'Hobo' and his spotted horses

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 33, 5 February 1985, Page 6

'Hobo' and his spotted horses

Dan 'Hobo' Alabaster has an unusual hobby — he breeds spotted horses! But the hobby is not as strange as it sounds because the animals are of the Appaloosa breed which has a history that reaches back centuries. 'Hobo' has the only registered Appaloosa farm in the Waimarino and is one of only fifty registered breeders in the whole of the country. The first Appaloosa Hobo bought, a colt named 'Sunburst Freckles' was brought from Australia in 1974 and was only the third animal of the breed registered in New Zealand. Since then Hobo has imported several mares for breeding purposes and now has twelve of the horses on his Middle Road farm. His youngest foal is three months old. It has 'blanket spots' — the spots cover its

entire body. "You never strike two with the same colouring," says Hobo. "Some are plain — although coloured ones don't come out in spots until they are three or four years old." Although Hobo keeps his Appaloosas as a hobby and to ride, many breeders show them at the Annual Appaloosa Association Show in Hamilton. Some owners also use their horses for polo or jumping. Supposedly, they are the best breed of horse in the world for speed and stamina, "but they're only as good as the work that's put into them," Hobo believes. An Appaloosa yearling is worth between $750 and $ 1 ,000 in New Zealand. The plain coloured ones, without the distinctive spots, usually sell at prices similar to those gained for 'ordinary' horses. Early Spanish adventures brought Appaloosas to

North America. They were then bred as war horses over a period of one hundred years by the Nez Perce Indians of the Palouse River region. This tribe was amoungst the few which bred their horses selectively, choosingtheir breeding stallions for courage and hardiness. The Nez Perce, with their spotted horses, were chased over 1,200 miles by U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars, as a result of which the American Government ordered the slaughter of all their Appaloosas. In 1937 when the breed was just about extinct, enthusiasts in the United States banded together to revive the breed. Their efforts were successful and the horses were exported to Australia from the U.S. and from there to New Zealand, where they are now becoming more popular each year.