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Pinto horses are very unique in that they are a color
breed, not an actual horse breed, such as Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and Quarter
horses.
The color breed Pinto originated
from the name Pintado, or paint, in Spanish. The pinto is found in all of
the horse breeds just listed. The tobiano pattern is a white coat with large
spots of another color, ranging from chestnut to black. The color pattern overo
is a dark coat color with patches of white. When horses are well kept, they are
very pretty to look at. Pintos, especially, are pretty because of their coat
pattern.
Horses are able to adapt to many
different lifestyles, such as in mountains, on farms, in woods, prairies,
plains, and beside the sea. Horses eat a variety of different foods, depending
on how hard they work. A horse that has a lot of work to do must eat up to 50%
nutrients, while a horse with no work to do must eat all roughage (hay and
grass). They also eat different fruits and vegetables, grain, alfalfa, corn,
pellets and bran. One definite necessity for horses is salt.
Normally, horses that are used for
racing have good, sound legs. Many horses are used in jumping contests, and a
lot of people use their horses to ride for pleasure. Many different things are
used to pass a horse’s time. Older, retired horses are turned out in the pasture
and younger, working horses in the fields pull plows, pull wagons, and bind hay
bales - at least, they used to in the old days. However, some people may still
use the horse for work in the fields. Many countries nowadays still use horses
for ceremonial duties, and they are used for herding cattle.
After mating, it takes just about a
year before the colt is born. At two months, the foal’s gender is already
established. At four months, the hooves form and hair grows around the lips.
When the foal has been growing for six months, hair is covering most of the
body. At eight months, mane and tail start to form. Between ten and eleven
months, the foal dramatically increases in weight and positions itself to be
born headfirst. When the foal comes out of its mother’s womb, the mother licks
it clean. The new foal can stand up within a half an hour of its birth. A few
hours after it is born it can keep up with its mother when she runs, and in two
weeks time, the foal is proficient at walking. When the foal is five weeks old,
it can stand without being splay-legged. For the first two months, the foal
lives on milk from its mother. Then, it starts to eat grass. At four months, the
foal is just about as big as an adult horse. Horses can live to be over thirty
years old.
Horses play an important part in
the world today. They give blood for uses in anti-venin, pull logs for
lumberjacks, and mounted police use them to perform their duties. This is just a
sample of the many things that horses can do.
The pinto horse is one of the
prettiest horses there is. There is so much to a pinto horse, that wonderful
creature God gave us for uses such as working, riding, show, and pleasure.
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