Technically speaking
The Paint Horse has been bred to be a versatile, well-balanced athletic horse with intelligence and a willing attitude. Of course, they are also known for their colourful coats, making them distinctive from most other breeds.
Various forms of white coat patches occur in many types of horse. What makes Paints distinguishing relative to most other "coloured" horses is that the registering organisation, the American Paint Horse Association (APHA), has strict bloodline requirements, thus helping to ensure distinctive athletic body-types. To be eligible for registry with APHA today, one qualified Paint Horse parent must be registered with the APHA, and one, with the following:
- APHA (i.e. two Paint Horse parents)
- American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA)
- Jockey Club (i.e. a Thoroughbred).
Some APHA horses, particularly breeding stallions, may also be registered with AQHA, the Jockey Club, the Pinto Horse Association of America (PtHA) and the American Warmblood Society (AWS).
To qualify for the "Regular Registry" within APHA, the horse must also have a minimal patch of white hair over pink, unpigmented skin at birth, with a diameter of at least 2 inches (5.1cm). The white can accompany all colours of the equine spectrum: black, bay, brown, chestnut, dun, grulla, sorrel, palomino, buckskin, perlino, cremello, champagne or gray.
White markings can be any shape, located anywhere on the horse's body. But to classify as a Paint Horse, the minimally-sized marking(s) must basically fall outside the front of the horse's face and above its lower legs. Otherwise, the horse is only eligible the APHA Breeding Stock Registry.
A brief lesson in history
The Paint Horse has been a recognised breed in the US since the 1960s - though several rangers started purposefully breeding quality horses with "excessive white" before the turn of the last century. Many of today's Paint Horses have Quarter Horse bloodlines, often originating from "crop out" Quarter Horses. Up until 2004, Quarter Horses with "excessive white" did not qualify for AQHA registration.
Paint Horse ancestry can ultimately be traced back to a single sorrel sabino stallion brought over to North America by the Spanish conquistadors in 1519. It is believed that this stallion's progeny intermingled with wild mustangs on the continent, providing the foundation for what is the modern Paint Horse.
Paints largely owe their easy disposition to the gentle-spirited and athletic Quarter Horse. Many Paints also have the Quarter Horses' pretty head, in addition to a well-muscled, strong-boned body-type -- often with the characteristic "apple butt"! But it has largely been Thoroughbred lines which have added height and endurance to the breed, creating balanced but powerful, beautifully coloured sport-horses.