paint-patterns

Once upon a time, the Paint Horse was an outsider, a horse with no name. The result of Quarter Horse breedings, the birth of a Paint foal was considered an unfortunate occurrence, something Quarter Horse breeders dreaded. These wildly marked horses were thought of as anomalies, unfortunate mistakes in an attempt to create a fine, solid-colored horse. Simply put, Paints were outcasts.

Times have changed–a lot. Today, the Paint Horse is the second most popular breed in the United States, its numbers paling only in comparison to that of its mother breed, the American Quarter Horse.

The attitudes of early Quarter Horse breeders stemmed from the fact that Paint Horses were the result of colorful genes that cropped up every now and then in Quarter Horse breedings. The American Quarter Horse Association did not allow for horses with the colorful markings seen in Paint foals born to solid mothers, and would not permit the registration of these perfectly good although wildly colored horses.

In the mid-1960s, a group of people who appreciated these patterned horses for having all the same qualities as their Quarter Horse parents, along with a splashy coat, started the American Paint Horse Association. The organization and the breed have grown phenomenally over the past several decades, with Paint Horses now numbering tk.

Ironically, the same coat pattern that once designated the Paint Horse as an outcast has become the breed’s greatest glory. These days, colorful markings are not only desired, but are bred for specifically by those who cherish the breed.

“The issue of color is extremely important for various reasons within the Paint breed,” says Steven Imhof, field representative for the American Paint Horse Association in Fort Worth, Texas. “First and foremost, it is our identity. Without color, the horse is no longer a ‘Paint,’ visually speaking. Secondly, a horse registered in our Breeding Stock (solid) registry is very limited in the show ring as he cannot compete in the Regular Registry classes at APHA-approved shows. For these reasons, color is a big priority for most breeders.”

For those who breed Paint Horses, the basic three patterns are the palate from which to create the ultimate colored horse. These patterns are the tobiano, the overo and the tovero.

The Tobiano

The term “tobiano” originated in the mid-1800s, and comes from a man named General Tobias, a Brazilian cavalry office who came to Argentina with a command of soldiers mounted on tobiano marked horses. The tobiano pattern consists of white and a dark color, with the dark color usually covering one or both flanks. All four legs are often white, at least below the hocks and knees. According to the APHA, the patches in the tobiano pattern tend to be regular and distinct as ovals or round patterns that extend down over the neck and chest, giving the appearance of a shield. Head markings are the same as on a solid-colored horse; that is, a blaze, strip, star or snip, on a solid background. A tobiano Paint may be either predominantly dark or white, and the tail is often white and a dark color.

The tobiano is the most common pattern seen in the Paint Horse breed, undoubtedly because it is represented by a dominant gene. Within the tobiano pattern, horses that are black and white are sometimes known as piebald, while those who are white and another color are called skewbald. These terms are not officially used by the APHA, but were once very common among horse people.

The Overo

The overo pattern is a popular although less often seen marking within the Paint breed, despite the fact that many horses that are not tobiano are considered overo. The term “overo” means “like an egg” in Spanish, and any horse with patches or spots in South America is referred to by this name. Generally consisting of a white and a dark color, the overo pattern usually features white that does not cross the back of the horse between its withers and its tail. The white is irregular, and tends to look scattered or splashed. In most cases, at least one and often all four legs are dark. Overos have distinctive white head markings, often bearing a bald face, apron face or bonnet face. These horses can be either mostly dark or mostly white, and the tail is usually one color.

Within the overo designation, three distinct types exist: sabino,  splashed white, and frame. Sabino horses have white markings that extend up the legs and extensively on the face. The dark patches on the body are usually located on the belly and are roaned or speckled. Some sabinos are almost completely white with blue eyes, bearing just a small bit of color on their ears.

Horses considered splashed white are rare, although more are appearing on the Paint horse scene as a result of breeders seeking out this pattern. Consisting of white legs and white along the spinal area, the splashed pattern also features a white head. The dark colored patches on the horse’s body have a crisp, distinct separation from the white, and the horse’s eyes are almost always blue.

A variation of the splashed white, called the minimal splashed white, features a dark colored horse with considerable white on the face and white leg markings. Splashed white Paints may have more dark color on one side of the body than the other.

According to Dr. Sponenberg, many splashed white horses are deaf. “Some breeders contend that the splashed white horses with white around their eyes are more likely to be deaf than those with color around the eyes,” he says.
Frame overos are best described as having dark hooves and legs. Their heads are usually marked heavily with white, and white patches occur on the sides of the body and neck. The upper lip of frame overos usually contains color, although the rest of the head will be white. Blue eyes are common.

The Tovero

The tovero pattern is a combination of the tobiano and overo patterns, as the name suggests. The result of a crossing between an overo and a tobiano, tovero horses have pigmentation around the ears, which sometimes covers the forehead and/or eyes. They also have color around the mouth, which can extend to the sides of the face to form patches. One or both of the horse’s eyes are blue. Toveros have chest patches that may extend up the neck, and flank patches often accompanied by smaller patches across the barrel, and up over the loin. Patches are usually seen at the base of the tovero’s tail.

