Questions and Comments Concerning Pintabians

[Avrielle]

I have yet to attempt Pintabians at this time since none of my [Paint x Arabians] are of breeding age, but looking at the evaluation book for Pintabian and comparing it to the Paint and Arabian book has raised some questions for me. First I'll give a brief rundown of each book and then I'll ask my question and make some comments.

Arabian:
14.0hh to 15.3hh
Very Light to Light
0-20%
100% to 78% horse type

Paint:
15.0hh to 16.1hh
Light to Medium
10%-30%
75% horse type to 55% pony type

Pintabian:
14.0hh to 15.0hh
Medium Light to Medium
20%-45%
65% horse type to 55% pony type

Alrighty, to begin with, the height requirement is very understandable seeing as how a Pintabian is made from an Arabian x [Arabian x Paint] cross and Arabians are more within that height range. What I am not understanding is the other 3 requirements (technically 2 requirements since the second condition is not required for creating a new breed.) I don't understand how a Pintabian would be heavier and less horse type if the cross that is required to create a Pintabian includes a purebred Arabian and horse that is still half Arabian. Just by viewing the Arabian evaluation you can see that an Arabian is a very strong horse type breed with low body mass. Even the Paint evaluation has them at a lower mass and higher horse type percent requirement than the Pintabian. I would figure that since the cross is still primarily Arabian the Pintabian would have an evaluation more similar to that of the Arabian.

So far I have yet to come across a single pure blooded Arabian that is over a 1* evaluation for Pintabian and most seem to evaluate at no stars at all. Assuming that the evaluation is correct, will I have to work on crossing Arabians with other breeds that have more similar requirements to the Pintabians and then breed the Arabians back to purebred in order to have a higher success rate for this cross?

I know that it is quite possible to obtain a new breed with a sire and dam that has a low star rating for the intended cross, I'm just afraid of being stuck in an endless loop of failed crosses. I know many people already have a hard enough time staying below the max number of horses that they can own and I'm no exception most of the time. Many of these horses get rehomed or get stuck in our pastures waiting to die since selling a cross breed is harder than selling a purebred even for $1.

[Argent]

Breeding back to purebred is an unnecessary waste of time. If you read the FAQ, there's a point on how half, part, and mixed horses can be used as purebreds when crossing, so long as only one breed is listed. Getting a usable Arabian would be quite simple; just pick two bulkier, ponier breeds from the AC, breed a 50/50 cross, and then breed that cross to an Arab. You'll get a ponier, bulkier Half-Arab that you can use to make your Pintabians.

[Avrielle]

Ah, alright then. The logic still seems a bit off, but assuming that those are the correct requirements for Pintabians, then I guess I am off to hunt for or breed a half, part, or mixed Arabian! Thank you very much for the tip, I had forgotten about that crossbreeding FAQ.