THE COLORFUL WORLD OF PAINTS & PINTOS
by Janet Piercy
Brought to you by The International Registry of Colored Horses, L.L.C.
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THE COLORFUL WORLD OF PAINTS & PINTOS by Janet Piercy Brought to you by The International Registry of Colored Horses, L.L.C.
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Introduction My story is a familiar one shared by millions of others--the first time I saw a picture of a horse, I fell head over heels in love with them! My feelings about this wonderful animal have never wavered through the years, if anything merely getting stronger as I learn more about the nearly countless breeds throughout the world.It didn't take long before I developed a fondness for spotted animals because each one is completely different, and this translated into an everlasting admiration for those beautiful pied Paints and pintos. One thing I've noticed over the years is the high level of confusion concerning the differences between Paints and pintos. Moreover, the confusion seems to be compounded when it comes to understanding the differences between the various spot patterns. I hope that by the end of these two articles I will have answered any questions you might have about these colorful horses and their beautiful patterns. The first article which follows below explains the breed differences between Paints and pintos; the second article (linked from the bottom of this first article) covers a detailed description of the known pinto patterns and should clear up many common misconceptions associated with each type.
Photo Credit Part One: The Breeds The History of the Paint Horse
Paints were recognized as an American breed in 1965. The American Paint Horse Association was formed in hopes of preserving and breeding more of these quality horses, which sometimes appeared in the Quarter Horse and (rarely) Thoroughbred breeds. Occasionally, 'cropout' babies were produced with too much white to be registered as Quarter Horses; flashy Thoroughbreds were and are not discriminated against by the Jockey club, but in the past, these colorful foals weren't as marketable as solid foals. Thus, most cropouts were sold off as grade horses with little, if any value. On rare occasions, however, a cropout foal would be born with fabulous spots; my favorite example is the beautiful stallion, Our Sir Prize. This 'loud' (lots of spots) overo's sire and dam were both registered Quarter Horses. Owners of such colorful babies wondered where their horses fit in.
It was clear that an association needed to be formed to make a place for these beautiful horses. Cropouts occurred enough that a registry was formed in 1965 to preserve these wonderful "Quarter Horses with spots." The American Paint Horse Association was established in 1965, a merger of two earlier clubs formed in 1961 and 1962, The American Paint Stock Horse Association & The American Paint Quarter Horse Association.
Photo Credits Bottom: Tri Chrome, a very rare cropout frame overo Thoroughbred owned by Palmer and Gerold Keith
Cropouts
Since many people are unaware of spotted pattern genetics, on that rare occasion that two apparently solid parents produce a spotted foal, it seems to happen without reason. (In fact, one or both of the parents were carriers of at least one type of spotting gene, which must be present to produce a spotted foal.) These horses are called 'cropouts' because of the extra white patches that appear on their bodies, faces and/or legs. Most have only minimal to moderate spotting, such as very high leg markings, excessive white on the face, and/or a spot or two on the belly. However, once in a great while a rare foal is born with 'loud', wild spotting, such as Our Sir Prize or Limited Edition. Although purebred Quarter Horses by pedigree, it's hard to believe by looking at these two!
"Cropouts" occur in many breeds including Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds, Arabians, Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses and many more. Please follow the highlighted links to see pictures of cropout Quarter Horses, overo Thoroughbreds, and sabino overo Arabians. (Note! Thoroughbreds and Arabians are not denied registration no matter how much white they have on their coats. However, owners may need to provide DNA proof that their horses are indeed purebred before registrations are accepted.)
