Paint (horse)

Paint (horse), breed of horse with spotted coloring. The paint played a large role in the early North American West. It descended from Andalusian horses, which Spanish conquistadors brought to the Americas in the 16th century. The name comes from the Spanish pintado, meaning painted, and cowboys variously called this horse the pinto, the piebald, or the paint. Paint is now the accepted name.

The paint has a powerful, compact body. It stands about 142 to 158 cm (about 56 to 62 in, or 14 to 15.5 hands) high at the withers (the high part of the back, located between the shoulder blades). The well-muscled legs and the back are short, and the chest is wide and deep. The head is straight with a wide face and medium-sized ears. The physical characteristics of the modern paint may vary, depending on the bloodline.

The paint is considered a breed because of its pedigree, which can be traced to both the American quarter horse and the Thoroughbred. The paint typically appears with one of three types of coloring: overo, a solid-colored coat with large, uneven patches of white all over the body (except the back); tobiano, a white coat with large, uneven patches of solid color; or tovero, a combination of the two patterns. The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) registers Western stock horses with paint coloring and breed stock paints that do not meet the color requirements of the regular registry.

After Spanish conquistadors brought horses to North America, Native Americans captured spotted horses from these settlers. Those spotted horses eventually developed into the paint. Many Native American tribes—especially the Plains peoples—valued the paint for its decorative coat, as the cowboys did later. Plains peoples also appreciated the paint because it blended with the surrounding habitat. Modern-day breeding programs have developed the paint as a versatile horse for herding cattle, recreational riding, and show competition.