crop out -- 1. to appear unexpectedly.   2. to appear at the surface. (from Webster's New World Dictionary)

The term "crop out" has been used when discussing the appearance of certain horses identified as Appaloosas. Some notable ones include hall of famers Bright Eyes Brother, Colida, J & B's Spotted Fawn, Joker B., Peavy Bimbo, Wapiti, and Wild Hope. A look at the pedigrees of those horses might help remove "crop out" from their definition.

• Bright Eyes Brother, ApHC F-3047 -- He had an AQHA sire but certainly got his color from his unregistered dam.
• Colida, ApHC 7681 -- With an AQHA dam but listed with an unknown sire that fuels the mystery of his ancestry.
• J & B's Spotted Fawn, ApHC 9618 -- Her sire was AQHA but her dam was registered with AQHA and ApHC as was her maternal grandsire, Cooterville Norell's Little Red.
• Joker B., ApHC F-678 -- Had an AQHA sire, but the dam, Blue Vitriol, was an unregistered color producer tracing back to Old Fred and Arab.
• Peavy Bimbo, ApHC F-4557 -- With an AQHA sire and dam, but the dam was a blue roan mare that was heavy Roberds breeding (from the likes of Papoose, Blue mare, Bob H., and Old Fred).
• Wapiti, ApHC 5445 -- Sire and dam were both registered with AQHA and both traced back to Sheik, Old Fred, the Blue mare, and Bob H. Those horses might be referred to as "color fountains."
• Wild Hope, ApHC 37245 -- His sire and dam were AQHA, however his dam and maternal granddam were also ApHC registered.

An interesting contrast to the use of the term "crop out" is noted when horses registered with "regular" ApHC papers are bred and produce foals with no characteristics and do not develop visible characteristics later in life.

A sample pedigree for an ApHC stallion might look like this:

                                                 TB
                                                /
                                           ApHC 
                                          /    \
                                         /       ApHC
                                     ApHC
                                    /    \       AQHA
                                   /      \     /
                                  /         AQHA
                                 /               \
                                /                AQHA
                             ApHC
                                 \               AQHA
                                  \             /
                                   \        AQHA
                                    \      /    \
                                     \    /      AQHA
                                      AQHA
                                          \      AQHA
                                           \    /
                                            AQHA
                                                \
                                                 AQHA

    

For the purpose of this example, say that the above pedigree example is for a stallion that displays Appaloosa coat pattern, mottled skin, white sclera, and striped hooves. If that stallion is then bred to Thoroughbred and Quarter horse or non-characteristic mares, producing a lot of non-characteristic foals, are they referred to as "crop outs?"

I suppose the reason I have not heard folks refer to ApHC registered non-characteristic horses as "crop outs" is because those horses do not meet Webster's first definition of that term -- "to appear unexpectedly." As we continue to randomly breed (out cross) our Appaloosas to Quarter horses, Thoroughbreds, and Arabians, where would use of the term "crop out" be appropriate?

The way I see it, "crop out" does not seem to be proper for those hall of fame horses listed above, unless we call non-characteristic horses produced by horses with Appaloosa characteristics "crop outs."

I offer this point of view, not proposing to be any sort of expert in this field, but simply sharing my observations and thoughts.

Joe Daniels
April 2001