For those of you who like many of us here in the UK in particular, have never come across the term 'Indian shuffle' before, here is the explanation.....read on

by: Kristi Johnson

as published by Appaloosa News, June 1978 Issue

Some folks think the "Indian shuffle" is as much a birthright of the Appaloosa as its spots and striped hooves. Others have never heard of it. Is this Indian shuffle a skeleton in the Appaloosa closet or a valuable asset to the breed?

The Indian shuffle, like the pace, is a lateral gait: the legs on the same side of the horse move together. In the shuffle, the pace is broken as each hoof hits the ground a fraction ahead of the other which results in four beats as in the walk. The shuffle is sometimes called the "running walk," but the true walk, like the trot, is a diagonal gait.

The shuffle, as its name implies, does not have much elevation. The horse moves with a rolling motion of the shoulders and hips, the motion of the horse is absorbed in its back and loins giving the rider a smooth, gliding ride. Also, because the pace is broken, it lacks the side-to-side motion of the true pace.

The Spanish were the first to bring horses to the Americas. Among their horses were many the Spanish called "paso fino," which simply means smooth-gaited. These horses were not a breed but were prized for their natural broken pace that forced any other horse to trot or lope to keep up.

These horses are still prized by the Spanish descendants in South America where selective breeding for the gait has been maintained for hundreds of years. You may recognize the names: The Paso Fino, the Peruvian Paso, the Columbian Paso. All are now true breeds, descendants of the easy-gaited horse brought to the Americas by the Spanish.

What happened to the Spaniards paso fino in North America? The Spanish established settlements in New Mexico, taking local Pueblo Indians to work as serfs, farming and taking care of the large numbers of horses the Spanish kept to herd their cattle.

From the Spanish the Indians learned how to care for horses, and though it was forbidden, they also learned to ride. Occasionally a stable boy would run away with one of his charges, or some of the plains Indians would capture the runaway serfs and bargain with the Spanish for horses. But the Indians acquired many of their horses in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Under the leadership of Pope, a deposed medicine man, Indians all over New Mexico arose on the same day, killing some 400 Spanish. The rest of the Spanish fled leaving behind their settlements and their herds of horses. The Pueblo Indians, being a sheep-herding people, traded most of the horses to the buffalo hunters of the plains.

Slowly the horses moved northwards and were eventually claimed by the Nez Perce and other tribes.

The Nez Perce learned to recognize good horseflesh and, almost from the start, practiced selective breeding. Many of their horses were spotted and many had the enduring, smooth pace so prized by the Spanish. It is not known whether the Nez Perce bred specifically for the gait. It is known that they valued horses that could move out well, and rode with a quirt to urge their horses to take the shuffle gait. It has also been said they were pleased with the shuffle because they could move their households quickly without shaking things up.

The Nez Perce horse eventually became the horse of the rancher who noticed its unique gait and dubbed it the Indian shuffle. It is said cowboys would pay up to 50 dollars more for a horse that had the gait: it saved a lot of wear and tear on the cowboy, just as it had on the Indian and Spaniard before him.

Robert L Peckinpah, in the "Appaloosa Heritage," had this to say: "Rough country cowmen are unanimous, today, in praising the remarkable lack of leg trouble in the colorful, ground-covering horse. They are quick to point out that his natural traveling gait, the Indian shuffle, a seemingly tireless running walk, is a characteristic of this cleanlegged horse in all but a few animals."

When the breed registry was formed by Claude Thompson and Dr. Francis Haines in 1938, many of the foundation horses came by this gait naturally, as their ancestors had before them. It has been said that Gene Autry used to show off the gait of his Appaloosa El Morroco F-18 by putting a roping saddle on him, placing a glass of water on the horn and riding off at full speed without spilling a drop.

The closer a breeder stays to foundation stock, the greater the likelihood that a percentage of his herd will have the shuffle. The greatest instance would occur from strict Appaloosa to Appaloosa crosses.

The paso horses claim nearly 100 percent heritability. Appaloosas with the gait come nowhere near that figure, though it appears to be a dominant trait in Appaloosa to Appaloosa crosses where one parent has it. Crosses to other breeds tend to erase the gait quickly. In Fact, as years go by, it is increasingly difficult to find the Indian shuffle, and many breeders have never even heard of it. Will the shuffle eventually be lost to the Appaloosa? Perhaps not. many breeders find the ride so comfortable that they encourage it in their stock. One Ohio man, Don Ulrich, is actually breeding for it. He has chosen the difficult task of gathering Appaloosas with the shuffle from across the United States for this breeding program. Ulrich plans to breed a horse with the shuffle for endurance and long distance riding and has had very interesting reactions to his search. One breeder suggested sending such horses to slaughter, while others were very enthusiastic about the idea, including those who have ridden the horses he has purchased.

