Horses

The Palomino Horse is best known for its impressive golden coat and flaxen mane and tail.?? They are found in many countries but are most common in North America, especially the USA. ?Not truly a type, it is a color breed.? The golden coat is the result of a "Palomino"? gene and it is possible for this gene to appear in almost any breed or type of horse where the spotted gene is no longer present.

It is theoretically possible however unlikely to breed a Palomino Thoroughbred as a result of color crossing. The Palomino coloring occurs in many breeds and types most notably in the American Quarter Horse

Appearance and Characteristics
The majority of North American Palomino horses are registered with the Palomino Horse Association Inc which defines ?the ideal features for the "breed"? ?Height may be 1.45- 1.63 m (14.1-16 h)high, but the color requirement is specific. Skin may be dark or golden in color. The coat color must be no more than three shades lighter or darker than a newly minted gold coin, with no smudges. Mane and tail should be white with not more than 15 per cent of darker hairs in either. Eyes are dark or hazel; horses of Pinto, Albino, or Appaloosa parentage, with pink, blue, or wall eyes, are ineligible. White marking on the face are limited to a blaze, snip, or star.? White hair on the legs must not extend above the knees and hocks.

To qualify for breeding, stallions and mares should have one parent in the register, and the other must be Quarter Horse, Arab, or Thoroughbred. Crossings that produce Palominos may include Albino, but the most sought after combination resulting in the richest color offspring is Palominocrossed with chestnut.

The origin of the name Palomino is unclear. Possibly it comes from the ?Spanish "palomilla"?, meaning "a cream-colored horse with white mane and tail" (D.P. Willoughby, Empire of Equus). Other explanations have the name coming from a golden grape with a similar name of the Spanish word for dove paloma.