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.
There are two breed registries for the Spotted Saddle horse. In 1979, the National Spotted Saddle Horse Association (NSSHA) was organized in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The association focuses on promoting naturally-gaited saddle horses with pinto coloration. The NSSHA is adamant about disallowing cruel and inhumane training and showing practices, including soring, sometimes seen in other elements of the Spotted Saddle horse industry, and prohibited by the Horse Protection Act of 1970 (HPA). The NSSHA also bans the use of action devices (such as chains or other weights around the pasterns) and performance packages (stacks of pads attached to the shoe, sometimes weighted or used to conceal abusive shoeing practices) in their shows, which goes beyond the protection afforded by the HPA. and In 1985, the Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association (SSHBEA) was formed, headquartered in Shelbyville, Tennessee. The SSHBEA is recognized as a "Horse Industry Organization" (HIO) under the HPA, and occasionally sees violations of the HPA at their shows. Violations of the HPA are addressed in the SSHBEA rulebook, and violations can result in disqualifications from individual shows or extended suspensions from Spotted Saddle horse showing. Today, the Spotted Saddle horse is seen at horse shows, as well as being used for pleasure and trail riding.
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