/ap'euh looh"seuh/ , n.
one of a hardy breed of riding horses, developed in the North American West, having a mottled hide, vertically striped hoofs, and eyes that show a relatively large proportion of white.
[ 1920-25, Amer.; orig. uncert.; perh. to be identified with Opelousa a Louisiana Indian tribal name (Compare OPELOUSAS PONEY, recorded in a G text of 1849), though the breed is traditionally associated with the Nez Percé Indians and the Palouse River (W Idaho) ]