The Paint Horse

SUBJECTIVE

When I think about the Western style of horseback riding, a certain picture always comes to mind: a cowboy, hat brim over his eyes, on the back of a galloping Paint Horse. They're leaning precariously, low to the ground, dirt kicked up every which way; you can only wonder how he manages to keep such a relaxed grip on the reins. 

Why a Paint Horse, exactly? Its coat, as if in defiance of the straight-backed discipline of the English style, and with it the old world's strict principles, is an exciting, uncooperatively random splash of color. When helping a child identify the breed, people often say that it looks like somebody took a bucket of paint and poured it over the horse. Gone are the boring Chestnuts and Bays that dominate the jumping competitions and horse races of the east coast. Blue eyes replace brown, and the overwhelming variety of nuanced hues seems to make for a work of art rather than an animal. It's as though the Paint Horse is a part of its own world, vibrant and boundless.

OBJECTIVE

When the Spanish, at the height of North American exploration, began to lose their horses to the herds of wild mustangs that ruled the land, a new breed was born: the American Paint Horse. Today, they are distinguishable by their coloration, characterized by white splotches combined with other regular horse colors, such as brown and black (Paint Horses). However, the Paint is not to be confused with the Pinto; while Pinto is only considered a color, meaning that a horse of Pinto coloration may belong to any breed, in order to be considered a Paint, a horse must prove its lineage upon registration and meet a certain color requirement (Paint Horses 2).

On average, this particular breed of horses is known to grow to be about 16 hands, or 64 inches, from hoof to withers, and live to be anywhere from 25 to 30 years old (Paint Horses). They make great companions and are suited for a number of purposes, though they are predominantly favored by those who ride Western. 

Western style