Peruvian Paso

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A Peruvian Paso stallion.

The Peruvian Paso is a breed of pleasure saddle horse known for its smooth ride. It is distinguished by a natural, four-beat, lateral ambling gait called the paso llano. The breed's ancestors has roots to the once populous naturally gaited horses of the Kingdom of Castile in what today is Spain, and included a mixture of Barb, Spanish Jennet, and Andalusian bloodlines.

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[edit] History

The breeding stock for the Peruvian Paso link back to the horses brought over during the Spanish Conquest but mostly after 1542 when the Spanish created the Viceroyalty of New Castilla, that shortly afterwards would be called the Viceroyalty of Peru. It would became the richest and most powerful center of Spain's New World colonies in the eighteenth century. With this came some of the finest horses for transportation and breeding stock.

Once in Peru, horses were used primarily for transportation. In the north of Peru, the vast size of sugar and cotton plantations meant that overseers needed to travel long distances, often taking days to cross the plantation. In the south of Peru, the arid deserts that separated settlements required sturdy, strong horses. Peru did not develop a livestock-based economy, such as in Argentina, and thus did not need to breed horses for the speed or agility needed for those purposes.

Over time the Peruvian breeders kept the bloodlines clean and selectively bred primarily for gait, conformation, and temperament. They wanted strong, hardy animals that were comfortable to ride and easy to control. Over four centuries, their dedication to breeding only the best ambling bloodstock resulted in the modern Peruvian Paso.

A decline in the use of the Peruvian Paso horse was seen in the southern part of Peru in the early 1900s, following the building of major highways that allowed motor travel to replace the use of the horse. Many of the major breeders in the area gave their best horses away to peasants living in the nearby quebradas (valleys). It was in one of these quebradas that breeder Gustavo de la Borda found Sol de Oro (Viejo), the horse that was to become the most important modern sire in the breed.

The Peruvian Paso continued to flourish in the northern regions because it was still needed for transportation on the haciendas. This changed with the harsh Agrarian Reforms instituted by the government of Juan Velasco Alvarado in the late 1960s that had a devastating effect on the Peruvian Paso horse within Peru. Major breeding operations were broken up and breeding stock was lost. Because interest in the Peruvian Paso horse was growing in the United States and Central America at the same time, many of the finest Peruvian Paso horses were exported, leading to a period where it appeared the Peruvian Paso horse would fade in its homeland.

The past thirty years have seen a resurgence in the Peruvian Paso horse's fortune in his homeland. The annual National Show in Lima is a major event in Peruvian cultural life. The Peruvian Paso has been declared a Patrimonio Cultural (Cultural Heritage) of Peru in an attempt to shore up the breed within the country. There are now laws in place that restrict the export of national champion horses.

[edit] Appearance

The horse is medium sized, usually standing between 14.0 and 15.1 hands tall, with an elegant yet powerful build. Breeding has focused on preserving the natural gait, and champions are selected for gait, brio and their appearance. The Peruvian horse has a deep chest and heavy neck contributing to their remarkable endurance. Stallions have a broader chest and larger neck than mares. The coat color can be varied; and is seen in chestnut, black, brown, bay, buckskin, palomino, gray, roan or dun colors; with solid colors, grays and dark skin considered most desirable. The mane and forelock are lustrous, fine and abundant.

[edit] Gait

Instead of a trot, the Peruvian Paso performs an ambling four beat gait between the walk and the canter. It is a lateral gait, in that it has four equal beats and is performed laterally - left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore.

The Peruvian Paso performs two variations of the four-beat gait. The first, the paso llano (a contraction of Paso Castellano), is isochronal, meaning that there are four equal beats in a 1-2-3-4 rhythm. This is the preferred gait. The second gait, the sobreandando, is faster. Instead of four equal beats, the lateral beats are closer together in a 1-2, 3-4 rhythm, with the pause between the forefoot of one side to the rear of the other side is longer.

This characteristic gait was utilized for the purpose of covering long distances over a short period of time without tiring the horse or rider. The gait is natural and does not require extensive training. Purebred Peruvian Paso foals can be seen gaiting alongside their dams within a few hours of their birth.

The gait supplies essentially none of the vertical bounce that is characteristoc of the trot, and hence posting (moving up and down with each of the horse's footfalls) is unnecessary. It is also very stable, as the Peruvian Paso's execution of the gait means there are always two, and sometimes three, feet on the ground. The rider's back feels no strain or jolt. Hence, this is a favored mount for riders with back trouble.

Horses with ambling gaits were referred to in antiquity as Palfreys.

[edit] Termino

A unique trait of the Peruvian Paso is termino — an outward swinging leg action, originating from the shoulder, in which the front lower legs roll to the outside during the stride forward, similar to a swimmer's arms. Individual horses may have more or less termino.

[edit] Brio

In selecting for temperament, Peruvian Paso breeders are searching for brio. Brio is often translated as "spirit," but this does not capture the complexity of the term. Brio is a somewhat contradictory temperament, which combines arrogance, spirit, and the sense of always being on parade, with a willingness to please the rider.

[edit] The Question of Paso

Due to the word Paso (which simply means "step" in Spanish), a close relationship between the Peruvian Paso and the Paso Fino breed is often assumed. Although the two breeds share ancestors in the Old World, and have some similarities in their gait, the two breeds are different and distinguishable.

The Peruvian Paso has been called the "national horse" of Peru. On the other hand, the Paso Fino was developed from bloodstock throughout northern Latin America and the Caribbean, with major centers of development in Colombia and Puerto Rico.

[edit] Today

Peruvian Paso horses are growing in popularity in the US and elsewhere due to their nature and comfortable ride. The estimated 25,000(est. 2003)horses worldwide are used for pleasure, trail, horse shows, parades, and endurance riding.

The Peruvian Paso is also referred to as the Peruvian Horse in an attempt to show that there is a difference between the Peruvian Paso and the Paso Fino.

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