Saturday, September 22, 2012

What's a medicine hat pinto?

I'd heard the term, but never knew what it was. Then, at the ESDCTA Schooling Show Championships, I saw just such markings on a horse. I was helping with scoring, and during a lull I peered out from the announcer's booth at the rings and riders -- there was this lovely looking mostly white gelding. Lovely horse, lovely rider, lovely test, lovely color.

And immaculate.

The announcer told me that this was medicine hat coloring. Anyone care to leave a comment detailing what makes a horse a medicine hat type?


As much as I love to show, it is also fun to volunteer and observe others showing. I saw a few people I know ride beautifully, I saw some poor girl get dumped (in a highly charged warmup ring), I saw a way-too-thin horse (and hope the judge put something in her comments), and I saw Marilyn Payne ride Dario, a big-big beautiful chestnut moving up the levels.

I did some scoring too, which is now done via computer. Sad to say I still made mistakes. I do question an interface that has you enter errors at the end of the scoring inteface rather than where they occur. I guess any method will have its drawbacks. I think competitors must like having the printout.


17 comments:

  1. JenSeptember 22, 2012 at 11:59 AM

    I understand that it is the colour around the ears (like a hat) that makes it a medicine hat.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2012 at 12:10 PM

    From Wikipedia: "Medicine hat": An unusual type of Pinto or Paint coloring where the horse has dark ears and poll (like a hat on the head), but surrounded on all sides of the head and neck by white.

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  3. A. BlegenSeptember 22, 2012 at 12:39 PM

    I believe a medicine hat is called as such because it is primarily (predominately) white with a "hat" or "bonnet" of color across the top of it's head/ears. I *think* it's an old Native American word as well, or something like that. I just remember reading an old book as a kid that was titled "The Medicine Hat Stallion". Just googled it and it's a Marguerite Henry book.

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  4. jenjSeptember 22, 2012 at 12:53 PM

    My Paint is a medicine hat. Basically what it means is that BOTH ears must be dark and surrounded by white. The dark spot must cover both ears and the forelock/poll area between them (in other words, if each individual ear is dark but the rest of the head/neck is white it doesn't count). Medicine hats are usually mostly white.

    This guy might actually be a Paint instead of a Pinto - the difference is breed registry. To be a registered Paint, both sire and dam must either be registered Quarter Horses, registered Thoroughbreds, or registered Paints. A Pinto can be any horse with spots - from a registered Dutch Warmblood like Art Deco to a pony found in someone's backyard where the owners have no clue as to lineage.

    From what I have heard (never seen any supporting documentation for this, so it's just hearsay), the Native Americans thought this coat pattern provided protection against harm, especially those with a "shield" spot on the chest. Supposedly they prized medicine hats so much that only chiefs and medicine men were allowed to have them. My guy has certainly saved my sorry a$$ more times than I can count on XC, so there may be some truth to the legend!

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    Replies
    1. A personApril 4, 2014 at 2:13 PM

      a paint and pinto are the same thing. Pinto is just the spanish word for painted

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJune 19, 2014 at 2:50 PM

      No, not correct. Paint is bloodlines - Qtr or TB predominately. Pinto is coloring, in any breed. Pony to draft horses. So a Paint horse is always a pInto, but a pinto is not always a paint!

      Delete
  5. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    Medicine Hat goes back to Native Americans and their war ponies. A Medicine Hat horse was a very prized possession. It refers to coloring; there's a "hat" of color that encases the poll and both ears, while the remainder of the face/neck are white. It's very striking, and still a bit rare. From my understanding, it's a Paint horse thing, not something that occurs in other breeds...kind of like how an Appy blanket occurs in Appys (or crosses of) but not on any other breed. I had a friend years ago who owned a Medicine Hat Paint; that horse was beautiful!

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  6. JaniceSeptember 22, 2012 at 1:57 PM

    Growing up I got a copy of Marguerite Henry's book, "San Domingo: Medicine Hat Stallion". The markings of the dark 'hat' over the ear or ears is what gives the medicine hat its name. Here's an image of the edition I still own: http://www.genesisartsandbooks.com/product/san-domingo-the-medicine-hat-stallion-by-marguerite-henry

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  7. Melanie OSeptember 22, 2012 at 2:32 PM

    Medicine hat: an uncommon pattern where the poll and ears are dark, surrounded completely by white, a true "medicine hat" pinto or paint usually has a predominantly white body. The pattern kinda looks like a hat.

    These horses were reserved to the native medicine men at birth. The Indians believe such a horse is sacred -- that neither bullet nor arrow can harm its rider

    ReplyDelete
  8. Laura CrumSeptember 22, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    We owned a medicine hat paint pony. His markings were very like the horse in the photo. Sorrel "cap" on his poll, a big sorrel patch on his left flank, and some sorrel in his tail. The rest white. I can't say I know much about the coloring other than every horse I've seen described as a "medicine hat" paint looked a lot like this. They are said to be good fortune. Our pony, Toby, certainly was good fortune for us.

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  9. ChristineSeptember 22, 2012 at 7:37 PM

    I think being on all sides of a competition can be interesting and help you to learn!
    Sounds like a fun experience :)

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  10. MacKenzieSeptember 22, 2012 at 10:32 PM

    Medicine Hat is also known as a tovero or a tobero and it is a pattern of white that expresses both the tobiano and overo gene modifiers.
    http://www.whitehorseproductions.com/ecg_basics3.html#pinto

    ReplyDelete
  11. SmartAlexSeptember 23, 2012 at 7:09 PM

    After reading The Medicine Hat Stallion (there was also a movie) I was obsessed with the coat pattern. I prefer the sabino ones to the tovero ones, and was thrilled to find that they even occur in my chosen breed, the American Saddlebred.
    http://www.cedarwindsfarmllc.com/BeauDecision.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. ValSeptember 23, 2012 at 7:24 PM

    I read the book as a kid. How cool to see a medicine hat in dressage.

    Go easy on the rider with the thin horse. She could be struggling with a hardkeeper and already beating herself up about his body condition. Ask me how I know!

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  13. UnknownSeptember 24, 2012 at 11:15 AM

    I don't know anything about medicine hat pinto's - never even heard of one. But, I do know this: that sure is a beautiful horse in the picture.

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  14. sumikSeptember 26, 2012 at 4:02 PM

    Here is a picture of a Native American wearing a medicine hat:

    http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/shadow-catchers/na-buash-i-ta.htm

    And the marking in horses was named for the hats.

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  15. UnknownOctober 21, 2014 at 2:01 PM

    I have been told that my daughter's horse Ellie is a Medicine Hat. I had never heard of that before so I did some research and found out that Native Americans consider medicine hats magical and were used in battles for protection. We certainly think Ellie is magical. Here is a recent photo of my daughter & Ellie:
    https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?pid=6071767047608918994&oid=109554635002950029087

    ReplyDelete

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