Appaloosa breeding

Question
I have an appaloosa colt and when he is ready would like to breed him as his confirmation, colour is fantastic and height will finish about 15 hands.  Question I have is, to get a foal with colour and spots, do I breed to a solid colour mare or do I breed to a blanketed appaloosa mare?

Thanks

Jo

Answer
Dear Jo

Your best chance for color will be to breed to a mare with color.  That said, once in a while, two Appaloosa parents with color will produce a solid colored foal.  Genetics is a complicated subject and recessive genes can surprise you. (If you want to learn about equine genetics I can recommend several books)  However, with all the mentioned caveats, your chances for a colored foal are quite good with two colored parents.  I suggest you take a look at the production record of both families.  The fewer solid colored offspring that have occurred within the families, the smaller the chance of a solid foal popping up.  All Appaloosa families will have solids in the families at some point.  The color patterns variations have occurred for many centuries around the world. Breeds such as the Knabstupper or the Celestial horses of China pre-dated the American Appaloosa. However, at least in the U.S.solid foals still occur.

Good Luck

Lynne Curtis Gudes
"Common Sense Isn't"