The Walkaloosa is an American gaited saddle breed that has a leopard ("appaloosa") coat.

Not to be confused with...
Don't confuse the Walkaloosa with the Foundation Appaloosa or with the Tiger Horse, because although all of these three breeds have an "appaloosa" coat and an ambling gait, they have different breeding rules, goals, and can come from different lineages. They are therefore all different breeds.

The Walkaloosa, the Appaloosa, and the in-between:
The story of the Walkaloosa is tied with the story of another breed: the Appaloosa.

Originally, Appaloosa horses had a unique ambling gait called "Indian shuffle." At the beginning of the 20th century, most Appaloosa horses were crossed with Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and Quarter Horses, crossings that eliminated their ambling gait.

Only a small number of Appaloosa horses were spared from this extensive crossbreeding, and therefore kept their ambling ability. These unique Appaloosas are known as 'Foundation Appaloosas' (see the 'Foundation Appaloosa' for more information.)

The Walkaloosa registry was established in 1983, with the aim of preserving the type (but not bloodlines) of a gaited Appaloosa horse by crossing non-gaited Appaloosas with gaited horses. These crosses created a new gaited breed who has the blood and coat of an Appaloosa, but not necessarily the conformation of an Appaloosa.

Why is the Walkaloosa NOT a Foundation Appaloosa?
The breeding policy of the Walkaloosa is what creates the difference between a 'Foundation Appaloosa' and a 'Walkaloosa.'

While a Foundation Appaloosa must have at least 75% of Foundation Appaloosa blood, a Walkaloosa must have some percent of an Appaloosa blood, which can be either Foundation or Modern, with the remaining percent being the blood of a gaited breed. This means that while every gaited Foundation Appaloosa is also a Walkaloosa, not every Walkaloosa is a Foundation Appaloosa.

The Walkaloosa today:
Today, the Walkaloosa exists in small numbers. It serves mostly as a trekking horse thanks to its comfortable gaits.

How are Walkaloosas bred?
Originally, Walkaloosas were created by crossing Paso Fino horses with Appaloosas. Today, however, Walkaloosa horses must have two Walkaloosa parents, or one Appaloosa parent, and one gaited parent. In addition, in order to be a Walkaloosa, a horse must be fully gaited (AmAm.)

In Horse Isle, the Appaloosa parent can be either fully or partially gaited. The non-Appaloosa gaited parent, on the other hand, must be gaited. Therefore, in order to ensure that the gaited parent of all the Walkaloosas in Horse Isle is indeed gaited, only fully gaited breeds (AmAm) can be used. Breeds who can be heterozygous to ambling (Amco) are not accepted as breeding stock, even if they can also be fully gaited.

In addition, a horse must have a leopard (appaloosa) coat in order to be a Walkaloosa. See the Walkaloosa Breeding Stock for more information.

Conformation:
Because Walkaoosas are the result of crossing an Appaloosa with any gaited breed, they come in a variety of sizes and conformations. That said, most Walkaloosas have a straight or a slightly-dished profile, a medium-to-long neck, well-defined withers, a short back, a sloping croup, and a muscled chest. The mane is usually short or medium in length.

In Horse Isle, the Walkaloosa has the conformation that is similar to most North American gaited saddle horses, such as the Tennessee Walker and the Racking Horse.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Walkaloosas in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 14.9-17.2, 16.1 (0.5), 0.09.
Sprint: 45-60, 53 (3), 0.66.

Accel: 0.84-1.06, 0.95 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 0.86-1.03, 0.94 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 5.11-5.48, 5.28 (0.08), 0.02.
Pull: 1.63-2.58, 2.07 (0.21), 0.04.

Turning: 44.80-58.27, 52.51 (2.97), 0.58.
Reverse: 2.3-3.0, 2.6 (0.2), 0.03.

Stamina: 41.31-48.95, 45.59 (1.69), 0.33.
Reaction: 0.70-0.83, 0.77 (0.03), 0.01.

Coats & Height:
Colors: all colors except for grey, mushroom, and white. Dominant black does not naturally exist in this breed, but can be bred into it.

Additionals: flaxen, linebacked, rabicano, roan, sooty, all rare patterns. the coat is always solid.

Breeding notes: it is not recommended to cross Walkaloosas who are heterozygous to leopard (Ll), as it might result in a solid-colored foal (see the 'Walkaloosa Breeding Stock' for more info.)

Height: 13hh to 17hh, although most of them stand between 14.2hh and 15.3hh.