A pinto is a horse with large patches of white and another color, usually brown or black. The patches create a distinctive spotted or splotched pattern, making pintos easy to recognize. If you've seen Western movies, you've probably noticed pintos: they were popular riding horses on the American frontier and remain beloved today.

Spanish explorers brought horses to the Americas in the 1500s, and pintos became especially common in the American West. Native American tribes prized pintos for their striking appearance, and many famous chiefs rode them.

Pinto describes the color pattern, not a breed: you can have pinto Arabians, pinto quarter horses, or pinto ponies. The specific pattern has names too: piebald means black and white patches, while skewbald means brown (or any color besides black) and white patches. But most people simply call any spotted horse a pinto.

You might also know the pinto bean. These beans have a mottled, spotted appearance that reminded someone of a pinto horse. When cooked, though, pinto beans turn solid reddish-brown and lose their spots entirely.