"The most renowned horsemen of their area, the Nez Percé carefully worked to improve the bloodlines of their herds. Men prized Appaloosas for their endurance and distinctive speckled markings, and women fashioned elaborately beaded horse trappings such as collars, bridles, and saddles. Although the people were forced to give up their 1,100 horses when they surrendered in 1877, today's tribe now has a few Appaloosas; they were a gift from a New Mexico Appaloosa breeder."
—Text from the National Geographic book Peoples of the World, 1997
(Photograph from the National Geographic book Edward S. Curtis: Coming to Light, 2001)
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