What is a Tiger Horse?            The Tiger Horse is a re-birth of an ancient breed consisting of color, gait, and temperament with the phenotype of the Chinese Soulon Horse.  Though the original Tiger horse is no longer in existence, it is has been reborn and is again recognized as a true breed.  Many may mistake the Tiger Horse for an Appaloosa because of their colors, or a Walkaloosa or Spanish Jennet because of their color and gait.  In fact, the “Tiger Horse” is a registered breed, where the focus is on the regal “Soulon” (shown above), a horse developed by the Chinese during the T’ang Dynasty about 618 AD.            This horse originated on the Siberia/China border, where it once grazed at the foot of the Heavenly Mountains.  Known there as "Heavenly Horses," they are depicted in Chinese art as War Horses.  Wars were fought over possession of these horses, and their owners killed their entire herds before letting the enemy have them.  Once these  coveted spotted horses outnumbered men in that area:  now there is not even one left.  Luckily, however, before going extinct, twelve stallions exhibiting a spotted coat pattern found their way into Spain which was known in all of Europe as the horse breeding capital of the civilized world at that time.  It was there that their name originated.  There was no word in the Spanish language for leopard or spotted, “tiger” was used to describe all multi-colored coat patterns. The spotted horses were called “El Cabello Tigre” or Tiger Horse.            When Ferdinand came to the Spanish throne he passed the “Gentlemen’s Law” which stated that “All Gentlemen must ride stallions”.  This law intensified the breeding of horses that had great presence, but were gentle and docile in nature.  These influences insured that the Tiger Horses, which were so highly regarded by the European horsemen, were bred from the 15^th through the 18^th centuries.  In 1593 Salomen de la Broue, Horse Master to King Henry IV of France, wrote:  “Comparing the better horses in order to appreciate their great perfection, I must place the Spanish at the top and give it my vote for being the most noble, the best conformed, the bravest and the most worthy of being mounted by a great King”.            At the time the New World was discovered, the exotic patterned Tiger Horses had begun to loose favor with nobility, and along with horses from the Barbary Coast many were transported to the Americas, where breeding centers were established in South and Central America.  It did not take long for the indigenous Native Americans to adopt these horses for themselves.  Through their love and appreciation of the brightly colored horses they helped to preserve the spotted and gaited horses we have today.  The North American Indians thought so highly of these animals that they created a highly specialized breeding program that created a horse that the American Calvary could not catch.  The Calvary then set out to destroy the breed by gelding every stallion they could catch and by turning loose sub-grade stallions and mares to interbreed with the Indians stock.  Eventually the Calvary’s plan succeeded, and the Indians were captured.  Over the years what remained were small pockets of the horse with color and gait spread throughout North America.  The remaining horses became The Appaloosa Horse Club with color only and no gait.  Other horse breeds were created with gait only and no color.            Today the Tigre Registry and members are working towards establishing not only the spotted patterns along with the gait, but are focused on the following very specific phenotype of the Chinese “Soulon” horse.   The Tiger Horse height is between 14.3 and 15.3 hands.  They are known for their superior temperament, smooth four beat intermediate gait, and their bright and colorful coat patterns.  They have striped hooves, mottled skin and sclera eyes.  The head has a Iberian profile with tapering muzzle.  The ears are pert and pointed forward.  The eyes are large and kind, angled, and well places with an oriental slant.  They have good angle to their hip, a lower tail set, and a less steep angle or straighter shoulder.  The chest protrudes slightly ahead of the forearms and is not unduly broad.  The neck is substantial and naturally arched.  The legs are straight with the pasterns more upright, and they also display a good set of withers.