Which Paint?

A sometimes confusing term is "Paint". The word can both refer to a breed, and also a color white pattern.

The most common registry for Paint horses is APHA - the American Paint Horse Association. I'd imagine there are registries for pinto horses in other countries, but I'm not certain. A paint horse can have any conformation, any size, and anything else you can think of, so long as the horse has pinto markings. Which means, yes, even a pinto Mini can be registered as a Paint.

However, when someone refers to their horse's main breed (yep, horses can be registered for multiple breed associations) as a "Paint", this usually means a Quarter-Horse-type pinto, or a more modern Thoroughbred-type pinto.

The color of paint is a bit more complicated. It can go by 'paint', 'pinto', 'piebald' (black and white pinto), 'skewbald' (bay and white pinto), and also '[base color] and white' (for example, a chestnut and white).

To most people, the color terms 'paint' and 'pinto' mean the same thing. My friends at the stables say that Native Americans would call horses such as tobianos a pinto, because the spots are fairly rounded and smooth (like a toe); whereas a paint such as a frame overo would be called a paint, because it looks like the horse got splattered (for lack of a better word?) with paint.

Piebald and skewbald are slightly old fashioned terms, but at lease the meaning of each is simple. Piebalds are black and white, and skewbalds are bay and white.

Referring to a horse color by '[base color] and white' is probably the least confusing, although it is a fairly informal term.

I think the main way to reduce confusion is to completely terminate using the word "paint" for a color. Keep it to pinto or the other options, and it will probably help.

Have an awesome day, and if you found this post helpful, please +1, and don't use "paint" to refer to a color. :)