Spotted Saddle Horse

The spotted saddle horse is an American gaited saddle breed developed from smooth-gaited horses with pinto coloring, especially Tennessee Walking Horse, Missouri Fox Trotter, and related Southern trail-horse lines. Its defining combination is a colorful spotted coat and a comfortable intermediate gait, usually a running walk, saddle gait, or other four-beat gait rather than a trot as the main riding gait. Horses vary in height and build, but most are medium-sized, people-oriented riding horses with enough substance for long trail days.

Spotted saddle horses are kept for trail riding, pleasure showing, field trials, and family riding where a smooth ride is valued. Owners should look for a natural gait, balanced feet, and a back that fits the intended saddle, since poor shoeing or forced gait training can create soundness problems. In show settings, welfare-minded handling is especially important because some gaited breeds have a history of abusive methods to exaggerate movement. Registration commonly depends on both coat pattern and gait, so solid-colored gaited horses may belong elsewhere even if their ancestry is similar.

Colors: Amber Champagne, Bay, Bay Dun, Bay Roan, Black, Blanket Appaloosa, Blue Roan, Brown, Buckskin, Champagne, Chestnut, Classic Champagne, Cremello, Dun, Dun Roan, Fewspot Appaloosa, Flaxen Chestnut, Frame Overo, Gold Champagne, Gray, Grey, Grullo, Leopard Appaloosa, Liver Chestnut, Overo, Palomino, Perlino, Piebald, Pinto, Rabicano, Red Dun, Red Roan, Roan, Sabino, Seal Bay, Silver Dapple, Skewbald, Smoky Black, Smoky Cream, Snowcap Appaloosa, Sorrel, Splash White, Tobiano, Tovero, Varnish Roan, White