A Peruvian Paso stallion.

The Peruvian Paso or Peruvian Horse is a breed of light pleasure saddle horse known for its smooth gaits. It is distinguished by a natural, four-beat, lateral gait called the paso llano that is noted for its smoothness and harmony of movement. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... // Light or saddle horse breeds Heavy or draft horse breeds This page is a list of horse and pony breeds, and also includes terms used to describe types of horses that are not breeds but are commonly mistaken for breeds. ... Horse gaits are the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans. ...

History

Smooth-gaited horses, generally known as Palfreys, existed in the Middle Ages, and the Jennet in particular was noted for its ambling gaits.^[1] Peruvian Pasos trace their ancestry to these ambling Jennets from the Kingdom of Castile in what today is Spain, as well as Barb and Andalusian bloodlines.^{[citation needed]} A Palfrey is a type of horse, not a breed of horse. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The definition of jennet varies depending on location and on the antiquity of the usage. ... Ambling, in horsemanship, is a peculiar kind of pace, wherein a horses two legs of the same side move at the same time. ... Coat of arms Kingdom of Castile in the 15th century. ... Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb is a desert horse, with great hardiness and stamina. ... The Andalusian is one of the oldest breeds of horses in the world today. ...

Horses arrived in South America during the Spanish Conquest, particularly after 1542, when the Spanish created the Viceroyalty of New Castilla. This later became the Viceroyalty of Peru, an important center of Spain's New World colonies in the eighteenth century. Once in Peru, they were used primarily for transportation and breeding stock. 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. In both cases, smooth-gaited horses with good endurance were required. On the other hand, Peru did not develop a livestock-based economy, and thus did not need to breed for the speed or agility characteristic of stock horses. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Spanish colonization of the Americas began with the arrival in the Americas of Christopher Columbus in 1492. ... Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru (in Spanish, Virreinato del Perú) contained most of Spanish-ruled South America until the creation of the separate viceroyalties of New Granada (now Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá and Venezuela, the last-named previously in the Viceroyalty of New Spain) in 1717 and Río... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... Mares and foals Horse breeding refers to reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. ... This article is about crop plantations. ...

Over time, 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 gaited bloodstock resulted in the modern Peruvian Paso. Horse gaits are the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans. ... Horse conformation refers to the correctness of a horses bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. ...

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 the horse that was to become the most important modern sire in the breed, Sol de Oro (Viejo).^[2]

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. Hacienda is a Spanish word describing a vast ranch, common in the Pampa. ... Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a left-leaning Peruvian General who ruled Peru from 1968 to 1975 under the title of President of the Revolutionary Government. ...

The past thirty years have seen a resurgence in the Peruvian Paso horse's fortune in Peru. 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.

Peruvian Paso horses are noted internationally for their good temperament and comfortable ride. As of 2003, there are approximately 25,000 horses worldwide, used for pleasure riding, trail, horse shows, parades, and endurance riding. Trail riding is riding on trails as opposed to riding on roads or courses. ... A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. ... Competitors on an endurance ride Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long distance races. ...

