Are there specific markings Paint breeders aim for?

Question

While at a charity ride someone told me paint breeders would kill for my mare's markings.
She has a pseudo "bulls eye" marking around her tail on her rump.

Now, I'm not involved in breeding in anyway so I personally have no idea what people look for as far as color and markings go.
Do paint breeders really aim for certain markings or patterns? Or is correct conformation the main goal?

Answer 1

Frame Overo's are ridiculously popular. Medicine hat markings, frosted manes, bulls eyes, and a few other marks are popular and sought after.



As a former APHA breeder I bred for conformation first and personality second followed by color. Many breeders seek color first or second behind conformation but personality and willingness to work are very important to me, before color. These qualities define a horse for use as a working companion and competition horse. A pretty horse that is a pasture ornament isn't as valuable as one who knows a skill and works well with people.

Answer 2

Minimal frame or splash overos are VERY popular right now on the paint circuit. If you look at any apha class, that's pretty much all there is.



Part of the reason that is is that judges may actually discriminate against too much white and/or tobianos, or at least in halter/WP/HUS it's not unheard of. Unless your tobiano or very loud horse is a fabulous mover or has some cool marking, it can be tough placing against overos at breed shows. That doesn't mean that loud paints can't be successful. I used to work a 85% white overo that's a reserve world champion wp horse, and wins almost every class he's in.



My trainer first breeds for movement (because a great horse is still great no matter what color it is), if the horse has a cool marking, awesome- it'll be easier to make it famous later on, but only qualifying white is what should really matter for a paint breeder.

Answer 3

Rachel's got it in the bag. And its the primary reason that I don't show at APHA shows. Even in the reining I've seen a bit of color discrimination which is absolutely ridiculous especially considering the class is scored according to individual movements, but anyhow....the pleasure horse classes are bonkers. Most the horses look like breeding stock except the splashed legs, face and occasional bellyspot. GOOD breeders breed for conformation, athletic ability, raw talent, dispositions etc....the goofy ones breed for color. I wouldn't give a damn if my horse was a purple and blue tobiano, (he's actually sorrel) as long as he's a good mover, got a good mind, built nice and can go through the showpen well.

Answer 4

Color sells. Whether it be in the show ring, the sale ring, the breeding pen, etc. Everyone wants COLOR. Overo is generally a pattern with more flash, making it more popular. As for breeding for that, you can breed for a type of paint (Overo, Tobiano, frame, splash, etc) but I don't think you can breed for something like the bulls-eye or a specific marking. That would be like breeding for a horse with a blaze or star on its forehead. You can breed for quite a few specific things, but specific markings aren't one of them.

Answer 5

Overo paints are very popular. Medicine hats and frosted manes are also highly sought after.



We breed for conformation and personality above all else. But as far as color goes, loud overo markings are highly sought after, especially buckskin overos. Black tobianos are not widely liked, nor or toveros or palomino paints. Also, overos seem to be preferred over tobianos. I have a sorrel overo, and I am constantly getting compliments on how gorgeous and vibrant his pattern is.

Answer 6

It depends on the individuals idea of what patterns and colors they like.

I do know that if you breed two Frame colored horses you have a 50/50 chance of getting Lethal white foal. If you have one with a white face blue eyes and only forehead and ears dark the chances of it being deaf or going deaf is strong.



I know for a fact that horses with pink skin around the eyes and muzzle are very prone to cancer of eyes due to the fact that they run and drip a lot and the flies suck and dip in it causing much more infection that a dark eyed horse would have.



The pink muzzles are prone to very bad sunburn which is not easy to fix.