What is the Difference Between a Paint Horse vs. a Pinto?

The short answer between the differences of a Paint Horse vs. a pinto is that Paint is a breed based on bloodlines, and pinto is a coat color pattern that can be found in horses of many different breeds. The longer answer is a bit more complicated.

Paints and pintos typically have one thing in common: a flashy coat featuring patches of white and a solid color, such as bay, black or chestnut. Beyond that, there are many differences.

What is a Paint Horse?

For one, a Paint Horse is a breed that, according to the American Paint Horse Association (APHA), “has strict bloodline requirements and a distinctive stock-horse body type.” Paint Horses can only have the bloodlines of Quarter Horses, Paint Horses or Thoroughbreds in their pedigrees. In order to qualify for registration with the APHA, their sire and dam must be registered with the APHA, the American Quarter Horse Association or the Jockey Club (the breed registry for Thoroughbreds). 

What Kind of Horse is a Pinto?

On the other hand, “pinto” is a term that refers to the colorful coat pattern and is not the name of a particular breed of horse. Any horse that displays one of several coat patterns is considered a pinto. Breeds that commonly produce pinto horses include the American Saddlebred, Gypsy Horse and Miniature Horse. Breeds such as the Spotted Saddle Horse and Spotted Draft Horse are exclusively pintos. 

Paint Horses traditionally have pinto coat patterns. However, horses from APHA-registered stock that do not have pinto coloring can still be registered with the APHA as “Solid Paint-Bred” horses, formerly known as “Breeding Stock” Paints.

There are two main registries for pinto horses—The Pinto Horse Association of America and the National Pinto Horse Registry—and each separates pintos into categories depending on their breeding and conformation. The Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association and the International Pattern Sporthorse Registry also accept pinto horses. The Pintabian Horse Registry specifically registers pinto horses with primarily Arabian horse breeding. 

What Are Their Coat Patterns?

Pintos and Paints are described by their coat pattern. The two most common patterns are the tobiano and overo. Horses that display characteristics of both patterns are considered toveros. There are also several other pattern types, but that’s another whole article in itself!

For more information about pintos and their various coat patterns, check out the following sites:

◆ Pinto Horse Association of America
◆ American Paint Horse Association
◆ Spotted Saddle Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association
◆ National Spotted Saddle Horse Association
◆ International Pattern Sporthorse Registry
◆ Pintabian Horse Registry

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Buckskin Color

The first unique horse coat color is buckskin. If you’ve ever seen the animated movie “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” or the Netflix original series “Spirit Riding Free,” then you’re already familiar with the most famous buckskin horses of recent history. Spirit’s color is one of the things that makes him so distinctive and able to stand out from the herd.

Buckskin horses are striking with the combination of a light coat and dark mane, tail, ears and legs. Many buckskins are cream-colored, but some are more golden or tan—it’s the dark points that count. Genetically speaking, a buckskin is a bay horse that has a cream gene, which lightens its base coat to that creamy buckskin shade.

It’s easy to get confused by the terms “dun” and “buckskin,” but duns often have additional dark markings called “primitive” markings. These can include a dorsal stripe along the backbone and stripes above the black points on their legs.

Buckskins can be found in many different breeds, but they can also be registered with the American Buckskin Registry Association, Inc. (ABRA) or the International Buckskin Horse Association (IBHA). Duns and grullas are also included. Grulla (pronounced “grew-yah”) is a mousy grayish-brown shade of dun.

Palomino Color

Our second unique horse coat color is palomino. The golden stars of the horse world, palominos always manage to catch your eye with their flashy coats and flaxen manes. It seems as if they were made for the spotlight. After all, palominos have long been a top choice for TV stardom: Trigger was cowboy Roy Rogers’ constant companion, and kids in the 1960s loved to tune in to watch the lovable Mister Ed.

Like buckskin, palomino is not actually a breed but a color, and palomino horses that meet the requirements can be registered with the Palomino Horse Breeders Association (PHBA).

In the olden days, breeders wanted to develop a breed of horse that was always born with a palomino coat, but they discovered that color genes just didn’t work that way. Remember how we said that a buckskin is essentially a bay horse with a cream gene? Well, a palomino is a chestnut horse with a cream gene.

Palomino coats can range in color from light buttery cream to a darker golden yellow. In fact, the PHBA says that “the ideal body coat color is approximately the color of a United States gold coin.” But I think we can all agree that any shade of palomino is a good shade!

Pinto & Paint Coat Color Patterns

Finally, our third unique horse coat color or pattern is pinto and paint. Be careful not to use these words interchangeably—even though pinto and Paint Horse markings look similar, there’s actually a distinction when it comes to bloodlines and registration. The American Paint Horse is a breed of horses known for their striking patterns of white markings that have Quarter Horse breeding, while the word “pinto” can refer to horses of many breeds (including Paints) that display patterns of white markings.

Like palominos and buckskins, pinto horses have their own registry, the Pinto Horse Association of America, Inc. (PtHA).

Pintos and Paint Horses display a variety of beautiful, colored coat patterns, but two of the most well-known are tobiano and overo. A tobiano can usually be identified by minimal white markings on the face, four white legs, and white markings on the body. Overos, on the other hand, often have a lot of white on their faces, sometimes even possessing completely “bald” (white) faces.

The PtHA registers horses and ponies in five different size classifications and six different type classifications, so there’s truly a pinto horse to suit anyone’s fancy!

Learn More About Unique Horse Colors!

Check out the groups that register, show and promote these colorful horses.

◆ American Paint Horse Association
◆ American Buckskin Registry Association, Inc.
◆ International Buckskin Horse Association
◆ Palomino Horse Breeders Association
◆ Pinto Horse Association of America

This article about unique horse coat colors originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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