# What is the difference between a paint and a pinto?



## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

Simple (hopefully) question.

What's the difference between the two? 

I have never had any experience with either of the two. Please enlighten me


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## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

I'm not sure which is which, but I believe one is a registered paint/pinto and the other is not registered? Please correct me if I am wrong.


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## SullysRider (Feb 11, 2012)

Paint is a breed, pinto is just a color. Technically Paints are just registered pintos, and an unregistered horse that is pinto colored is just a grade horse with pinto coloring.


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

Paints are an actual breed, like a quarter horse, arabian, etc. A pinto has the color markings but can be any breed(s).


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

Correct in saying Paints/APHA are a breed registry. They have AQHA roots hence the breed conformation description is much like that of QH as is much of the pedigree linage. Outcrosses to AQHA & TB are accepted in fact much of the paint registry originated with AQHA cropouts{those QH with too much white that AQHA would not accept due to the white rule} AQHA has since recended the white rule so that is why you are seeing double registered AQHA/APHA.

Pinto PtHA are those horses that have the white pattern but horse can have variety of breeds saddlebred,arab,Tb,APHA,mini, etc. There is no Breed conformation standard or pedigrees, Color is the premise.:wink:

so.....
A Paint/APHA can be considered a pinto, but not all pintos can be Paints :lol:


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## mysticdragon72 (Nov 1, 2010)

LOL that's as clear as mud I'm sure 

Seriously though all the answers are pretty accurate and this is in fact one of my pet peeves.. lots of people call all horses/ponies with any kind of white patterning "Paints" when in fact the only horse that can technically be called a Paint is one that is registered with the APHA otherwise they're considered a Pinto.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

mysticdragon72 said:


> LOL that's as clear as mud I'm sure
> 
> Seriously though all the answers are pretty accurate and this is in fact one of my pet peeves.. lots of people call all horses/ponies with any kind of white patterning "Paints" when in fact the only horse that can technically be called a Paint is one that is registered with the APHA otherwise they're considered a Pinto.


It seems pretty clear! Think of it as with dogs- a Dalmatian is a breed of dog that has spots. If you have a Great Dane with spots, then it is a Great Dane with spots- having the spots doesn't make it a Dalmatian! It's the same with the pinto/paint debate- you can have an Oldenburg that is a pinto, but it's an Oldenburg, not a Paint! 

I've been known to mess up the pinto/paint situation though, usually when I refer to a generic pinto horse in a field as a paint. Sure may be a paint, but maybe not!


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

Okay so a paint is registered and a pinto is any other kind of spotted/blotched horse. 

Okay. 

So what does the breed itself look like? Is it basically a quarter horse build? But with the paint pattern? 

Also, if an APHA breeds with an APHA and they produce a foal that *looks* like a paint, is it actually a pinto unless it gets registered? 

Sorry for all the dumb questions.


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## quinn (Nov 8, 2013)

not to add to the confusion...but is tobiano a type of pinto?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Yes- pinto includes all white patterning (tobiano, sabino, splash, dominant white, and frame) except for appaloosa. Any horse who displays one of these patterns, regardless of whether or not it is registered with any registry (or no registry), is a pinto.

There is a pinto registry, but it is a color registry, not a breed. They accept most horses with any type of pinto coloring (including Paint horses). IIRC they don't accept drafts but have no other real requirements.

APHA registered horses are considered Paint horses whether or not they have inherited or display a white pattern. The registry prefers more loudly expressed pinto coloration, but allows horses who don't display it to be registered as "Solid Paint Bred" and to be used as breeding stock.


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## kenda (Oct 10, 2008)

A Paint is a Paint whether it is registered or not. Just like an unregistered Quarter Horse is still a Quarter Horse. A Paint is a horse whose parents are also Paints(or QH or TB, since the APHA allows that) Because they are an outcropping of the QH, they tend to have a stock horse like build. Since they allow TB parentage, there can certainly be a taller, leaner looking horse and it would still be considered a Paint.

A pinto is a horse with one of the pinto markings/genes as described by Verona. It can be of any parentage.

The word pinto describes both the colour and the gene.

The word Paint describes a breed.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

ForeverSunRider said:


> Okay so a paint is registered and a pinto is any other kind of spotted/blotched horse.
> 
> Okay.
> 
> ...


If an APHA foal hasn't been registered, it will still be considered a pinto and paint. The term pinto is used to describe both APHA horses with the color pattern, as well as other breeds with the pattern. A horse with the pattern is born a pinto, regardless of what its breed or registration status is. 

A pure bred horse doesn't need to have papers to be purebred. You can have an unregistered foal out of pure APHA parents, and you can call it a paint. You just wouldn't be able to honestly sell it as a registered paint horse. The color will still be the same, regardless of who owns the horse, who has the papers, and what the registration status is. 

Think of a pinto patterned paint baby like a black Quarter Horse. When it is born and as of yet unregistered, it is still both black and a Quarter Horse. Registration won't change what you call the color, but it'll mean that you can call him a registered Quarter Horse to anyone that asks


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## CandyCanes (Jul 1, 2013)

Pinto/skewbald's are just colours. Paints are registered... But now _I_ like to think paint is just the Americans saying it wrong!


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## Peppy Barrel Racing (Aug 16, 2011)

A paint is a BREED of stock horse coming from paint parentage established by the APHA. Pinto refers to white patterns: tobiano, frame, splash, sabino, and dominant white. These patterns are found on many many breeds but just because a horse has these patterns it does not make them a paint.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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