What's the Difference?
A frequently asked question about the Pinto is “what’s the difference between an American Paint horse and a Pinto horse?” American Paint horses are limited to registered bloodlines of Paint, American Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred horses, whereas the Pinto can be from an array of bloodlines including the Arabian, American Saddlebred, American Miniature Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse and American Shetland Pony to name a few. The PtHA does not accept Appaloosa, Draft or Mule breedings and/or characteristics, except for non-characteristic Appaloosa geldings.
Foundation Quarter Horse
" The Foundation Quarter Horse is easily recongnized by his body shape and unique conformation. He is more horse for height than is found in any other breed. Built low to the ground, much of the time he does not exceed fifteen hands, but due to his build will often weigh twelve hundred pounds or more. The pattern of his muscle adorns nearly every part of his body.
There is his small alert ear, wide set honest bright eye that windows his great intelligence and kindness, bulging jaw, neck of moderate lenght joined low into his sloping shoulder, topped by a well defined wither. A short back with strong lion, deep barrel with long underline, well sprung ribs with great heart girth.
The space between the forelegs is ample to supply for a wide, well developed chest, while the forearms, gaskins, and hindquarters carry the muscle that separates the Foundation Quarter Horse from all others. Seen from the rear the power filled stifles are wider than the croup.
The bones of the Foundation Quarter Horse are trim, dense, and sturdy. His rugged frame is necessary to support the bulk that provides his strenght. The cannon bones are short and flat set above strong pasterns. The foot is deep with open heel, well rounded with sufficient size. When under observation, the animal displays his divine design..." - Dillon Shook
Much the same as AQHA, the Foundation Quarter Horse Registry - FQHR is the first to and original association to preserve and promote the blood of the Foundation Quarter Horse. The FQHR recognizes the first five AQHA stud books, the first 27,000 horses registered as Foundation bred horses. The purpose of the FQHR is to promote, preserve & protect the working "cow horse" bloodlines. The registary is based on blood percentages. Most horses carrying 75% Foundation blood are eligible. No Thoroughbred blood is accepted other then the original ones in the first 27,000 AQHA horses. Example : Three Bars.
There is his small alert ear, wide set honest bright eye that windows his great intelligence and kindness, bulging jaw, neck of moderate lenght joined low into his sloping shoulder, topped by a well defined wither. A short back with strong lion, deep barrel with long underline, well sprung ribs with great heart girth.
The space between the forelegs is ample to supply for a wide, well developed chest, while the forearms, gaskins, and hindquarters carry the muscle that separates the Foundation Quarter Horse from all others. Seen from the rear the power filled stifles are wider than the croup.
The bones of the Foundation Quarter Horse are trim, dense, and sturdy. His rugged frame is necessary to support the bulk that provides his strenght. The cannon bones are short and flat set above strong pasterns. The foot is deep with open heel, well rounded with sufficient size. When under observation, the animal displays his divine design..." - Dillon Shook
Much the same as AQHA, the Foundation Quarter Horse Registry - FQHR is the first to and original association to preserve and promote the blood of the Foundation Quarter Horse. The FQHR recognizes the first five AQHA stud books, the first 27,000 horses registered as Foundation bred horses. The purpose of the FQHR is to promote, preserve & protect the working "cow horse" bloodlines. The registary is based on blood percentages. Most horses carrying 75% Foundation blood are eligible. No Thoroughbred blood is accepted other then the original ones in the first 27,000 AQHA horses. Example : Three Bars.