The medicine hat pattern, which was prized by the Cheyenne and Comanche tribes, is a tovero pattern. It includes a dark cap covering the ears and poll, and a dark shield-like marking on the chest

Breeding for Patterns

Early on in Paint Horse history, getting a colored foal of any pattern was exciting for a Paint breeder. Today, with a greater knowledge of genetics, breeders are striving for particular patterns, based on personal preference and trends within the breed.

“The overo seems to be very popular in the halter classes, as well as many pleasure classes,” says Imhof. “Many racehorses are tobiano. Then, there are toveros that display some of each pattern, having their own popularity as well. But regardless of the pattern, quality is first and foremost for the majority of breeders.”

Rather than breed horses only for their conformation, disposition and general Paint markings, Paint breeders have become expert at also crossing for certain patterns.

“Breeders seem to be increasingly interested in equine genetics,” says Imhof. “There are more tools available to help breeders attempt to ‘genetically engineer’ a breeding program.”

This type of breeding program requires at least a basic understanding of Paint genetics, which can be relatively simple or complex, depending on the pattern discussed. Breeding for tobiano markings is the least complicated method.

“The only crossing that can be guaranteed to produce a certain Paint pattern is that from a homozygous tobiano,” says Phillip Sponenberg, PhD, professor of pathology and genetics at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia, and author of “Equine Color Genetics” (Iowa State Press). “In tobianos that are not homozygous, whether or not a tobiano results from a given breeding depends on the gene combinations that the foal inherits.”

Homozygous tobianos are those that have two of the tobiano genes in their makeup. These tobianos can often be distinguished by the presence of small “ink spots” on the background color, or smudged roan areas on the white parts of their coats. A blood test can also be used to determine whether or not a tobiano is homozygous (see sidebar). Homozygous tobianos are valuable because they always produce a tobiano foal, no matter what type of horse they are bred to.

Because the tobiano gene is dominant, every tobiano horse bears at least one of these genes in its makeup. Horses with only one tobiano gene will produce tobiano foals 50 percent of the time when bred to solid colored horses.

Overo genetics is even more complex than that of the tobiano, in large part because of the different markings that exist within the overo pattern. “The overo gene is recessive, so there are no color guarantees with this pattern,” says Imhof. “Both patterns can be loudly or minimally expressed.”

According to Sponenberg, geneticists don’t completely understand the behavior of the overo gene, but believe some overo genes are dominant while others are recessive. More studies need to be done regarding the overo gene to determine its true nature.

Breeding for Color

The dark colors associated with the various Paint patterns are also a factor for breeders. The American Paint Horse Association allows horses with the following coat colorations to accompany white on a patterned horse:

Bay–The body color ranges from tan through red to reddish-brown. The mane and tail may be black, white or both. Black is also commonly found on the lower legs.
Blue Roan–A blue roan is a uniform mixture of white with black hairs.
Buckskin–The buckskin is a type of dun with body color a shade of yellow or gold. The mane and tail may be black, white or both. Black is common on the lower legs. A buckskin may not have a black dorsal stripe.
Chestnut–A dark red or reddish brown. The mane and tail are usually dark red or reddish brown, but may be flaxen or white.
Dun–A yellow or gold color, with each hair the same color. The mane and tail may be black, brown, red, yellow, white or mixed. Duns may exhibit a dorsal stripe, a transverse stripe over the withers, and zebra stripes on the legs.
Gray–This color is a mixture of white and any other color of hair. A gray is born solid- or almost solid-colored and gets lighter with age and as more hair grows.
Grullo–The body color is smoky or mouse-colored (not a mixture of black and white hairs, but each hair is mouse-colored). The mane and tail may be black, white or both, and there is typically black on the lower legs.
Palomino–The body color is a shade of yellow or gold. The mane and tail are white, yellow or gold. Palominos do not have dorsal stripes like the similarly colored dun horse.
Red Dun–Red dun is a form of dun typically with a yellow- or flesh-colored body. The mane, tail and dorsal stripe may be red, white or both.
Red Roan–A uniform mixture of white with red hair. The mane and tail may be red, black, flaxen or white.
Sorrel–A clear reddish or copper-red color. The mane and tail are usually the same color as the body and may be flaxen or white.

Any of these colors can be seen in a tobiano, overo or tovero pattern, and some breeders strive not only for a certain pattern, but for certain colors within that pattern. Each color has its own genetic factors that determine whether or not a horse will pass along the coloration when bred to a particular mate.

The various patterns and colorations seen in the Paint Horse breed is what makes these horses truly unique among their equine cousins. The challenges of producing certain patterns and colorations, along with horses of good conformation and disposition is undoubtedly what draws breeders to the colorful Paint.