Frequently Asked Questions
The following are simplified answers to questions frequently asked by new members.
Are all horses with white coat patterns Paint Horses?
No. Paint horses must meet strict bloodline, conformation, colour and breeding requirements to be able to be classified as 'Paint Horses'. Paint horses must have parents who are Paint Horse, Quarter Horse (AQHA) or Thoroughbred (ASB) registered. Horses with other bloodlines - for example Appaloosa, Warmblood, Australian Stock Horse, Pony, Draft, Arab or Standardbred - are not accepted.
How much white is needed to be registered as a Paint Horse?
In general terms, the white on a horse must be above the top of the knee or centre of the hock, or behind a line drawn from the corner of the mouth to the base of the ear.
What about horses with not enough white?
Horses with the correct breeding but insufficient white to make regular registry, are registered into the 'Paint Bred' section of the registry. They are known as 'Solids' as they have a solid body colour. A full range of showing opportunities is offered to Paint Bred horses, but they compete in separate classes at Paint Horse 'closed' shows such as National and State Championships.
What is the defference between a Paint Horse and a Quarter Horse?
Very little. Paint Horses are basically coloured Quarter Horses. In fact since the rule changes which allow horses with excess white to be registered with the AQHA, there are quite a few double registered horses - PHAA and AQHA. Paints and Quarter Horses compete together at Western perfomance shows.
Why do some white markings look different to others?
There are a number of different coat patterns in Paint Horses. Without going into the genetics, the different patterns are classified as Overo, Tobiano, Tovero (combination of Tobiano and Overo), Splashed White and Sabino. Thay all look different and any one or any combination of all theses patterns may be present in a paint Horse depending on its breeding and pedigree. That is one reason there is such a huge and interesting range of coat patterns present in the modern Australian Paint Horse.
What is 'Lethal White'?
Overo Lethal White (OLW) / Lethal White Overo (LWO) / Overo Lethal White Syndrome (OLWS) are all the same thing. It is a condition related to the breeding of two 'overo' horses. If two overo horses (carrying the OLWS gene) are bred together there is a 1 in 4 chance that the foal will be born pure white or nearly pure white and will die soon after birth due to a genetic disorder. The PHAA discourage breeders from breeding overo to overo and encourages all breeding horses with overo bloodlines, to be genetically tested to determine their OLWS status prior to breeding. Overo patterned horses are completely unaffected and are normal healthy horses.
Are all horses with white coat patterns Paint Horses?
No. Paint horses must meet strict bloodline, conformation, colour and breeding requirements to be able to be classified as 'Paint Horses'. Paint horses must have parents who are Paint Horse, Quarter Horse (AQHA) or Thoroughbred (ASB) registered. Horses with other bloodlines - for example Appaloosa, Warmblood, Australian Stock Horse, Pony, Draft, Arab or Standardbred - are not accepted.
How much white is needed to be registered as a Paint Horse?
In general terms, the white on a horse must be above the top of the knee or centre of the hock, or behind a line drawn from the corner of the mouth to the base of the ear.
What about horses with not enough white?
Horses with the correct breeding but insufficient white to make regular registry, are registered into the 'Paint Bred' section of the registry. They are known as 'Solids' as they have a solid body colour. A full range of showing opportunities is offered to Paint Bred horses, but they compete in separate classes at Paint Horse 'closed' shows such as National and State Championships.
What is the defference between a Paint Horse and a Quarter Horse?
Very little. Paint Horses are basically coloured Quarter Horses. In fact since the rule changes which allow horses with excess white to be registered with the AQHA, there are quite a few double registered horses - PHAA and AQHA. Paints and Quarter Horses compete together at Western perfomance shows.
Why do some white markings look different to others?
There are a number of different coat patterns in Paint Horses. Without going into the genetics, the different patterns are classified as Overo, Tobiano, Tovero (combination of Tobiano and Overo), Splashed White and Sabino. Thay all look different and any one or any combination of all theses patterns may be present in a paint Horse depending on its breeding and pedigree. That is one reason there is such a huge and interesting range of coat patterns present in the modern Australian Paint Horse.
What is 'Lethal White'?
Overo Lethal White (OLW) / Lethal White Overo (LWO) / Overo Lethal White Syndrome (OLWS) are all the same thing. It is a condition related to the breeding of two 'overo' horses. If two overo horses (carrying the OLWS gene) are bred together there is a 1 in 4 chance that the foal will be born pure white or nearly pure white and will die soon after birth due to a genetic disorder. The PHAA discourage breeders from breeding overo to overo and encourages all breeding horses with overo bloodlines, to be genetically tested to determine their OLWS status prior to breeding. Overo patterned horses are completely unaffected and are normal healthy horses.