American Paint Horse Association

The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) is a breed registry for the American Paint Horse. It is currently headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1965 with the merging of two different color breed registries that had been formed to register pinto-colored horses of Quarter Horse bloodlines. One of these organizations was the American Paint Quarter Horse Association (or APQHA) and the other was the American Paint Stock Horse Association (or APSHA).

The APQHA was formed in 1961 in Abilene, Texas, mainly to register cropout horses from the matings of registered Quarter Horses. They also allowed the registering of non-cropouts ("solids") who had Quarter Horse conformation and bloodlines. The APSHA was formed in February 1962. The APSHA registration rules differed from APQHA in that they excluded "gaited" horses and mandated that horses that were mainly dark colored must have a minimum of three white spots three inches wide on their body, and that mostly white horses must have a dark spot at least six inches wide on their body. Both registries agreed to merge in 1965, although the APHA calls the APSHA its forerunner.