Quite a few people who own Solid Paint Bred Horses are "independent thinkers."
An independent thinker*
“I never followed the crowd,” said Rebecca Lockhart. “I always had my own opinion. Some of the big breeders liked Paints, but they never spoke up and said it. They didn’t want to go against the grain. Well, it didn’t bother me.” What did disturb Lockhart, however, was that she saw a continuing trend of discrimination against horses, like Paints, that had distinguishing color patterns. “People looked down on Paints,” Lockhart said. “They just didn’t understand. They thought they were inferior. If a breeder [of solid-colored horses] had a Paint foal, he was ashamed. He thought it was a bad reflection on his herd, that it was connected with inferior blood. He was afraid someone would think there was something wrong with his breeding program, so a lot of ranchers would get rid of them.”
Rebecca Lockhart’s grit and determination have long been appreciated by the APHA. In 2000, the accomplishments of the matriarch of our association were recognized when she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Now it seems that in the American Paint Horse Association, the tables have turned. Unfortunatley, it is Solid Paint Bred Horses that are on the receiving end.
*Referenced from the 2000 APHA Annual Report.
The following chart is an interesting example of the declining trend of Solid Paint Horses. The trend starts out strong in the 1999 and on into 2000, but as you can tell by the decline in the numbers, that there is a fewer number of these horses in the area.
As you can tell by the growing percentage of Solid Paint Bred Horses registered, more and more Solid Paint Bred Horses are showing up. Where are they all going, though? Despite the encouraging and wonderful gains, there is still room to advance and to promote correction of the remaining deficiencies and imbalances.