QUARTER HORSEAmerican Quarter Horse, one of the oldest recognized breeds of horses in the United States. The breed originated about the 1660s as a cross between native horses of Spanish origin used by the earliest colonists and English horses imported to Virginia from about 1610. By the late 17th century, these horses were being raced successfully over quarter-mile courses in Rhode Island and Virginia, and hence received the name Quarter Horses. The Quarter Horse was bred for performance and had considerable Thoroughbred blood as well as traits of other lines. Important sires include Janus, an English Thoroughbred imported to Virginia in 1756; Steel Dust (b. 1843); and Peter McCue (b. 1895), called the most influential sire in improving the breed. Foaled in Kentucky, a descendent of the great Sir Archy,
Steel Dust came to Texas as a yearling in 1844. His progeny and his legend spread as cowboys drove Longhorns up the trails from Texas and opened the Great Plains to ranching. The name Steel Dust came to identify an entire breed of horse; they were called “Steeldusts,” the cowboy’s favorite kind. They were heavy-muscled horses, marked with small ears, a big jaw, remarkable intelligence and lightning speed up to a quarter of a mile. Steel Dust was an American Quarter Horse. He and his kind would achieve fame in proportions every bit as magnificent as that of the mythical Pegasus. But the story of the Quarter Horse begins long before Texans started tying their ropes and hard and fast to the saddle horn. The origins of the breed can be traced to Colonial America. When our forefathers weren’t dumping tea in the Boston Harbor and fighting Indians or Redcoats, they did enjoy a horse race. In the beginning, they ran the English horses with which they plowed and rode every day. The Foundation Quarter Horse displays and promots the qualities of the "old style" Quarter Horse. Natural cow sence with a quiet trainable disposition. The conformation and build that they possess is refured to as "Bulldog" thick and stocky. Making them a top ranch horse, cow horse, reinig, cutting,and so on... They really are the true working Quarter Horse, and a great horse to ride! www.aqha.com |
PAINTn 1519 the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes sailed to the New World to find his fame and fortune. Along with his entourage of conquistadors, he brought horses to help his men search the vast land for riches. According to the Spanish historian Diaz del Castillo, who traveled with the expedition, one of the horses was described as a "pinto" with "white stockings on his forefeet." The other was described as a "dark roan horse" with "white patches." These were the first known recorded descriptions of early Paint Horses in the New World.
By the early 1800s, the western plains were generously populated by free-ranging herds of horses, and those herds included the peculiar spotted horse. Because of their color and performance, flashy, spotted horses soon became a favorite mount of the American Indian. The Comanche Indians, considered by many authorities to be the finest horsemen on the Plains, favored loud-colored horses and had many among their immense herds. Evidence of this favoritism is exhibited by drawings of spotted horses found on the painted buffalo robes that served as records for the Comanches. Throughout the 1800s and late into the 1900s, these spotted horses were called by a variety of names: pinto, paint, skewbald, piebald. In the late 1950s, a group dedicated to preserving the spotted horse was organized—the Pinto Horse Association. In 1962, another group of spotted horse enthusiasts organized an Association, but this group was dedicated to preserving both color and stock-type conformation—the American Paint Stock Horse Association (APSHA). This group thought the varied, distinct coat patterns of the American Paint were appealing. However, being knowledgeable devotees of Western stock-type horses, they insisted that stock-type conformation had to be the first criteria for establishing a registry. www.apha.com |
PINTOThe Pinto horse originated in Spain and was introduced to North America by Spanish and other European explorers. The Spanish explorers brought over Barb horses that had been crossed with other European breeds including Russian and Arabian strains, which are thought to give the horses their color patterns. When the Spanish herds were brought to North America, these horses mixed with the wild horses and were later domesticated by the Native Americans.
Later, when the West was being tamed, the pioneers had to cross their refined European horses with the wild herds to develop a stockier and heavier muscled horse that would be more suited to the rugged and arduous conditions. Often referred to as piebald or skewbald horses in literature about the Wild West, the Pinto horse was a favorite among American cowboys and Native Americans. Many famous Pintos include Tonto’s Scout, Little Joe’s Cochise and Frank Hopkins’ Hidalgo. The Pinto Horse Association started from a grassroots movement to selectively breed horses for good color and conformation. Several horsemen in the 1930s formed the Pinto Horse Society with the purpose of breeding superior colored horses. The registry they created is the basis of what is now known as the Pinto Horse Association of America Inc. It took several years and several more organizations to form today’s PtHA. Tired of the discrimination Pintos received in the show ring, Kay Heikens, Helen Hammond and other Pinto lovers decided to start a new organization and registry. The determined group finalized their hard work on May 18, 1956, in New Jersey when the PtHA was incorporated. www.pinto.org |