Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 10 · column 3 of 9 · from the scan, no model involved
Out of this disgust grew the first Appaloosa registry. Determined horse lovers started buying a spotted mare here, a spotted stallion there. The horses had the distinctive white blanket across the rump but no class: color but with big feet and outsized heads. However, the blood of Chief Joseph’s ponies was there; diluted but still there.
Holding a mental image of the Nez Perces horse in their minds, dedicated Appaloosa owners directed their efforts at refining the breed and reinforcing the old bloodlines by crossing the draft-horselooking Appaloosas with thoroughbreds and Arabians.
This drive to improve the breed continues. The registry is still open to the offspring of an Appaloosa and thoroughbred or quarter horse as long as the baby !i^s color. There are still some of those draft-horse-looking Apps around but they’re getting harder to find.
When the breed has recaptured the characteristics of the Wallowa Valley horses, the registry will be closed and only foals from two registered Appaloosa parents will qualify for entry. Mauri reported. "Right now, they’re close, pretty close, to the Nez Perces standard," she added.
“One reason why I like the Appaloosa so much is the history behind them. I've always been intrigued by Indian history,” Mauri explained.
First Horse
But her fascination with Appaloosas actually began with one skinny little mare. As a teenager, Mauri was smitten with “horsitis," the passion for horses that compels so many young girls to shovel manure from stalls, brush coats until they gleam, saddlesoap tack and rise at the crack of dawn to exercise mounts—all for free, all for the opportunity just to be near the four-legged objects of their devotion. The search for her first horse took Mauri and her parents to a big stable outside Middleburg that had just received a shipment of horses from Texas. "One came up and put her head on my shoulder. I said this is the one I want!"
She stuck by her choice and 12 years ago. Snow came home to Rappahannock. “She taught me a lot. She was especially wonderful for a kid who didn’t know anything," Mauri recalled. She passed her passion for Appaloosas on to Bill. The two were dating when Mauri went away to college at Tech. Bill always had been interested in horses but had
90.3%