Last month's blog, I wrote about the Morgan horse, the breed my
heroine, Laura rode in Trail To Destiny. This month I'm writing about my
favorite horse, the Pinto which Grey Wolf rode in the book.
In my books, I consider the hero or heroine's horse as much a
secondary character as the people! Look back on lots of TV and
movie westerns and you'll remember the names of so many horses the main
characters rode. One of the first Pintos in movie westerns dates back to
the early 1920's with a horse named Fritz owned by William Hart. He
performed with Hart in multiple movies and remained a beloved companion into
the actor's retirement.
Another famous Pinto was Tonto's horse, Scout. And can't
forget to mention Bonanza and Little Joe's Pinto, Cochise.
Though commonly associated with the Native American for its
legendary magical qualities in battle, the Pinto horse was actually introduced
to North America by European explorers, chiefly those from Spain, bringing
their Barb stock that had been crossed with native European stock years before.
It is believed that the Pinto patterns may have arrived in Europe via the Arabian
strains, as Pinto markings appear in ancient art throughout the Middle East.
However, evidence of the more dominant Tobiano pattern among the wild horses of
the Russian Steppes suggests the introduction of Pinto coloring to Europe
possibly as early as during the Roman Empire.
After the arrival of these European horses, great wild herds
infused with the flashy color patterns we know today began to develop across
America, eventually to be domesticated by the Native American. The white man
continued to import many of the well-established and stylish European breeds as
his foundation stock. Over time, however, with the civilization of the Native
American and the white man's migration to the frontier, it often became
necessary to cross these fancy, but less suitable breeds of the Eastern
seaboard with the wild mustang stock to increase size and attractiveness as
well as availability of a horse better suited to the strenuous working
conditions of the day. This Western-bred horse became a fixture of America,
especially the uniquely marked Pinto whose colorful presence in parades and
films always added a little extra glamour.
What are the Pinto patterns and how do they differ? There
are two recognized Pinto color patterns:
1) TOBIANO (Toe-bee-ah'-no) appears to be white with large spots
of color, often overlapping on animals with a greater percentage of color than
white. Spots of color typically originate from the head, chest, flank, and
buttock, often including the tail. Legs are generally white, giving the
appearance of a white horse with large or flowing spots of color. Generally,
the white crosses the center of the back or topline of the horse. It is
considered necessary to have a Tobiano parent to achieve a Tobiano foal.
2) OVERO(O-vair'-o) appears to be a colored horse with jagged white markings usually originating on the animal's side or belly, spreading toward the neck, tail, legs, and back. The color appears to frame the white spots. Thus, an Overo often has
a dark tail, mane, legs, and backline. Bald or white faces often accompany the
Overo pattern. Some Overos show white legs along with splashy white markings,
seemingly comprised of round, lacy white spots. White almost never crosses the
back or topline. A horse of Pinto coloration descendant from two solid colored
parents of another typically solid colored pure breed is called a
"crop-out" and is of the Overo pattern.
The Pinto Horse Association of America was
formed in 1956 although the bloodlines of many Pintos trace three or four
generations before that date. Choice, versatility and achievement for the breed
that offers something for everyone is what the Pinto Horse Association has to
offer.
The Pinto horse is a color breed in contrast to
most other breeds which are defined by their genetic ancestry. In America, the
Pinto is regarded as a proper breed. The Pinto coloration may occur in any
breed or specific conformation. However, the Pinto Horse Association of America
does not accept horses with Appaloosa, Draft, or mule breeding or
characteristics. In the American west, the Pinto has traditionally been
regarded as a horse the American Indian favored as a war horse since its
coloring provided a natural camouflage.
This
photograph shows the difference between a Pinto
horse
(left) and a leopard-spotted Appaloosa (right).
The Pinto does not have consistent conformation since it is bred for color. When the darker color is black, the horse is often described as Piebald. When the darker color is anything but black, the horse is described as Skewbald.
Pintos may be from a variety of breeds, ranging from Thoroughbred to
Miniatures.
What is the difference
between Pintos and Paints? Of the questions posed to the PtHA, this is
invariably the most frequently asked. The short answer is the Paint
Horse (registered by the APHA) is limited to horses of documented and
registered Paint, Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred breeding.
I could go into more
depth about the various Pinto colors, markings and categories, but anyone
interested can learn more about these beautiful horses through the Pinto Horse
Association of America (PtHA).
I learned a lot about Pintos as well as all types of horses for
that matter, when my husband and I visited the Kentucky Horse Park in
Lexington, KY. We rode up there on our "steel horse," a
Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle motorcycle. They call that area the
"Horse Capitol of the World," although believe it or not, Ocala,
Florida staunchly contends it is. But I tell you this, we rode over the
most beautiful country roads, passing by unbelievably picturesque horse farms
with their herds of horses grazing on that Kentucky Blue Grass! I highly
recommend visiting the state and in particular, taking a tour of the Horse Park
and surrounding areas including Churchill Downs, the Keeneland Race Track and
the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Yep, wouldn't have been complete if we didn't
visit a couple of those Bourbon distilleries including a few tastings!
Happy trails and hope you'll visit my website at www.cherikayclifton.com
Kentucky is a beautiful state and horse country is enough to make any horse lovers heart race. There's a Tobiano in a pasture not far from me. Striking! I never paid much attention to the history of horses until I started writing historical novels. We must have the details correct. Thanks for all the great information.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth, for your comment. Yes, as authors of historical fiction, we must pay attention to the details which enrichen our stories.
ReplyDeleteCheri, this is such an interesting post. I had no idea what made them a pinto. As a child I used to sing that old song that started "Across the alley from the Alamo, stood a pinto pony and Najaho, singing Hi dee ho to the people passing by. That's as much of the song as I know, so I'm sure my mother tired of it as much as mothers now hate "Baby Shark". This is a great series. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI had to comment again. I just noticed that two of the horses have a different color mane from their tail. That surprised me as I thought they were always the same. Great photos!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Caroline. Like so many subjects we research, once we get deep into the topic, it becomes so interesting, it's hard to know when to quit! Chuckled at your childhood song. And good observation about the different color tails and manes.
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