The Foundation Appaloosa Horse Registry was founded in September of 1997 by a group of dedicated, concerned Foundation Appaloosa breeders. The founder, Tom Taylor, headed the gathering of these breeders for the purpose of breed recovery. At this first meeting, the group concurred that its objective would be to protect, preserve, perpetuate and promote the bloodlines of the true Appaloosa horse, the breed traditionally recognized as Appaloosa.
| Original Incorporators | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Taylor, Founder | Linda Taylor | Frank C. Scripter |
| Elvira Scripter | Craig Wells | Teresa Wells |
| Jennifer Thomas | Bernard "Joe" Yeomans | Marilyn Yeomans |
| William Shepherd | Ralph Kirton | Karen Kirton |
In December of 1950, the Appaloosa was given purebred status by the National Stallion Board. This allowed the Appaloosa to be issued purebred papers, instead of the grade papers previously issued. It also allowed the Appaloosa to compete with all other recognized breeds in National competition. The deregulation of the Equine industry that shortly followed made the modern Appaloosa more dissimilar as a distinct breed than it had been before the previous attempt at breed recovery by Claude Thompson in the 1930's.
In 1994, a leading authority of the Appaloosa industry wrote an article stating that by the most recent statistics of that time, no Appaloosas were found in the world with their first six generations (counting the individual horse as the first generation) being all of Appaloosa parentage. It further stated that only 39 Appaloosas could be found in the world with their first five generations being all Appaloosa blood. By industry standards, an animal must present at least 7/8th blood, by pedigree, to be representative of that specific genetic breed.
The public release of this information made many Foundation Appaloosa breeders realize the critical state of the breed. They pushed for recovery procedures to be implemented before these numbers became critical, and the window of opportunity for recovery was closed. These Foundation breeders realized that without preserving seed stock for the future, the Appaloosa would become extinct as an individual, distinguishable breed.
The historic Foundation Appaloosa was not only a Native American legend, but proved itself well in many different facets of competition. Many great Foundation Appaloosas can be cited as the best in their event in breed competition as well as the best in many events in all breed competitions. They are noted for versatility, endurance and family oriented dispositions. To top off its superiority in performance, it is noted as a good all-around horse, generally with a very diverse and unusual coat color often with spots. The organization members feel that it would be a tragedy to see such a distinct breed become extinct.