Paint Horses
15-16hh
Colors - A combination of white and black, bay, brown, chestnut, dun, grullo, sorrel, palomino, buckskin, gray or roan.
Spotted horses were introduced to the United States by the Spanish in the 16th century. By the early 1800s, free-ranging herds of horses that roamed the western included the peculiar spotted horse. Because of their color and performance, flashy, spotted horses soon became a favorite mount of the American Indian. The Comanche Indians, considered to be the finest horsemen on the Plains, favored loud-colored horses and had many among their immense herds.
Formed in 1965, The American Paint Horse Association has become the second-largest breed registry in the United States. While the colorful coat pattern is essential to the identity of the breed, American Paint Horses have strict bloodline requirements and a distinctive stock-horse body type. In order to be registered with the American Paint Horse Association a horse must have two registered Paint parents or one registered Paint and one registered Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred parent.
The APHA has two registries, Regular and Breeding Stock. To be eligible for the Regular Registry, the horse must also exhibit a minimum amount of white hair over unpigmented (pink) skin. If a horse doesn't meet that requirement but has at least one parent that is a registered Paint, it is considered Breeding stock.
The Paint should not be confused with the Pinto, which is a color registry. Although they share a similar history, the Paint registry is concerned with bloodlines, while a Pinto can be anything from a Saddlebred to a Shetland Pony.
Coat Patterns:
Although Paints come in a variety of colors with different markings, the APHA classifies them into three specific coat patterns: overo, tobiano and tovero.
Overo:
The horse can be either predominantly dark or white, but the white usually will not cross the back between the withers and the tail. Generally at least one and often all four legs are dark. The white is irregular, scattered or splashy. Head markings are distinctive, often bald-faced (white goes over both eyes, which may be blue), apron-faced or bonnet-faced. The tail is one color.
Tobiano:
White is the main color, crossing the back or rump. The darker color usually colors one or both flanks. Generally all four legs are white, at least below the hocks and knee. The spots are usually regular and distinct as ovals or round patterns that extend down the neck and chest, giving the appearance of a shield. Head markings are like those of a solid-color horse (solid with a blaze, stripe, star or snip). The tail is usually two colors.
Tovero:
Dark color around the ears may expand to cover the forehead and/or eyes. One or both eyes are blue. Dark coloring around the mouth may extend up the sides of the face and form spots. Chest spots vary in size and may extend up the neck. Flank spots range in size and may be accompanied by smaller spots that extend forward across the barrel and over the loin. Spots, varying in size, are located at the base of the tail.
These colors, markings and patterns, combined with stock-type conformation, athletic ability and agreeable disposition, make the American Paint Horse popular today with riders in many sports. They make excellent working ranch horses, trail horses, racehorses, and show in many competitions including hunt seat and rodeo events.