In the show ring the shuffle is not an asset. A horse that deviates from the walk, trot and canter is disqualified. Although a horse with the shuffle can trot, the horse will often insist on shuffling under saddle. Breeders with their eyes on the "blues" would not keep a shuffler for long.

Where does the shuffle belong? At this moment, not in the show ring. Perhaps one day it might be allowed in costume classes where one strives to be authentic to the Nez Perce tradition. Today it appears that this gait was made for the endurance tnthusiast and pleasure rider. The shuffle requires a minimum effort on the part of the horse, and those who ride it say it is the perfect sure-footed gait for hilly country.

Liability or asset? It's up to you to decide. Everyone interested in the Appaloosa should be familiar with the Indian shuffle. As part of our American history, the shuffle could provide extra enjoyment for many Appaloosa enthusiasts today.

The Appaloosa is an average sized light horse with most standing 14.2 to 15.2 hands at the withers and weighing about 1000 lbs. The modern Appaloosa continues to display the same qualities so highly valued by the Nez Perce and the early frontiersmen -- versatility, endurance and temperament.

The Appaloosa breed can provide a colourful horse to meet any equine interest. As with most light horse breeds, within the breed there are bloodlines or families that have become specialists. These bloodlines show a predisposition to specifically desired physical traits and behaviors. For example, some bloodlines are renowned for their speed in racing and gymkhana events, some display exceptional cow sense for cutting and roping, others are jumpers or dressage horses. For the recreational rider, the personable Appaloosa horse offers plenty of variety to meet any interest.

Colour and Characteristics

The distinctive coat patterns of the Appaloosa horse make him the most easily recognizable of all light horse breeds. The stereotypical coloured Appaloosa is a dark body with a spotted or white blanket over the loin and hips.

Coat patterns vary from the "snowflake" - darkerbody with lighter speckling Snowflake Markings Fewspot Markings

to the "fewspot" -Strong characteristics often accompanied by varnish marks (groupings of dark hairs within an area, usually nose, cheekbones, stifle, gaskin and knee)

.. and last but by no means least - the "leopard" -with a white body and dark spots over the entire body. Leopard Markings

Appaloosa horses are easily identified and no two are exactly alike. Appaloosas share three characteristics: Mottled or freckled skin (parti-coloured), most noticeable around the muzzle,eyes and genitalia; Hooves have clearly defined vertical light and dark stripes, a trait that gives them exceptionally durable hooves; and eyes have a white sclera encircling the iris much like that of the human eye.

The spotted coat of the British spotted pony was his natural camouflage when he roamed the heaths and forests of ancient Britain. Stoneage man painted him on the walls of his caves, and they appear in many illustrated manuscripts, old paintings and drawings down through the centuries. Because of their unusual coat colouring the spotted pony was highly prized and it is documented that they were sold for enormous sums of money and were widely used in peace and war. In a parchment roll dated 1298 there is listed all the horses purchased for Edward 1st campaign at Falkirk. It describes a spotted Welsh cob from Powys purchased from Robin Fitzpayne. He is one of the most expensive on the list. In a fifteenth century manuscript of the chronicles of Sir John Froissart there is an illustration of a little chestnut spotted cob.

Due to our Celtic origins, and our subsequent worship of the horse goddess Epona we have our ancient fertility rites and dances, which have been passed on down through time and are still enacted by our Morris dancers and mummers in their plays throughout the country villages to this day. One of the characters in the mummers plays is the spotted hobby horse who represents spring growth and fertility. He would dance down the village streets and any fair maiden he could catch and touch was supposed to become pregnant. We know that somehow the spotted pony was linked with these ancient rites.

The spotted pony was feral in the British Isles, and possibly was a well known colour amongst the Welsh hill ponies. We have many instances of spotted ponies in the old Welsh stud books and Gwynfe Hero, a spotted Welsh cob foaled in 1916, features in some of our oldest pedigrees.