Photo Credits Bottom: Grand Time, a more typical Quarter Horse cropout with an unusually crisp sabino overo pattern, owned by Fred and Tena Tabor
Paint Horses Today Horses accepted for registration in the APHA result from these combinations only:
Paint x Paint, Paint x QH, Paint x TB, QH x QH, TB x TB, or QH x TB. Purebred Quarter Horses or Thoroughbreds are welcomed into the APHA registry as long as the horses have enough white to meet minimum color requirements. The Jockey Club does not discriminate against white, so Thoroughbreds with enough white to be registered in the APHA can also be double-registered in the Jockey Club. Likewise, with the relaxed white restrictions in the AQHA, horses may be double-registered with the AQHA and the APHA.The APHA is an association committed to breeding and promoting quality horses--not merely horses with spots--and because they are more concerned about the quality of an individual as opposed to the spots on its body, the APHA allows registration of horses which are actually solid or nearly so. Two of the most important reasons that the APHA takes this stand is so that one, breeders don't mindlessly breed for spots and disregard quality, and two, so that solid or nearly solid foals aren't outright killed because of their lack of color--this is a sad fact in color breeds, and allowing these horses to be registered saves many horse's lives. However, there is an undercurrent regarding obviously spotted vs. non-spotted horses and many people are infuriated when solid Paints win National Championships. However, one must stop and ask, "Is it right to penalize a Paint-bred horse with superior conformation just because it wasn't born with spots?" The ethics that surround this issue are so deep and multi-faceted that it's impossible to make a ruling to please the entire industry. It is also very important to recognize the exceptional value of these spotless individuals in breeding programs. Often these horses have lower prices than spotted individuals but have twice the pedigree--what better way to build up a top-notch broodmare band? Bred to homozygous tobianos, all of these "spotless Paints" will produce exceptional beautiful tobiano or tovero babies and carry their bloodlines into the future.
Photo Credits Bottom: Boston Classic, an excellent example of a textbook tovero: wild face markings and lacy edges of an overo, combined with a mostly tobiano pattern! Owned by Jim Ray
Pinto Horses and Ponies The word 'pinto' means mottled or pied, so all horses with spotted coats are called pintos.
Although technically Appaloosas are pintos, their spotting patterns are very different and therefore referred to as appaloosa coloring. In the United States, there are two major pinto registries, the American Paint Horse Association(APHA) and the Pinto Horse Association of America(PtHA). (There are many other pinto and paint registries and associations than just these two; for instance, the North American Spotted Draft Horse Association (NASDHA) and the Spotted Draft Pony Registry (SDPR). However, this article is focusing on the main two associations, the APHA and the PtHA.) One main difference between the two registries is that the APHA will only accept spotted horses with Paint, Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred breeding, while the PtHA allows registration of spotted horses and ponies of many breeds. Spotted draft horses and spotted draft ponies, however, are not allowed; instead, spotted draft horses are welcome in NASDHA and spotted draft ponies are welcome in SDPR. (Pintos with any draft blood within four generations are excluded from the PtHA, as are those with obvious draft characteristics.) Another clear distinction between the APHA and the PtHA is the registration policy. The PtHA allows only obvious pintos for registration in their regular registry, regardless of breeding except horses with draft blood, while the APHA grants registration to many horses without spots or without being obviously spotted, but they're strict about bloodlines. (The PtHA has a Breeding Stock registry for solid horses born from one or two registered parents.) Therefore, all Pintos with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred breeding could be double-registered as Paints, but a very large number of Paints could never be registered as Pintos. (Some of these could, however, be allowed in the PtHA's Breeding Stock registry)
The breeds listed here to define each type are mentioned only as guidelines; many other breeds are accepted for registration. Pinto horses
Pinto Ponies
Photo Credits Bottom: Rowdy's Standing Ovation, chestnut frame overo Miniature Horse stallion, which would also be eligible for registration in the PtHA; owned by Grosshill Farms
Cropouts and Solid Paints: A Question of Ethics One of the biggest controversies within the Paint horse industry is the spotted horse issue. Bringing this topic up in a group of breeders will get everyone's feathers ruffled in no time.The APHA has an 'open book' and, as was mentioned above, accepts Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds for registration if they meet minimum breed qualifications. This means that most horses with too much white to be registered as Quarter Horses can be registered as Paints. (The Jockey Club has no policy against white markings, so if they meet the APHA minimum white rule, they can be double-registered.) The majority of these horses don't have spots, just excessive leg markings and/or face markings. Turning the attention towards spots, most people aren't aware that except for homozygous tobianos, pinto patterns cannot be 'fixed.' This means there's usually no guarantee that breeding two spotted horses will produce a spotted baby. Because of this, hundreds of solid or nearly solid Paints are born every year.
