A Breeder’s Guide to Appaloosa Pattern Identification

Appaloosas, Knabstruppers and all other breeds of horses with the LP mutation display a wide variety of coat patterns. These are wonderful just to look at, but they are also very interesting to study!

In order to discover the underlying genetic mechanisms involved in producing them, our team of researchers have had to develop a way of categorizing these patterns. This article lays out the classification system we have created, explains why we use the terminology that we do, and shows you how to correctly identify the coat patterns of your horses.