There have been some importation's of European blood down through the centuries. While the Roman army brought with them their elite officers mounts some of which were known to be spotted Spanish horses of great elegance. Also there were many gifts of fine horses sent between the royal families of Europe, and we snow from paintings and documents many were spotted. There is a mid nineteenth century print of a lady believed to be Queen Victoria driving a beautiful little Welsh-type spotted pony with a spotted Dalmatian dog running behind. Another recorded import (again of Spanish decent) was some Danish Knabstruppers in the early 1960's. Some stallions were also imported by Chipperfield's Circus for liberty work and some found their way into private hands. Some of our modern day stallions carry this blood through spangled Leopard who was by Flashlight of Derriott out of a Knabstrupper mare. Sparside buttons is an outstanding stallion of this old line. Fairy King who was Welsh bred was the greatest progenitor of many of our ponies and he features through his son, Fairy Prince, in many of our oldest studs pedigrees. He strongly influenced the Dantsley, Domino, and Ypsitty studs who have in their turn sold stallions to many small studs throughout the UK and abroad.

The British Spotted Horse and Pony Society was formed in 1947 to keep a register and preserve them, and in 1976 the society split and the ponies under 14.2 hh were looked after by the British Spotted Pony Society. The bigger ones were entered in the British Appaloosa Society registers.

After the last war there was a great awakening of interest in the spotted pony and many were exported to Australia, America, Canada and Holland, France and Germany. The studbooks relate the constant loss of some of our best mares and stallions to the demand from abroad. During the 1960's and early 70's subsequently the British spotted pony has become a rare breed with about 800 animals currently registered in the society's studbooks.

The versatile, intelligent Appaloosa is the oldest recognizable breed in the world. Spotted horses are featured in prehistoric cave paintings dating back 20,000 years. Archeological and historical records show the ancient Chinese Emperors describing them as "Heavenly Horses," and in 17th and 18th century Europe, aristocrats prized them highly as mounts.

A spotted horse in the northwest was known as a "Palouse" horse, taken from the name of the tiny Palouse River along which some Nez Perce grazed their vast herds. In time, "Appaloosa" became the most commonly used term for a spotted horse. As a tribute to the importance of the American Indian to the Appaloosa breed, Appaloosa horse shows feature Native Dress classes for men and ladies. Entrants' regalia of fine buckskin and beaded outfits are spectacular.

The modern account of the Appaloosa horse is intertwined with the history of the American Native Indian. In particular the Nez Perce tribe of what is now Northeast Oregon. The Nez Perce acquired the horses in approximately 1710 and quickly became superb horsemen. They developed horses of exceptional quality by practicing selective breeding, the only Native American tribe to do so. The best stallions were used for breeding, the lesser quality males were castrated. All culls and inferior stock were traded away to other tribes. Especially prized as war horses and buffalo runners were the colorful spotted horses. The Nez Perce developed a tough, swift, surefooted mount to meet their needs. These same traits were of value to the early frontiers men and were in high demand.

In 1877, the story of the Nez Perce and the Appaloosa takes a tragic turn. Chief Joseph, the famous and much quoted leader of the peaceful Nez Perce became disheartened by the many broken treaty promises of the United States Government. Rather than fight, the 700 Nez Perce men, women and children chose to seek political asylum in Canada. For more than three months, traveling 1800 miles over treacherous mountain terrain, the Nez Perce, mounted on their Appaloosa horses avoided capture by the pursuing US Armies. The ongoing battles with the soldiers and the weak condition of his surviving people forced Chief Joseph to surrender. They were in northern Montana -- only one day's journey from the Canadian border and freedom.

The strength of the Nez Perce had been their Appaloosa horses. The United States Government and the missionaries set out to destroy that strength. Most of their horses were confiscated and sold to local settlers. The Appaloosa that had escaped were hunted down by soldiers. A bottle of whiskey was the bounty paid for each Appaloosa horse shot. The Nez Perce on their new reservation were encouraged to take up farming. Their fine Appaloosa stallions were replaced with draft stallions. The effects of these crosses -- coarseheads and legs, and loss of refinement have taken generations to rid from the Appaloosa breed. The modern Appaloosa is a result of some out breeding to the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse.

The original trim, hardy Appaloosa horse was quickly disappearing from the American west and for 50 years was a "lost breed." In 1938, a group of concerned stockmen in the northwestern United States formed the Appaloosa Horse Club to revive and preserve the Appaloosa horse. In Canada, James Wyatt (an Alberta rancher and Dr. Grant MacEwan - in later years Alberta's Lt. Governor) established the charter in 1954 and under the Federal Animal Pedigree Act is the official registry of Appaloosa horses in Canada.