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American Paint horse

Country Of Origin	United States
History and Background	Around 500 A.D., during the invasion of the Roman Empire, several barbaric tribes brought spotted Oriental horses from Eurasia to Spain, where the spotted horses were interbred with the native horse stock. The breed thrived in Spain, and began to resemble what is commonly referred to as the standard Paint Horse markings. Records dating back to 700 A.D. show the spotted horses that have the standard tobiano and overo patterns. When Spanish Conquistadors came to the United States, they brought their own horses along. These horses are believed to be the ancestors of the modern American Paint Horse. The American Paint Horse -- while undeniably recognized by its colourful markings and patterns -- still has to conform to strict bloodline and physical conformation requirements. The standard-setting body (association) for this breed is the American Paint Horse Association (APHA). According to the set rules, a horse can qualify for registration as an American Paint Horse if its sire and dam are themselves registered with the APHA, the Jockey Club or the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA); this ensures the purity of its stock. Apart from satisfying bloodlines and ancestry requirements, the horse must also exhibit standard conformation and temperament.
Use Today	Show horses, Pleasure horses, Stock horses
Height	15–16 hands (60–64 inches, 152–163 cm)
Colour	Any colours and patterns
Characteristics	The American Paint Horse comes in various colours, amongst them, bay, chestnut, black, palomino, gray, buckskin, and blue roan. But, more important than their physical colouring, are their distinctive white markings. While the marks vary in size, the patterns are standard. The two predominant coat patterns of Paint Horses, the overo and tobiano, are distinguished by the position of the white colouring on the body. The overo (Spanish, for “like an egg”) patterned horse has white spots extending across the back between the withers (the highest point on the back) and the tail. Typically, all four legs are dark-coloured, but in order to be considered, at least one leg should be dark in colour. Scattered and irregular white markings also appear all over the body. The tail should be solid in colour, and the horse itself can be either primarily dark or primarily white. The overo pattern is generally used to describe most patterns that are not the tobiano pattern, which can lead to some confusion when describing a horse simply as overo. They include the frame overo, the sabino (speckled), and the splashed white overo. Many overo-patterned American Paint horses have blue eyes, especially the frame and the splashed white, and the tail is a single colour. The tobiano-patterned horse, on the other hand, has a solid-coloured head with a white spot at front, which can be of various shapes (e.g., blaze, star, etc). The legs are white, with an appearance of white stockings. Apart from these distinctive markings, the spots on the rest of the horse’s body are in sharp contrast to the colored areas. These markings are commonly found on the neck as well as the chest. Spotting may be oval or round, and the amount of white varies as well. Some Tobianos have a large amount of white, while others have so little white that they appear not to be spotted at all. The tobiano usually has dark brown eyes and bicoloured tail. In addition, there is also the combination of the overo and tobiano, the third accepted coat pattern. Because of the risks that are inherent in some breeding programs, in particular, the lethal white foal condition that is related to the frame overos, combining breeds from different patterns will result in stronger bloodlines. This is important for the strength and survival of the Paint Horse, and also adds vitality to the splash markings of the Painted Horse. The resultant cross is referred to as a tovero. The American Paint Horse has a muscular and firm neck, a muscular yet short back, strong legs, sloping shoulders, mid-size ears, and intelligent eyes.
Personality and Temperament	The American Paint Horse is known for its amiability. Its good nature, plus its innate intelligence, makes the American Paint Horse a pleasure to train for performance competitions, and above all, an ideal companion outside of the ring.
Other Considerations	Terms for colour patterns defined; Tobiano: The most common spotting pattern, characterized by rounded markings with white legs and white across the back between the withers and the dock of the tail, usually arranged in a roughly vertical pattern and more white than dark, with the head usually dark and with markings like that of a normal horse. i.e. star, snip, strip, or blaze. Overo: A group of spotting patterns characterized by sharp, irregular markings with a horizontal orientation, usually more dark than white, though the face is usually white, sometimes with blue eyes. The white rarely crosses the back, and the lower legs are normally dark. The APHA recognizes three overo patterns: Frame: The most familiar overo pattern, the gene for frame has been genetically mapped and in the homozygous form, results in Lethal White Syndrome (LWS). Visually identified frames have no health defects connected to their colour, and are characterized by ragged, sharp white patches on the sides of the body, leaving a "frame" of non-white colour that typically includes the topline. Sabino: Often confused with roan or rabicano, sabino is a slight spotting pattern characterized by high white on legs, belly spots, white markings on the face extending past the eyes and/or patches of roaning patterns standing alone or on the edges of white markings. Splashed white: The least common spotting pattern, splashed whites typically have blue eyes and crisp, smooth, blocky white markings that almost always include the head and legs. The tail is often white or white-tipped, and body markings originate under the belly and extend "upwards". Tovero: spotting pattern that is a mix of tobiano and overo coloration, such as blue eyes on a dark head. Solid: A horse otherwise eligible for registration as a Paint that does not have any white that constitutes a recognized spotting pattern. "Colour": An informal term meaning that the horse has a spotting pattern. (The opposite of "Solid.") "Chrome": An informal term of approval used in some geographic regions to describe a particularly flashy spotting pattern.