A Paint That Ain't - It's The Pinto

People often ask what the difference is between a Paint and a Pinto. Some people even use the terms interchangeably, that’s not wrong, but there is a difference.
To put it simply, Paint is an actual breed of horse, Pinto is a color.

Pintos are characterized by their white markings, basically a horse of a given base color, with large patches of skin lacking pigmentation - hence the white patches.
There are different pinto genes, which determine the how the markings are laid out (pattern), but I wont get into those.

A horse of almost any breed can be a pinto, from clydesdales to minis, any horse with the large patches of white can be a pinto.

Pinto is NOT a breed, however there are registries for it. Horses of any breed with the pinto coloration are accepted into the registry, it is not a breed registry, rather a color registry. Much like the palomino registry.

Paint horses are a unique breed, with their own breed registry, the American Paint Horse Association. A characteristic of the Paint breed, is pinto coloration, however since it is a breed registry and they are most focused on bloodlines, even a solid colored horse can be registered as a ‘breeding-stock’ paint, since although it may be solid colored, it could throw foals with the pinto coloration. Some quarter horses and thoroughbreds with pinto coloration are also allowed into the registry.

Most paints have pinto coloration, but pintos are not always paints, they can be almost any breed. So when you see a horse with big white patches, it is safe to call it a pinto, since it has pinto coloration, but it is not necessarily a paint.