be clear at the moment. Gelding him certainly changed him and made him more fearful and jumpy, which I'm not at all happy about. And now he's got spring, of course. I'm waiting to see how he is in full summer.
 
I would have another appy in an instant. My boy could be very stubborn, and was always very spooky, very intelligent, and had a wicked sense of humour.
He was a very strong character, the dominant horse in a herd of 70, and I had to be stubborn with him to get him to do what I asked sometimes.
He was very nappy when I first got him, but that could have been from being a riding school horse for years.
I tended to find his behaviours funny, as he had quite a predictable dummy spit on him.
I had to prove that I wasnt' an idiot, but when he started to respect me, he was incredibly loyal, and protective of me. It did take a long time before he accepted me though.
Kx
 
The spotty I had here was a massive character, which was usually fun, but MY GOD could he be a bloody nuisance! He was very quirky to ride - sometimes superb, and sometimes incredibly frustrating, and he could be a hellion to deal with.
My theory is that every spot is there to allow the naughtiness to escape
 
ihatework said:
I’ve only known a small handful personally and none of them have endeared me to want one. I’d say generally quite stubborn and opinionated.

That said there was a regular poster on here, Vicky? With one called Dotty and she looked super cool.
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Vicky's dotty is a knabstrupper not an Appaloosa.


all the ones i have known have been very stubborn, once they say no there is little talking them round.............we had one YEARS ago who was very sweet and very safe as long as you werent asking too much and then he would just calmly say no................and stick to his guns! he was a fab hacking horse but no good for competing as could not/would not be pushed in any way shape or form!
 
ycbm said:
Unregistered father! He's got a huge movement, would that fit with those blood lines? Every bit as good as the ten grand warmblood from GP dressage lines I bought a few years back. And sounder I hope!!


He was really upset by the winter snow. Made him go a bit doolally. And absolutely loopy fruit on any amount of alfalfa :D
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Mine dont do alfalfa.
They are like children on e numbers if given it.

Mine are
Intelligent
Sensitive
Curious (if worrired about something then we have to go see it)
Stubborn and opinionated but is not an issue as he doesnt put up too much of a argument if you just keep quiet and keep asking in a nice calm fashion.

Also with you saying the putting weight in the stirrup mine was like that.
We sent him away to be backed but she noted he didnt like things above his head/back so she spent more time on desensitising him on that
 
An interesting insight into the current girl, yesterday I had to unblock our kitchen drain (agan!) which took all afternoon. I did have a wash, but didn't change my clothes before I went to bring the girls in. The poor girl was mortified and initially quite scared, that her person smelt so horrible :eek:. I put the halter on and she was snorting and jumping about a bit, but then it was as if she took a deep breath (away from smelly me :) ) and while refusing to take a treat, came in as normal, with perfect manners, twelve months ago if I had tried that I doubt that I would have got the halter on her! It seems to take a long time for them to trust you, but it is worth the wait ime :)
 
Hmmm where to start 😂

Very very stubborn and oppinunated
He's brave when he wants to be but also a complete and utter wimp at times
Once he's really stressed himself out or riled himself up there is no attempting to calm him down you just have to leave him to sort himself out
He's loving and affectionate and I am definitely his human and he doesn't want anyone else
Can't tell him off somedays or he just gets pissed off and offended you dare tell him to stop doing something
In a good mood he will do anything to please me (well I say good mood I mean summer) and generally when ridden regularly goes very nicely with few arguments
Hates winter with a passion, acts like the rain will make him melt or shrink and the min the ground turns and the grass isn't long and easy to eat he's a grumpy boy until spring hits

Had him since 18 months old and even at 5 he still asks the same questions on a daily basis hoping I'll have forogtton and give him an answer he likes better. Can throw one hell of a tantrum then looks at you like what I didn't mean to 🙈🙄

Some days I want to bang my head against a wall and just want a nice and easy simple horse that would do as I as when I asked it to, but then that wouldn't be fun and I'd be bored very quickly. Can't live with him somedays but I don't think I will ever be able to live a day without him.
 
Slightlyconfused said:
Mine dont do alfalfa.
They are like children on e numbers
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Exactly!

also with you saying the putting weight in the stirrup mine was like that.
We sent him away to be backed but she noted he didnt like things above his head/back so she spent more time on desensitising him on that
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He's fine with me behind and above him, but he is reacting to the weight increase. I've got him booked to be backed by someone else in a couple of months, I'm too old to risk it these days. I'll be spending time time in between desensitizing him as much as I can. First show on Sunday if the weather is ok.



YG, I would say mine's on that level of sensitivity, but has had a pretty much unhandled start, so nothing bad to undo. I've never had one learn to move over on command as quickly as he did.


AL, I bought him to replace a horse which was very spooky. I don't mind quirky, but he won't be staying if he's bucky, spooky or nappy. Have you tested yours for PSSM? That winter behaviour could be a lack of vitamin E in winter grass. My PSSM horses needed their vitamin E more than doubled in winter.
 
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YorksG said:
An interesting insight into the current girl, yesterday I had to unblock our kitchen drain (agan!) which took all afternoon. I did have a wash, but didn't change my clothes before I went to bring the girls in. The poor girl was mortified and initially quite scared, that her person smelt so horrible :eek:. I put the halter on and she was snorting and jumping about a bit, but then it was as if she took a deep breath (away from smelly me :) ) and while refusing to take a treat, came in as normal, with perfect manners, twelve months ago if I had tried that I doubt that I would have got the halter on her! It seems to take a long time for them to trust you, but it is worth the wait ime :)
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Aren't they funny! My mare has a pair of gardening gloves that she takes exception to - getting anywhere near her with them on takes an awful lot of persuasion.
 
I refer to mine as the teenage daughter I never wanted. I swear she would slam her stable door behind her in a strop if she could.

And we have 'discussions' about rugs. She makes it very, very clear when she feels one is unnecessary. We then have to discuss the weather forecast that I have seen and she hasn't. Yes, it is going to be cold and wet later and yes, you are going to wear the red one.
 
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