Spotted Elegance:
Unveiling the Appaloosa Story

Welcome to Cilliers Appaloosas Stud

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE BREED (AS QUOTED FROM THE APPALOOSA HORSE BREEDERS’ SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA)

The rich and fascinating history of the Appaloosa breed is unique as its colorful spotted coat patterns.

The following is a brief, non comprehensive overview:
The Appaloosa’s ancestry can be traced back to the earliest recorded time, but it is in the American melting pot that the spotted horse established itself as a true breed. The Nez Perce Indians of the island Northwest, deserve much of the credit for the Appaloosa horses we have today. As the only Native Americans known to selectively breed their horses, the Nez Perce desired only the strongest, fastest and most sure-footed mounts.

Famous explorer Meriwether Lewis was appropriately impressed with the breeding accomplishments of the Nez Perce, as noted in his diary entry from February 15, 1806.

Settlers coming into the area began to refer to these spotted horses as “A Palouse Horse”, as a reference to the Palouse River, which runs through Northern Idaho. Over time, the name evolved into “Palousy”, “Appalousey”, and finally “Appaloosa”

Cilliers Appaloosa Stud has been breeding appaloosas since 2006. Our stud was the first to introduce this magnificent breed to Namibia and currently Namibia has 340 registered appaloosas of which 55 appaloosas are owned by us.
We breed for temperament, conformation and colour and pride ourselves to have these horses roam freely on 12000 ha of land.