For Jeannie, If you want to put pretty on your Appaloosa's

A farm(Dream Catch Ranch) that has been quite successful with breeding 1/2 Arab Apps has come to this conclusion about what is needed:

The appaloosa can be either heterozygous or homozygous for appy characteristics. Research is still being conducted by The Appaloosa Project. But here are the basics...

There are many patterns of color - some with spots, some without spots, some that cover the entire body, some that just roan the body, and some that only leave the very minimal few white pieces of hair. There are certain characteristics that indicate the presence of the Lp gene on an otherwise solid horse. These are mottled skin around the muzzle, eye, and/or private areas - striped hooves - white sclera in the eye (kind of like some arabs). If a horse has all of these characteristics but seems otherwise solid in color, it is still most likely a carrier of the Lp gene (either heterozygous or homozygous). The various white patterns are the more illusive part of the equation here and there is also a hypothesis that talks about additional white helper genes that help when it comes the expression of the patters (loud or flaky).

An Lp gene does not guarantee a pattern - all the Lp gene guarantees are the appy characteristics (mottled skin, striped hooves, white schera). The expression of a pattern (butt blankets, leopards, fewspots, snowcaps, appy roans, etc) depends on the type of pattern genes and possibly white helper genes associated wit the Lp gene. Unfortunately this part is still being researched but I'll give you examples.

I know of a foundation appaloosa mare that is a solid bay but she has produced two foals with loud color - one leopard and one blanket. There is believed to be two specific leopard pattern genes right now according to the research. This mare came from a long line of leopard to leopard breeding so most likely carries the leopard pattern genes even though she does not express them herself (which could be due to either Lp genes or white helper genes?). The stallion she was bred to both times was not a leopard and had no leopards in the first five generations.

The dam of my buckskin half-arab/appy gelding appeared to be just a roan buckskin appaloosa mare. What she was really hiding was the genetic make-up to produce loud color when bred to the right stallion. Two previous foals, when bred to a Witez II stallion, were solid half-arabs. But when bred to the last stallion (Padron Psyche line - know sabino producing line - possible contribution of white helping genes), my very loud gelding was the product.

It is not known if the appaloosa roaning characteristic is heterzygous or homozygous but does seem to be a distinct pattern.

In addition to the appaloosa, it is important to pick the right arabian. A small amount of sabino (star and/or socks) can go a long way to helping produce a loud colored half-arab foal. A solid black arabian with NO history of white markings in the lineage can be a bad choice. If there are white markings on the arabs anywhere in the lineage, however, you are still ok (because of how the illusive nature on the inheritance of the sabino patterns). A chestnut arabian with white markings, bred to a loud appaloosa will be the best chance at getting loud colored foals. This line of reasoning goes along with some specific research that indicates that chestnut, bay, and black DID, somehow, have an impact on the expression of the appaloosa pattern. Black being the most suppressive and chestnut being the least. So in fact, a loud colored, black appaloosa (because it is the most suppressive) is a very potent producer of loud color - the reasoning..... if all that white is expressing on the most suppressive color, it must have a significant number of white helper genes, pattern expression genes, etc to make it that loud which means it has a lot to offer the color gene pool.

Long story short - if you want appy color on your half arab foal - breed to a fewspot or snowcap (an appy with none or very few spots) - this will nearly guarantee a spotted pattern. Also look at the sire and dam of the appy you are breeding to determine the possible patterns they may contribute to your half arab foal. Also look at any progeny, if available, to get an idea of what kind of patterns that appy produces. If either parents are roany or flaky, or if the appy has produced roans and snowflake patterns, you may want to scratch that appy off your breeding partner list. Pick an appy that has a history of loud color to breed your arabian to.

If you want big spots on your half-arab - pick a fewspot appaloosa whose parents had big spots and who has foals on the ground with big spots. If you want big spots, do not breed to an appaloosa that has little spots. If you want guaranteed color on your half-arab, do NOT breed to a spotted appaloosa because you will only have a 50% chance of getting those spots. A leopard will not always produce leopards - just depends on the patterns that horse carries, the amount of white helper genes contributed by the parents, and the base color of the horse. There are alot of variables in the equation that produces the appaloosa patterns and it is nearly impossible to predict the outcome but you can at least try to narrow the possibilities.