Spotted Saddle Horse

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Spotted Saddle Horse

The Spotted Saddle Horse is a horse breed from the United States that was developed by crossing Spanish-American type gaited pinto ponies with gaited horse breeds, such as the Tennessee Walking Horse. The result was a colorful, smooth-gaited horse, used in the show ring and for pleasure and trail riding. The Spotted Saddle Horse is a light riding horse, always pinto in color. Solid-colored foals from registered parents may be registered for identification purposes, so their pinto-colored foals have documented parentage. They always perform an ambling gait, rather than a trot, in addition to the gaits of walk and canter, performed by all breeds.


History:

The Spotted Saddle Horse developed from small gaited pinto ponies of Spanish ancestry. These were crossed with larger American breeds such as the Morgan and Standardbred, developed after the American Revolution, to increase size while retaining coloration and the desired gait. After the American Civil War, additional gaited blood was added, with contributing breeds including the Tennessee Walking Horse, Missouri Fox Trotter, Paso Fino and Peruvian Paso. Mustangs from the American West were also incorporated. Originally developed in central Tennessee, and selectively bred for pinto coloration, they were used for general pleasure and trail riding.


Characteristics:

Spotted Saddle Horses are light riding horses. They average 14.3 to 16 hands (59 to 64 inches, 150 to 163 cm) high and weigh 900 to 1,100 pounds (410 to 500 kg). The NSSHA will register horses that are shorter, down to 13.3 hands (55 inches, 140 cm), although it considers taller horses to be the breed ideal. The head is refined, with a straight or slightly convex facial profile. The neck is muscular, with a slight arch, leading into long, sloping shoulders and a muscular chest. The back is short and the hindquarters muscular and broad. The croup is slightly sloping and rounded, with a high-set tail. The ideal Spotted Saddle Horse resembles a "smaller, slightly stockier Tennessee Walking Horse". Pinto coloration is required, with white spots on a background any equine coat color. Overo and tobiano are the two most common patterns, and the coverage of the white spots can range from minimal to almost complete.


Breed Registries(In real life)
There are two breed registries for the Spotted Saddle Horse. In 1979, the National Spotted Saddle Horse Association (NSSHA) was organized in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In 1985, the Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association (SSHBEA) was formed, headquartered in Shelbyville, Tennessee.


Gaits:
The Spotted Saddle Horse is a gaited breed, meaning that they perform an intermediate-speed ambling gait instead of the trot. The flat walk, or show walk, is a regular four-beat walk, covering 4 to 8 miles per hour (6.4 to 12.9 km/h). The show gait is also a four-beat gait, similar to the flat walk with the exception of the speed. Horses traveling at a show gait can cover 10 to 20 miles per hour (16 to 32 km/h), with an extremely smooth motion. The third main gait is the canter, a three-beat gait performed by all breeds. Some members of the Spotted Saddle Horse breed can also perform the rack, stepping pace, fox-trot, single-foot or other variations of ambling gaits, all intermediate gaits, but differentiated by the pattern of foot-falls.


Colour:(NSSHA)
Any recognized horse color with white in a spotted pattern, with color above the hock, other than facial markings. The horse must possess one spot above a level line, midway between the center of the knee and the floor of the chest and midway between the point of the hock and the center point of the stifle. A horse must exhibit a spot two inches or more in diameter with underlying contrast skin in the area described above or in the tail. Facial markings, mixed tails, and/or high stockings alone do not qualify as a spot.

Markings: Standard Pinto/Paint type markings. Can be Tobiano, Sabino, Overo, or Tovero. Many horses exhibit Tobiano type markings, yet with bald or bonnet faces as on an Overo or Sabino. Some also show ragged edges and isolated other type spots on basically Tobiano type markings. NSSHA is insistent that horses show spotted coloration.


Traits(In real life)

Weight: 900 to 1,100 pounds (410 to 500 kg)
Height: 14.3 to 16 hands (59 to 64 inches, 150 to 163 cm)
Color: Any base color with pinto markings
Distinguishing features: Pinto coloration, ambling gait


Traits(In HWO)
Height: Mature Range 14.0hh to 15.1hh
Build: Very Light to Light
Body Size: 0% to 20%
Type: 100% to 78% Horse Type




Creation:
[ American Saddlebred x Standardbred ] x Tennessee Walking Horse

Standardbred:
[ Thoroughbred x Canadian Pacer ] x [ Morgan x Narragansett Pacer ]

American Saddlebred:
[ Morgan x Hackney ] x [ Narragansett Pacer x Canadian Pacer ]

Tennessee Walking Horse:
[ Thoroughbred x Narragansett Pacer ] x [ American Saddlebred x Standardbred ]


Studs:
None at the moment



Breeders:
1. Champi0nBr66der3