Characteristics

Appearance

The horse is medium sized, usually standing between 14.0 and 15.1 hands tall, with an elegant yet powerful build. The Peruvian horse has a deep chest, heavy neck and body with substance without any trace of being hound gutted in the flank area. A low set, quiet tail, clamped tightly between the buttocks is a vital quality. A low set, quiet tail, clamped tightly between the buttocks is a vital quality. Stallions have a broader chest and larger neck than mares,^[3]and and are known for their quality temperment. The coat color can be varied; and is seen in chestnut, black, bay, brown, buckskin, palomino, gray, roan or dun. Solid colors, grays and dark skin are considered the most desirable. The mane and forelock are lustrous, fine and abundant. White markings are acceptable on the legs and face. A stallion is an ungelded male horse after reaching the age of sexual maturity, usually between two and three years of age. ... For other uses, see mare (disambiguation). ... Wild horses on the range, showing a wide range of coat colors Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colours and distinctive markings. ... Chestnuts. ... Friesian horses are one of the best-known breeds of black-colored horse Black is a relatively uncommon coat color in horses, though not so unusual as to be considered rare. ... For the community in England, see Bay Horse. ... For the community in England, see Bay Horse. ... Buckskin New Forest pony A Buckskin Quarter Horse Mare Buckskin is a color of horses; it also refers to other things that are the color of a buckskin horse, such as the color of some breeds of dogs. ... A typical golden palomino (front). ... Gray is a coat color of horses, consisting of black skin, a white to dark gray coat, and a mane the same color or darker than the body coat. ... A red roan horse Roan is a type of coat color in horses (and, occasionally, in other animals, such as dogs and cattle) that is a mixture of white hairs with a base coat of another color. ... Dun coloring The dun gene is one of the dilution genes that affects both red and black pigments in a horses coat color. ... The mane runs from the withers to the poll. ... These young horses, though all the same color, exhibit uniquely different markings, which can be used to identify individual horses Note: This article is about markings on any type or color of horse and does not discuss horse coat colors generally. ...

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 trot is a gait of the horse where the diagonal pairs of legs move forwards at the same time. ... Ambling, in horsemanship, is a peculiar kind of pace, wherein a horses two legs of the same side move at the same time. ... Horse gaits are the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans. ...

The Peruvian Paso performs two variations of the four-beat gait. The first, the paso llano (a contraction of Paso Castellano), is isochronous, 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. Isochronous means having an equal time difference or occurring simultaneously. ...

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 characteristic 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 execution of the gait means there are always two, and sometimes three, feet on the ground.^[4] Because the rider feels no strain or jolt, gaited horses such as the Peruvian Paso are often popular with riders who have back trouble.

Termino

A unique trait of the Peruvian Paso gait 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. High lift or wide termino is not necessarily a sign of a well gaited horse; in fact it may be detrimental to a good gait.

Brio

Brio refers to a horse’s vigor, energy, exuberance, courage and liveliness; it automatically implies that these qualities are willingly placed in the service of the rider. Horses with true brio are willing workers. Their attention does not wander but is focused on the handler or rider, and thus they are quick to react and fast to learn. Horses with brio attract attention, and at "crunch time" have reserves they can tap for whatever is asked. BRIO is a toy company founded in Sweden. ...

Breeders and judges look for Brio, often translated as "spirit," but this does not capture the complexity of the term. Brio describes a somewhat contradictory temperament, which combines arrogance, spirit, and the sense of always being on parade, with a willingness to please the rider. Brio is an intangible quality of controlled energy that creates a metamorphosis in ordinary-looking horses and is an important trait of the Peruvian Paso. A cicada in the process of shedding. ...

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, the two breeds are different and distinguishable mostly by gait, size and coat color aspects. The Paso Fino is a beautiful, naturally-gaited horse with a history dating back many centuries to Spain. ...

The Peruvian Paso has been called the "national horse" of Peru. On the other hand, the Paso Fino was developed from horses throughout northern Latin America and the Caribbean, with major centers of development in Colombia and Puerto Rico. The Peruvian Paso is also referred to as the Peruvian Horse in an attempt to differentiate between the Peruvian Paso and the Paso Fino.

References

External links

• Pasos On The Web - Online Resource for the Peruvian Paso Horse http://www.peruvian-pasos.com
• PeruvianPaso.ORG - http://www.peruvianpaso.org
• The Peruvian Paso.com - http://www.theperuvianpaso.com
• The United States Peruvian Horse Association - http://www.USPHA.net
• NAPHA - http://www.napha.net
• National Association of Breeders and Owners of Peruvian Paso Horses (Peru) http://www.ancpcpp.org.pe/
• Peruvian Paso Horse Association of Ontario (Canada) http://www.pphao.ca/
• Riding the Peruvian Paso Horse http://www.perolchico.com/english/ridingperuvianpaso.html

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