A BASIC INTRODUCTION
TO THE PASO FINO BREED
What is a Paso Fino? A Paso
Fino is a mixture of three European breeds. The Andalusian, the Barb,
and the now extinct Spanish Jennet. The Paso Fino was brought over to
the Americas on Christopher Columbus second voyage.
These
horses came to be known as Los Caballos de Paso Fino which means "the
horse with the fine step". This horse was reintroduced to the US
in the 1940s.
What makes the Paso Fino different? It is all in the gait! They
have a four beat lateral gait. Only one foot hits at a time at all speeds
of their gait. All speeds have thesame footfall as a walk, it is only
faster. They are known to be the smoothest horse in the world
What are the characteristics
of the Paso Fino? The Paso Fino has elegance, a very proud carriage,
is very well proportioned, is between 13-15 hands, and has varying degress
of "brio" (spirit). They are usually very willing horses,
enjoy people, and are very sensitive to riding cues.
What are the different gaits
of the Paso Fino? The Paso Fino gait consists of three speeds: Classic
Fino, Paso Corto, and Paso Largo. The classic Fino is the most collected
gait with the mast rapid footfall. The speed of this gait is comparable
to the walk with very fast footfall. The Paso Corto is the average trail
gait. It is comparable to the trot in other breeds. The Paso Largo is
the fastest speed with a longer extension. It is comparable to the speed
of the canter in other breeds. The Paso Fino will also canter when asked.
Their gait is very natural for them and they will exhibit the Paso Fino
gait from the day they are born.
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