The Paint Horse

Paint Horses are known for their dynamic splashes of intense color all over their body. Paints are very versatile and can be seen competing in events such as Western Pleasure to Reining to Dressage to Show Jumping. This breed is known to be level-headed and willing to please, which makes them a perfect choice for young riders. While exhibiting beautiful color patterns, Paints display well-defined features and strong bones with a perfect amount of muscling. Each Paint must have a mixture of white and some other color, such as sorrel, chestnut, black, or bay. Some less common, but acceptable, colors are palomino, buckskin, and gray. Paints generally stand between 14.2 and 16.1 hands tall, and muct exhibit a "stock horse" conformation to be accepted into registry with the American Paint Horse Association, the 2nd largest breed registry in the nation.

Many horse enthusiasts confuse the term "Paint" with the term "Pinto". While both terms are used to describe horses of unique coloring, a registered Paint Horse must have either Throughbred, American Quarter Horse, or American Paint Horse parents. While an American Paint Horse relies on its bloodlines for registry, a Pinto horse relies solely on coloring for registry. A Pinto may be any breed or a combination of breeds, as long as the coloring is correct. Therefore, all Paints may be registered as Pintos, but not all Pintos will qualify to be registered as Paints.

For more information about the American Paint Horse, visit: http://www.apha.com/

Happy trails!
Mary Helen

A Registered American Paint Horse

A Pinto Arabian Horse-- remember, Pintos can be of any breed!