Did you know ...

... that Paint Horses are found all over the world?

While this blog is part of the American Paint Horse Association, the association strives to stay connected with Paint Horse owners worldwide, often by including international stories in publications such as the Paint Horse Journal and APHA Connection, but also through horse shows like the World Championship Paint Horse Show, held in June and November every year in Texas. Last year even coincided with the Youth World Games! Pretty cool, huh?

So here's an international Paint marking just for you. While the spoken language may be different, foreign horses are still the same enjoyable breed as the ones in the United States.

"Hello!" writes Sabrina Freiberg of Triple F Ranch in Hopferau, Bavaria, Germany. "I have a yearling colt who has a pretty marking on his right side. It looks like a horse's head with reins and a mane that flows in the wind."

The colt she is referring to is her 2008 sorrel overo stallion TFR Indios Turbocheck, and the photo was taken at the European Paint Horse Championship where he was shown by Monika Hagen of Haldenwang, Germany.

Three in one

I received an email recently from this Paint Horse owner whose stallion has quite a variety of markings, all on one side! This is Dee Otoe Reed (catch the musical reference? "The oboe reed?"), a 1990 chestnut overo stallion registered to Jill (Cochran) Hall but belongs to her daughter Dannie, who lives in Redkey, Indiana.

Jill writes, "The first image that takes form looks like a wizard with his wand pointing down. The second, very prominent image is the Texas longhorn, and the third image on his hip my daughter says looks like the state of Indiana with a very long toe."

Cowboys like us

If you haven't yet read the post about horses hitching rides on horses—that is, in their Paint markings—you really should take a second and check it out. Otherwise, I heard from a friend of APHA that her Paint was blessed with an eternal rider.

Carrie Ream of Grand Rapids, Michigan, writes, "After reading through the last issue of Connection, I decided to check my horse's markings to see if I could find anything. Sure enough, there is a profile of a cowboy on her head—hat and all!" The mare Carrie is referring to is Totally Tee Time,  her 2007 sorrel overo.

Sometime this week when you're cleaning out the stalls or walking through the pasture checking on your Paints, why don't you look and see what images are hidden in their markings? I bet you'll find something if you look close enough!