What's Up with Appaloosas?

Question

Well i own a 20 year old appaloosa gelding and he is just so stubborn. it seems that he outsmarts everything I do.

anyone else have an appy who is like this? It makes me frusterated sometimes cause he is so stubborn and thinks he knows everything!! Are all breeds like this, or just Appys?

What do you think of Appys?

Answer 1

Hi there.

No it is not the breed so much as the horse himself.

Answer 2

I love appy's!  They are a breed among themselves!  I do believe they can be a bit more stubborn than other breeds because of their wild roots.  Make sure that your horse remembers who the boss is!

Answer 3

i LOVE Appys

Answer 4

Any horse can be stubborn, its not just because of their breed. But I heard Appaloosas tend to be more stubborn than other breeds.

Answer 5

It seems that most of the colored horses are the stubborn ones. xD Paints can be pretty hard headed too.

EDIT:

Ahh, he looks great for 20. If I didn't know then I would have thought he wasn't a day over 8.

Answer 6

I had an Appaloosa who could get out of his stall if I put up those cloth doors so he could stick his head out. He would sneak out of his stall, go into the feed room, and eat all he wanted. When he heard someone coming, he went back in his stall through the open door and stand there innocently. I couldn't figure out why he was gaining so much weight, so I set up a video camera. I watched it that night and got so mad at him, but I couldn't stay that way. When I was tacking him up, I would leave the saddle on him so I could go find a girth. He would wiggle around on the cross ties until my saddle fell off, then he would step on it. He only did this once or twice, because soon I figured out that it wasn't accidental. I didn't keep him for too long, because his tricks got in the way of his wellbeing

Answer 7

I personally don't like appys. They are a hard stubborn breed to work with. Its his breed mostly but all horses can be like that.

Answer 8

Oh I know!! My appaloosa is EXACTLY like that! It is certainly an appaloosa trait. That's why I love them so much! They are stubborn, cheeky, too smart for their own good and have a lot of character!!

Here in New Zealand, a lot of appaloosas are abused (my appy was) and I think it's because most people don't understand their wicked ways - most appys are no easy ride. But they are very easy to teach. I have noticed that appaloosas think a lot, I mean, for example; if I was to teach my appaloosa something new, he would probably not get it at first but if I turn him out, it's almost as if he thinks about what I was trying to teach him over night and by the next day, he's improved!! Haha!

Appaloosas are very different to every other breed, truly unique. And I love them for it!

I believe that appaloosas suit a one person owner rather than with multiple riders.

Have fun!!

Answer 9

In general, Appies are very smart and have been known to be "stubborn" but that is because they are smarter than their owners sometimes. :)

I like a horse with a challenging brain because I like to learn how to "outhink" them.  He probably has YOU trained and that is why you can't get the results you want from him sometimes.  YOU need to be the top dog so to speak so he respects you but also you need to love him.  Love and respect go a long way but you can also learn how to think before he does or perhaps just outsmart him.

It depends on what behavior you are talking about...on the ground, riding?  What is it exactly that he is outsmarting you at?

Answer 10

Hudson already spoke my first thought.  He's 20, he's been around long enough to figure things out. (and they DO 'figure' things out)  

My yearling colt is a serious thinker.

When my mare was late in her pregnancy, she liked her belly rubbed.  While she was eating, I'd rub her belly and talk to the baby.  I called 'it' my 'little spotty body' and remind it to be spotted.  When I got to see my baby up close at 4 months old, from the car window, he ignored me.  Until I said "Hey, are you my little spotty body?"  The head came up, the ears came up and he looked squarely at me!  He remembered and recognized that phrase.  Intelligence.

As for 'purebred' reference to Appaloosas, the only place you'd even come close is from the descendants of Ollikot's herd.  These are the living link to "Palouse" horses.  This herd thrives to this day.  Ollikot was a brother of Chief Joseph (Hein mot oo yah lah kot, or, Thunder Rolling in the Mountains).

POA's have the same requirement as Appaloosas because the Lp gene doesn't recognize man's laws or discriminate between horse or pony.

Appaloosas are just awesome.

Answer 11

Well..if he's 20 and has been allowed to get away with stuff throughout his life...he is just being himself!!

But I see that deviousness in his eye in the 2nd picture!!  Hmmm one step ahead kinda look!!

He looks great for 20!!  Just show him that you are in charge and don't let him get away with being that way..make him do what you YOU want him to do.  

He looks a little spoiled as evidenced by the ribbons in his tail in the 1st picture..just don't spoil him when your trying to work him and get things accomplished!!

You both have red hair!!  Nice match!!

Is that Cookie Monster?

Answer 12

try to punish him when he does something bad, and praise him or give him a treat when hes good. Good Luck!

Answer 13

Welcome to Appaloosa's!!!!  They are awsome thinkers!!!!! That is why  a lot of people don't like them. They are too smart for most riders!!!! LOL I love them for that reason!!!! They are really great horses to own.

****edit******

Good lookin' boy!

Answer 14

I used to have an appy, and now I have some kind of POA/appy cross.  The purebred was the most willing, perfect horse you could ever ask for.  We bought her when she was 6 months old, and when we broke her at 3, we literally just put the saddle on and went.  She never bucked, reared, or bit, and she was always willing to do whatever we wanted.  My appy cross, however, can be extremely stubborn at times.  She never really acts up, but when she draws the line it is extremely hard to get her across it.  She won't canter well under saddle at all, though she will always canter around in the pasture, she refuses to back when I am in the saddle, though she will when I am on the ground.  She eventually decides to do what I ask, but only after days or weeks of work on the same thing.  As I work with her more, however, she draws fewer lines, and it takes much less to get her over it.  

So, every horse is different, you could have full siblings and have one horse be the best horse on the face of the planet and the other be an absolute nut job.  It makes sense that appys could be slightly more stubborn than other breeds, just as most Arabs and Thoroughbreds are more energetic and spookier than most Quarter Horses.

EDIT:

Dang, he looks good for 20.  Beautiful too.  That was what my first appy looked like.  My current one is blue roan with a huge blanket that goes all the way from her withers to halfway down her back legs.  She also has the mottled lips and striped hooves of an appy, which is why we think she is a crossbred, even though the sellers told us she was a POA.

Answer 15

Lol that sownds like the horse i ride hes a Appaloosa and his name is Cody Z hes oldish a stuborn to but i think its because of the age but im almost sure that its not the breed because theres another oldish horse there that is the same as him but maybe a little more stuborn......

Hope i helped

P.S IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 16

he is so pretty!!!!!

Answer 17

i found out you have to be more stubborn than the app.  after i convinced my mare that she would do as i wanted.  she very seldom gave me problems.  i love appys.

Answer 18

I hae a 20 y/o appy too!!! I love the breed and yes, it is the breed thats stubborn and smart!!!!! I have other breeds and care for many horses and only appys are the ones with the distinct attitude. :) he is my first horse and ive had him forever. He was the greatest first horse but even now with the few lesson kids that ride him he has thrown them all off at least twice. i can get on him Totally barback ( no bridle or halter) canter and jump. we have the bond and its only ith me NO ONE ELSE. I love appys!

Answer 19

Well at 20 years he has learned a lot! ;)

All of them can throw a fit of stubbornness at times. It's not always the breed. My friend has a beauty of one and it is magnificent! Enjoy him, stubbornness and all!