A Pintabian (pin-tay-bee-an) is a horse with over 99% Arabian blood and tobiano markings.

 

Tobiano (toe-bee-ah-no) is a non-symmetrical pattern of large, irregular spots. The well-defined spots cover the body randomly but cross the topline at some point between the ears and tail. The head is usually colored with the white markings (such as star, strip, blaze, snip, etc.) common to those of non-spotted horses. All four legs are generally white.

 

All tobianos are unique and can range from a largely white horse to that with very little white; the ideal being that which is 50% colored and 50% white.

Tobiano is a dominant spotting pattern, but to produce this type of horse, at least one parent must be a tobiano. Pintabians were developed by continually crossing tobianos back to purebred Arabians until a relatively pure strain of spotted horses with nearly 100% Arabian blood was obtained.

 

Pintabians have a distinctive appearance which includes a head with a "dished" face and large, wide-set eyes. The neck is arched, the back short and strong , the hip relatively level, and the tail carriage high. They generally stand between 14.2 and 15.2 hands, and weigh between 900 and 1,100 pounds.

 

References

Pintabian Horse Registry, Inc.
PO Box 360
Karlstad, MN 56732-0360
(218) 436-SPOT (7768)