Origins
Although pinto coloration is rare in the wild, people have always had an eye for animals of unusual colors and a desire to deliberately breed for them. Images from pottery and other art of ancient antiquity show horses with flashy spotted patterns. Images of spotted horses appear in the art of Ancient Egypt, and archaeologists have found evidence of horses with spotted coat patterns on the Russian steppes before the rise of the Roman Empire. Later, spotted horses were among those brought to the Americas by the Conquistadors.
By the 17th century in Europe, spotted horses were quite fashionable, though when the fad ended, large numbers of newly-unsellable horses were shipped to the Americas, some for sale, and others simply turned loose to run wild. The color became popular, particularly among Native Americans, and was specifically bred for in the United States, which now has the greatest number of pinto horses in the world.
The word "pinto" is a Spanish word literally meaning 'painted' and also 'dappled' or 'spotted'.
Read more about this topic: Pinto Horse
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