The Difference Betweena Paint And A Pinto

Tags: American Paint Horse, Pinto

 

It is not uncommon for the average person to wonder exactly what the difference is between the American Paint Horse and a pinto. The two equine terms are found together quite often and many become confused as to where the Paint starts and the pinto stops. In all reality, there is a large difference between the American paint and pinto mostly because they are two different things. While the American Paint Horse is a breed, the term pinto actually refers to a type of coloration. Unbeknownst to many, when referring to a pinto pony, they are referring to a colorful pony, not a breed.

For years, pinto was synonymous with the American Paint because their most common coloration has often been described as such. Pinto is another word for piebald. There are many pinto colored horses; however, the patterns of the spots themselves can have their own descriptor as well. The most common pattern of the pinto colored American Paint is commonly referred to as tobiano. The American Paint Horse has other spot patterns as well. Although it can seem a bit confusing at times, each term is what ensures every horse registered with the American Paint Horse Association is accurately described. As various questions about a horse can crop up from time to time, precise record keeping is a must for any horse breed registry.

There are currently two different types of pinto registries. One is the American Paint Horse Association and the other is the Pinto Horse Association. To register a horse with the American Paint Horse Association, the specimen will need to have not only the mottled coat, but American Paint, Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred parentage. In contrast to these guidelines, any horse breed with pinto coloring is welcome to register with the Pinto Horse Association. Unlike the APHA, the Pinto Horse Association has no strict regulations when it comes to bloodlines. The PtHA recognizes many different spotted breeds, whether they are horses, miniature horses or ponies.

In order for the PtHA to efficiently catalog the many horses they recognize, a certain method for classification was put into place. By going with a relatively simple process, it became possible to register numerous breeds. The first classification starts with dividing between horses and ponies. Once registered into either one of these categories, the category then splits again into hunter, pleasure, saddle and stock types. Those horses that have Thoroughbred bloodlines are placed in the category of hunter type. Those with Arabian or Morgan bloodlines are placed in the pleasure type category. Saddle type horses must have Saddlebred, Hackney, or Tennessee Walking Horse bloodlines. Stock type horses are those with Quarter Horse bloodlines.

Pinto ponies are also divided into these four categories but have minor differences in bloodlines than horses. Ponies of the hunter type will have Thoroughbred or Connemara bloodlines while pleasure type ponies will have Welsh, Arabian or Morgan bloodlines. Saddle type ponies will have Shetland or Hackney bloodlines and stock types, Shetland or Quarter Horse bloodlines.

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