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Palomino is, strictly speaking, a color type
and not a breed, although the American Palomino Horse Society and similar
societies in England are trying to establish the Palomino by selective and
careful breeding. Palomino is an ancient coat coloring, as is the spotted coat
pattern, and was originally quite widespread among the Spanish Horse. America,
in fact, is not really the country of origin, s palominos were first seen there
after the Spanish conquistadors arrived with Spanish horses there.
America was, however, responsible for the first registry
of the palomino, and this coat coloring is now being widely bred there,
especially in the North and South. There are rigid rules that must apply to a
horse or pony in order for it to be registered on the Palomino register. The
coat color must be that of a newly minted gold coin, or three shades lighter or
darker. Minimal white markings are allowed on the face, and there must not be
any white marking above the knee or hock. The mane and tail should be silvery
white, and must not contain more than fifteen percent dark hair. They must have
dark or hazel eyes - blue eyes or odd-colored eyes disqualify a horse form the
registry. To be registered, a horse must have one parent already in the
register, and the other must be a Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, or Arabian.
The color characteristics are hard to reproduce but the
most common combinations to produce palomino offspring are palomino to palomino,
chestnut to palomino, or chestnut or palomino to albino. The most popular cross
is the Palomino to chestnut, which usually produces a very rich shade of
palomino coat coloring. Palominos make good riding horses and are used for all
spheres of riding form pleasure, trail, showing, jumping, and so on.
In recent years they have enjoyed an increase in
popularity and are now highly valued for their coloring. Often, Palominos will
exhibit some Spanish characteristics, which is a throwback to their roots, but
there is still a general lack of conformational conformity. In general, they
tend to have a small head with a straight profile, a long and well-formed neck,
reasonably sloping shoulders, a straight back, and muscular quarters. They
usually have a prolific mane and tail, and stand between 14 and 16 hands high.
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