{"id":44561,"date":"2025-01-22T10:38:36","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/?post_type=horse-breed&p=44561"},"modified":"2025-01-22T10:38:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:38:36","slug":"paso-fino","status":"publish","type":"horse-breed","link":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/horse-breed\/paso-fino\/","title":{"rendered":"Paso Fino"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Small and elegant, the Paso Fino is a Puerto Rican saddle horse with amazing gaits. Experts suggest that the breed may have descended from some of the horses Christopher Columbus brought to the Caribbean on his second voyage. The handsome Paso Fino has a reputation for being a supremely comfortable riding horse. While not as well-known as some other gaited breeds, the Paso has an enthusiastic following elsewhere in the world. It is particularly popular in North America.<\/strong><\/p>

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Paso Fino – History and Origins<\/h2>

Horses began to arrive in the Americas not long after the first journey of Columbus. The date of the first shipments of horses in the Caribbean is reasonably well-documented. Within a short space of time, horses had been brought to many of the islands, and also to the coast of both North and South America. The region now known as the Dominican Republic<\/strong> was one of the first places to have a substantial horse population.\u00a0<\/p>

Juan Ponce de Le\u00f3n is credited with bringing horses from Hispaniola to Puerto Rico when he became governor of the island. It is likely that a combination of imported horse breeds was used to create the Paso Fino.\u00a0These may have included the Spanish Jennet, the Andalusian, and the Barb<\/strong>. The horse that emerged in Puerto Rico had remarkably smooth gaits, endurance, and great beauty. They were originally called Los Caballos de Paso Fino, which means the horses with the “fine step.” The small, delicate steps of the Paso were the ultimate in comfort for riders who needed to spend long hours in the saddle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow many gaits does a Paso Fino have?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Paso Fino can walk, canter, and gallop like other horses. However, they do not trot. Instead, they have the three Paso gaits, Paso Fino, Paso Corto, and Paso Largo. In a sense, these are all variations of the unique Paso gait.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The new breed was used for agriculture and everyday travel<\/strong> on the island. The first breed registry was established in Puerto Rico in 1943, by the Federation of the Sport of Paso Fino Horses of Puerto Rico. One particular stallion called “Dulce Sue\u00f1o” had a strong influence on the breed. Similar horses developed elsewhere, often from the same types of foundation stock. These included Colombian Pasos and Peruvian Pasos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The gaits each breed used were slightly different, but they were all remarkably comfortable to ride. It is surprising how little was known about these horses in Europe and America until after WWII. At that time, members of the US military began to import them into the United States<\/strong>. Since 1972, the organization now known as the Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) is the registering body in the USA for horses from both Puerto Rico and Colombia, as well as crossbreeds of these two.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Conformation<\/h2>

The Paso Fino generally stands between 13 hands<\/strong> (52 inches\/132 cm) and 15.2 hands<\/strong> (62 inches\/157 cm) high. They weigh between 700 lb<\/strong> (318 kg) and 1,000 lb<\/strong> (455 kg). They are a late-maturing breed. Although some are pony-sized, they are always known as horses. Their heads are extremely beautiful, with a natural, balanced head carriage and a gracefully arched neck.\u00a0<\/p>

They give an impression of delicacy, yet their backs and legs are extremely strong. The topline is shorter than the bottom line and the croup is slightly sloping, suggesting great power<\/strong>. Medium length pasterns with the right degree of slope help to create the stunning gaits for which they are famous.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tPaso Fino horses for sale<\/strong>\r\n\r\n