A Horse of a Different Color? A Paint, A Pinto??? They look the same, so what’s the difference???

Objectives  Explore the Pinto and Paint horse breeds  Examine a brief history of these breeds  Determine the major differences between the breeds

What are Pintos and Paints anyway? Pintos and Paints are best described as color breeds. These horses are also classified by their confirmation breed. They are distinctively known for their colorful coat patterns, mainly spots!

What’s the confusion all about? People often mistake one breed for the other. But are they correct? Well sometimes!!!!! It’s all about the genetics!

It’s All in the Bloodlines Pinto accepts a larger variety of confirmation breeds, including miniature horses and ponies. Basically anything but Appaloosa, Draft or Mule breeding! Paint only accepts horses from Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, and American Paint Horse registries.

Just a Little History  Spotted horses originated from the Spanish Barb brought here by settlers.  Traced back to ancient art in the Middle East  Wild horses of the Russian Steppes-Roman Empire  Native Americans thought the spotted horse was magical based on performance and color.

PtHA and APHA  The Pinto Horse Association was founded in late 1940s.  The American Paint Stock Horse Association was founded in early 1960s – later named APHA.  First Paint actually named Bandits Pinto!!!

What’s your body type? Each breed classifies its horses by body type based on their confirmation:  Pinto: Stock, Hunter, Pleasure, and Saddle  Paint: Stock and Hunter A horse that is hunter or stock type can be registered both Paint and Pinto

Stock Type Stock type is defined the same by each breed.  Confirmation associated with Quarter Horse breeding.

Hunter Type Also a commonly accepted term among the two breeds.  The confirmation of this type is most often associated with Thoroughbred breeding.

Pleasure Type This type is only considered under Pinto registry.  Pleasure type horses display the build associated with classic Arabian and Morgan breeding.

Saddle Type Only found under Pinto.  American Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walkers, and Missouri Foxtrotters are examples of saddle type horses.

Just To Add More Confusion There are two different major color patterns accepted by both breeds.  Overo  Tobiano

Overo  Term comes from Spanish word meaning “like an egg”.  Speckled type coloring  Often lots of white on face  Often have one or two blue eyes  Dark color on legs but can have socks  White does not cross top-line of horse

Tobiano  1800s – Brazilian General Tobias, troops rode tobiano spotted horses.  Big white legs  Smooth large spots – definite edges  White always crosses the top-line  Dark colored head with blaze, star, stripe,etc

So What Type and Color Pattern Are You? Pinto-Four types: Stock, hunter, pleasure, and saddle Paint-Two types: Stock and hunter Two color patterns: Overo and Tobiano Are you Paint, Pinto or both?

References