This is where the hackles start to rise. Many in the Paint horse industry believe that solid Paints and minimally-marked cropouts should not be granted registration papers or any showing rights, even when their own horses sometimes produce these solid babies. They don't want to see them in the show ring and heaven forbid they should be advertised as breeding stock. The opinion goes that there are enough colored Paints out there that solids should not be allowed in.
The argument is a good one. It sits on a two-sided ethical question--should minimally-marked Quarter Horse cropouts and solid horses produced within the breed be supported, thus encouraging the practice to continue and eroding the original purpose of the APHA (producing and promoting obviously spotted horses)? Or should these horses be culled and turned away, returning the breed to its original purpose and relying on its high-quality stock of present day to carry the breed forth, even though every solid horse or cropout produced essentially becomes a waste of money, time and effort? If that were the case, would the breed suffer in conformation/temperament quality for the sake of those all-important spots? Unfortunately, there's no simple answer to this discomforting question.
Photo Credits: Middle: Scribble Me Too, daughter of a very loud overo Paint sire and Quarter Horse dam; owned by Rick and Ann Buck Bottom: Black sabino overo filly sired by the exteme sabino overo stallion, Dakota's White Gold, both bred by Spic Lesperance. This filly shows the typical minimal overo expression. Notice how the white starts at the centerline of the belly and spreads outward. Notice also the white flecking on the flanks. 
On to Paints & Pintos: Part 2 Back
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Most cropouts occur when a stallion and mare are bred who both have excessive white, such as a blaze and four stockings. Resulting foals often have 'high whites', or markings too high on one or more legs than is considered ideal in the AQHA. In the past, this would have rendered the foal ineligible for registration, but recently the white restrictions were relaxed to include many of these horses. Occasionally this sort of cross results in a foal with a patch of white on the belly ranging in size between a quarter and a dinner plate; these horses generally also have excessive white on the face, enveloping the muzzle or eyes. Sometimes the spot(s) appear on the barrel or neck, but producing a well-spotted cropout by breeding solid horses together is extremely rare.
The majority of Paint horses are shown in Western events; breeders take great pride in producing superior pleasure, cutting, roping and reining horses; as time goes on, however, more breeders are also producing and promoting fine English eventing, dressage and harness horses. Loud sabino purebred Thoroughbreds have become very popular in the past few years and these horses are increasingly seen in the APHA and the Jockey Club. Thoroughbred blood also influences the Paint horse racing industry, which is a thriving industry by itself.
Because the PtHA accepts so many kinds of spotted horses and ponies, the registry has two divisions: pinto horses and pinto ponies; these divisions are further split into four types: stock, hunter, pleasure and saddle types.
Owners of these solid horses want to show and breed them, for good reason. Many cropout Quarter Horses have world-class breeding and often have incredible conformation and talent to match. Moreover, the money invested to produce such horses is usually very high and owners (generally speaking) want what they paid for--horses that will win or sell at a profit and return the investment. Breeders are also just plain proud of these horses, regardless of their flashy markings, and want to show and promote these beautiful animals which they bred. It's reasonable to assume that these Quarter Horse breeders didn't invest their money to get a Paint horse, so it's understandable that they'd want a return on their ex-Quarter Horse; those who spent money and time to breed their quality mare with the intention of getting a spotted Paint foal--only to get a solid one--are equally tenacious about getting some sort of return.
On the other hand, opponents argue that their horses are registered and therefore have the right to be shown. Their horses are valuable breeding stock and have the genes to produce spots or often have extra white to help. Even though they're not spotted, these horses enhance the breed by offering excellent bloodlines, conformation, talent, and genes to produce the kind of horses the APHA is aiming fo--spotted horses which can do anything they are bred for--whether it's exceptional conformation to win at halter, speed to win races, talent to cut a cow on a dime, an easy-going temperament to win any pleasure or hunting event, or anything else it's asked to do.