More recently, in addition to Friesian, the Andalusian, Lusitano, Lipizzaner, Hispano-Árabe, and Barb horse have been used as foundation stock for the breed.
[1][2][unreliable source] In the United States, Baroque Pinto breeding may involve Friesian and Gypsy Vanner crosses being bred to warmblood horses.
[citation needed] The ideal Baroque Pinto should have a "friendly, generous, and willing character with a lot of charisma, a long mane and tail, and a functional way of moving".
[citation needed] The breed standards call for "a good ratio between front, middle and hindquarters; ample muscling; sufficient space in the chest; sufficient ribbing, with the overall picture being harmonious and well developed, with a proud self-carriage and sufficient mass"; "noble head with expressive clear eyes, with the nasal bone preferably slightly concave; wide nostrils and a long mouth gap; small ears, which tend slightly towards each other at the tip"; "a long neck and neck together forming slightly upward curved line, which is nicely muscled, with the jaw-neck connection being light, and the throatlatch having an open underline with space at the throat; a neck rising high from the chest, with smooth connection with the withers"; "long sloping shoulder with well-developed withers, with form a smooth connection between neck and back, with the back being strong and not too long"; "muscular loins, with the croup being of sufficient length, and not too sloping"; and "legs that are hard, of sufficient length, without deviations and correct in leg position; strong joints that provide a solid foundation; and hooves that are of good quality, and of sufficient size".
The Baroque Pinto horse should also have "generous hair in the form of mane, tail and lower legs (socks)", with the ideal coloring being "black, with at least two white markings on the body, each with a diameter of at least 10 centimeters".
Pinto/Friesian or Barock Pinto horses that were imported from Europe, with a portion of non-documented Friesian heritage, will be considered for the BPF book on a case-by-case basis.
[citation needed] The Baroque Pinto was developed to recreate the pinto coat pattern that was lost with more recent Friesian studbook regulations, with purebred Friesian mares being bred to pinto-colored Gelderlander, Groningen, and Dutch Harness horses in the 1950s.
[17][unreliable source] The Baroque Pinto studbook also owes its foundation to the 2003 Grand Prix dressage black pinto-colored Friesian-cross-Dutch Warmblood stallion Willem van Nassau,[18][unreliable source] who is out of the 1997 skewbald Dutch Warmblood mare Pepper, and stands at about 16.1 hands (65 inches, 165 cm); the main line introduced to maintain color in the breed is the bloodline of the 1976 pinto-colored Dutch Warmblood stallion Samber, who stood at 16.2 hands (66 inches, 168 cm).
The Friesian Sporthorse Association was initially founded in the United States, but shortly thereafter, a branch was added in Australia.