A Splash of White Gives This Paint Horse a Dash of Flash

The American Paint Horse has often been erroneous referred to as the Pinto, but in fact, the two words have different meanings. The Pinto Horse Association (PHA) is a color registry, and Pintos can be any breed, but Paints are American Paint Horse Association (APHA)-registered horses that can prove parentage from one of three approved registries: American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), the Thoroughbred Jockey Club (JC), or the APHA, as well as meet a minimum color requirement. While a painted horse could be double-registered if it met the breed standards specified by each registry, the registries are independent. However, the Paint is a recognized breed only in North America. In other parts of the world, it is only considered a color or a type of horse. There are still some judges in the show ring that are prejudiced against colored horses, especially in the English disciplines, but this opinion is declining slowly.

The origins of the colors in the Paint Horse in North America can be traced back to the two-toned horses introduced by the Spanish explorers, descendants of horses from North Africa and Asia Minor, Inevitably, some of these colorful creatures escaped to create the wild herds of horses that roamed the Great Plains, from which the American Quarter Horse is also derived. When the American Quarter Horse Association first started in 1940, colored horses, or those with excessive amounts of white were not allowed to be registered, but these painted foals were usually born to all-Quarter Horse parents that had almost no white at all.  They became known by the AQHA as "crop-outs" and were sold without papers.  Soon, so many colored horses had been born that their owners decided to start up their own American Paint Horse Association to have someplace to keep track of all the well-bred crop-outs.  Up until recently, all crop-outs from the Quarter Horse breed were sent to the APHA, but the rules have now been changed to allow all crop-outs with Quarter Horse parents to be registered with the AQHA, no matter how much white they have. Since 1962, the APHA has grown from a registry of 3,800 horses to more than a quarter of a million horses worldwide today and is now the second largest equine registry in the United States based on the number of foals registered annually.

The term "Paint" lumps together different types of spotting, and at least four major spotting patterns are included within the Paint breed: tobiano, overo (frame overo), or tovero, sabino (calico overo) and splashed white. Each pattern can occur separately, or they can occur in all the different possible combinations. The basic coat color can be white, black bay, brown chestnut sorrel red roan, blue roan, bay roan palomino cremello, perlino dun, grullo, buckskin, or gray, but superimposed over these colors are the following spotting patterns.

The "tobiano" pattern has head markings that may be completely solid, or have a blaze, stripe, star or snip of white. Generally, all four legs are white below the hocks and knees. The spots tend to be regular and distinctly oval or round and extend down the front of the neck and chest, looking somewhat like a shield. Usually a tobiano will have the dark color on one or both flanks and the tail is often two colors.

The "overo" pattern has bold white head markings such as a bald face. Generally, one or all four legs will be dark. The body may also be either predominantly dark or white, but the white will not cross the horse's back between the withers and the tail is usually one color. They Overos generally have irregular, scattered markings. The tail is usually one color. Frequently overos have one or two blue eyes, or a partial blue eye.

The "sabino" pattern, within the overo category, is sometimes called "calico overo". This pattern consists of white on the legs and head, and it usually creeps up on the body in the form of belly spots. Sabino is usually flecked and roaned although some are very crisply spotted. Sometimes sabino horses have blue eyes.

The "splashed white" pattern is much rarer than the other three. Horses with this pattern have white legs and stomachs, as well as a large amount of white on the head. The edges of the white are quite crisp. Many splashed white horses have blue eyes.

However, not all Paint coat patterns fit neatly into these categories, so the APHA expanded its classifications to include the tovero pattern to describe horses that have characteristics of both the tobiano and overo patterns. Additionally, some breedings will not produce these patterns, but instead the foal will be a solid color. These Paint-Bred (formerly referred to as Breeding Stock) horses are still of the Paint breed, they just lack the flashy color.

The American Paint is usually recognized the same way as the Quarter Horse -- by a short muzzle, broad forehead with a straight profile and large jaws. It has small fox-like ears and large, wide-set eyes. The neck has a slight crest. Their backs are short with good withers and a sloping croup.  The barrel is deep with well-sprung ribs and the hooves are well-rounded, with deep open heels. The walk, trot, canter, and gallop are the American Paint Horse’s natural gaits.

As for disposition and personality, like the Quarter Horse it comes from, this horse is the most willing, laid-back, quiet and even-tempered of all the breeds, and has a gentle nature. They are quick and agile, level-headed and sensible, sure-footed and steady with good stamina. Intelligence, reliability, adaptability and willingness to please their owners makes the American Paint Horse very easy to train in all ways. The breed seems to have an innate “cow sense” and can anticipate the moves made by cattle which makes them indispensable for herding and cutting.

The American Paint breed suffers from a genetic oddity known as "Lethal White" in which a pure white foal of overo breeding may seem normal at birth, but usually begins showing signs of colic within 12 hours because of a non-functioning colon. Because the syndrome is always fatal, lethal white foals are often euthanized. Overo is believed to be a dominant gene with lethal effects in the homozygous state. Since there has been no successful homozygous overo stallion yet to date, whatever causes homozygosity in overos may be linked to lethal white syndrome. More research is being done in this area and genetic testing is available since 25 percent of foals from two overo parents could be lethal whites.

Additionally, since Paints have Quarter Horse pedigrees, another genetic oddity known as Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis (HYPP) may turn up, along with Parrot Mouth and Cryptorchid conditions. HYPP is inherited as a dominant trait and is characterized by intermittent episodes of uncontrolled muscle tremors (shaking, trembling or twitching) or profound muscle weakness, and in severe cases, may lead to collapse and/or death. To date, HYPP has been traced only to descendants of a horse named IMPRESSIVE, #0767246 who may be in some Paint pedigrees.

And with such a close tie-in to the Quarter Horse breed, the American Paint Horse is also a very versatile equine with uses ranging from racing, herding, and rodeo, to show jumping, dressage, carriage and pleasure riding.


About Crystal Eikanger
Crystal Eikanger is a freelance writer, web designer, video editor and voice talent working as Ei-Kan Productions on www.rentacoder.com as well as other freelance sites. www.HorseClicks.com is a popular website filled with classifieds of horses for sale, horse trailers, tack, and horse related properties.