PASO FINO HORSE BREED

PASO FINO STALLION

The Paso Fino is a beautiful horse breed with a distinct and unforgettable movement. The very name Paso Fino means "fine steps." These steeds seem to almost float as they prance along. This is a natural-gaited light horse that has been imported to the Caribbean from Spain.

A Spanish land owner bred them in Puerto Rico and Colombia from Barb, Spanish Jennet, and Andalusian horses. The combination of horse breeds resulted in a mount that proved to be useful on plantations for a comfortable ride. The heritage comes from Per Paso, the American Mustang, and Colombian-Spanish horses.

Horses from Puerto Rico and Colombia, along with Paso Finos from Cuba and from European countries, have been interbred many times in the US to produce the modern American Paso Fino show horse.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus brought from Spain to the Americas twenty horses and five mares to the isle of Borinquen at the Bay of Aquada (Anasco). In May of 1509, the governor of the island, Juan Ponce de Leon, took horses from his Hacienda to Puerto Rico.

It had been said that they have not a trot or gallop, but a type of pace (Andadura). The gait is so precipitated the eye can't follow the movement of the legs.

Ramirez de Arellano, at the beginning of the American invasion in Puerto Rico, found that the Paso Fino was perfect in transport work as well as in agricultural work.

The legendary Paso Fino 'Duce Sueno' was born in 1927 in Guayama and influenced the breeding of the modern Puerto Rico Paso Fino.

In 1943, The Federation of the Specification of Paso Fino Horses of Puerto Rico was established, and the breed was specified.

In 1947, Gustavo A Ramirez de Arellano wrote, "At present, the descendants of the famous stud "Dulce Sueno" are the ones that have the most obtained titles and trophies."

The introduction of Paso Fino to the US began in 1950. The armed services stationed in Puerto Rico bought Paso Finos and brought them back with them.

Ranchers went to Colombia to buy cattle and also brought Paso Fino horses to the USA. The two types of horses are still bred separately in the USA to keep the purity of the blood. It also gets crossbred to get the best horses of both strains of Paso Fino.

Under the Paso Fino Horse Association, regulations are strictly followed in the USA and overseas, making sure the bloodlines are kept pure. However, the Colombian bloodline increased significantly over the Puerto Rico bloodline, and it is therefore under preserved breed status.

The Puerto Rico Paso Fino is known for its fine, delicate step which is quite different to the Colombian Paso Fino, which has a rapid, piston-like action.