The Appaloosa not just a pretty horse

“We think the Appaloosa is the best multi-purpose horse around,” says Rick Johnson of Sans Souci Farm in KwaZulu-Natal’s Kamberg Valley.

The Appaloosa not just a pretty horse
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Rick, his wife Trisha and their son Patrick, who manages many of Sans Souci’s enterprises, own a phenomenal 147 Appaloosas.Back in the early 1990s, Rick and Trisha had to replace the aging, indeterminate breed horses used to herd cattle and do inspections on the 560ha farm. That was when they heard about the Appaloosa.As the breed was reported to be sturdy, good-natured, sure-footed, low maintenance and hardy, they invested in some as general purpose steeds.

“The Appaloosa’s hardiness goes back hundreds of years, when the breed lived on the rugged North American prairies.,” says Rick. “So does its good nature. The Native Americans would only catch and breed the less wild specimens.“Over the years the Appaloosa has become very popular here, but when Trisha and I were looking for our first Appaloosas it was very hard to find them. But we managed to get some from Claire Amm in the Free State, and we’ve sourced much of our genetic stock from her over the years.”

They were soon so impressed with the Appaloosas they decided to begin breeding them for their new horse-trails enterprise, Bergtrails, now a well-known attraction on Sans Souci. Bergtrails is also the name of Rick and Trisha’s Appaloosa breeding and selling business, which operates alongside the couple’s 380ha pine and eucalyptus plantations, their off-farm commercial Eragrostis hay production enterprise and their aptly named Spotted Horse Pub & Grill.

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The Appaloosa appeal
Much of the Appaloosa’s appeal lies in its colouration and markings. The eight basic categories of coat patterns include “leopard”, where a solid white horse has dark spots over its entire body, “spots”, where the horse has white or dark spots over parts or its entire body, and “roan blanket”, where a horse has a mixture of white and dark hairs, usually over the hip area.“Where possible we try to breed for the best colours and patterns, but in a herd of this size it can be quite a challenge,” says Rick.

“So we tend to take a wait-and-see approach until our foaling season arrives.“Interestingly, the colours and patterns at birth won’t necessarily remain the same throughout their lives. We’ve had solid coloured foals that, when they were six years old or so, suddenly began showing stunning colours and patterns. “The price for an Appaloosa is mostly dictated by colours and patterns. Our prices range from about R6 500 for a solid colour to about R75 000 for a really beautifully coloured and patterned leopard.”

Home on the ranch
For ease of management, and because the Appaloosa is such a hardy and low maintenance breed, the family runs them on a ranching system, keeping the horses in large veld camps around the farm. Unless a horse is being treated for an illness or injury, or participating in an equine event at an off-farm venue, it spends its life outdoors.“Our horses don’t get any special horse ration, just their sourveld grazing all year round, and a game lick, some milled cob and corn, and Eragrostis hay in the winter when the veld is poor,” explains Rick. “We also give them their required vaccinations, such as for African Horse Sickness, and they’re dewormed four times a year and have their hooves trimmed when necessary.”

The breeding programme
The Johnsons ensure that a stallion isn’t in the same camp as his daughters, then they let nature take its course. The Appaloosas come into heat around October. With a 11-month gestation, they foal down in spring the following year, when natural veld quality and growth are at its best. Good grazing for a lactating mare means good milk production for the foal. One stallion can cover as many as 60 mares, though the Johnsons generally limit this to around 35 to 40 mares per stallion.

Sans Souci success
The Johnsons don’t need to advertise their horses. They get plenty of customers who take Bergtrails’ daily rides through the scenic Kamberg Valley. Many leave having bought an Appaloosa or two – an Appaloosa outride could be compared to test-driving a vehicle.An added drawcard is that every Sans Souci horse is trained soon after birth using Parelli Natural Horsemanship methods.

This is one of the least stressful training methods for the horses and builds significant trust between horse and human. “Every horse we sell must have proven itself on our outride trails,” adds Rick. “We evaluate them on aspects such as character, endurance, sure-footedness and how they respond to their riders and other horses. Buyers are literally guaranteed a good animal.”The Johnsons love their Appaloosas, and every single one of their 147 horses has a name, although Rick laughingly admits he finds it increasingly difficult to remember them all.

The family is happy to share their passion for this breed through a programme where school leavers can spend six months or more on Sans Souci working with the Appaloosas.Bergtrails’ cowboys and cowgirls, as they’re called, also take customers out on the trails, help with other aspects of Bergtrails’s management and even participate in livestock roundup.“Yes, it’s great that we can make money from our Appaloosas, but we also enjoy showing and teaching people all the great things about them,” Rick concludes.

Contact Rick Johnson on 082 9322255, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.bergtrails.co.za.