While Europe favored solid color horses in the past, Spanish riders were more open to unique coloring. This is largely why the term pinto (which means "painted" in Spanish) became a common English language term to describe a horse with large spots. It also explains how "paint" became another word to describe these horses- as the Spanish word became translated into English and popularized. The first pinto horses came to America with the Spanish conquistadors and escaped to form Mustang herds – which often included horses with paint or pinto coloring.