Most important?

[CarolU]

If you had to narrow it down to ONE quality that you would say is MOST important when you purchase a Paso Fino, what is it? (if you say gait, specify what quality of gait you look for most...e.g., naturalness, smoothness, quickness, speed, etc.)

After everyone answers this, I want to ask you another question, but want this one answered first.

[motorgypsy]

Because you are saying "paso fino" I'm excluding the characteristics that I would expect of any breed that I bought and that a paso fino would have to meet before I would even consider the unique qualities of the paso fino breed. So of the unique qualities I would select gait first and the gait must be smooth, even and have a good range. The horse would not need to fino but I would have no objection to it being a fino horse as long as it had a reasonable medium speed largo. I would prefer more of a feather step than a foot slammer although I do have one footslammer who I love dearly.

[Linda Y]

Is this for gait, or just generally what I would look for first?
If gait, the same thing as MG.
If anything generally, an even constant good disposition with no silliness.

[Heidi]

A calm and willing disposition.

[PASOFAN]

Non-Spooky is what I would look for. Willingness then gait.

Nothin worse than gettin on a horse that is spooky, jmo

[Soltera]

If for gait - he must consistently gait at liberty. Not all the time, but 95% isochronal. Smoothness is a perq, not a necessity.

After that, like PASOFAN and Heidi, nobility of disposition.

This is interesting.....

Edited to clarify.....gaiting at liberty is important because it seems to me that it leads to being strongly gaited under saddle. I shouldn't even post an opinion on a thread like this, newbie that I am.

[Red Ryder]

I know you say one quality but I can't seperate them. All of the 1st 5 must be met.

Perhaps if we can assume the health is good then I would say #2 Disposition as I've defined it.

1--overall health [no founder, no cribbing, nothing requiring maintenance]
2--Disposition on the ground and under saddle [kicking, biting,rearing and striking, under saddle
rearing, bucking]
3--size [want even look at a horse under 14HH]
4--conformations [can be a little forgiving if everything else is good and I don't intend to breed]
5--Gait smoothness and range [not a fino-fino nor a largo-largo however must have a good smooth
gait]
6--Spookiness [accept only if it's mild and I think I can fix the problem]

Gait comes lower, when you are forced to list them in sequence. The horse must pass all the ones above gait before gait will eliminate them BUT no smooth gait no buy

[Brigitte]

Naturelness of gait

[LeAnn]

gait i dont care how it gaits as long as its smooth.

[Pasofinoguy]

Muscle. The horse must be built. I cant stands looking at non muscle pasos. I know they like them sleek but I dont.

[Cindy]

The one most important thing to look for in a Paso Fino is that quality that IS Paso Fino. If they have that, they have everything else. If you don't know what that is :mecry:

[CarolU]

The one most important thing to look for in a Paso Fino is that quality that IS Paso Fino. If they have that, they have everything else. If you don't know what that is :mecry:

Well THAT's a good way to kill a thread.

OK...let's assume that the horse is a "Paso Fino," what quality do you look most for?

[pasolucy]

First and most important for me is disposition. I call it brains, I want a horse with a good mind. If it is a Paso Fino I am assuming the gait is there, but I do want smooth.

1. Brains
2. Ability
3. Conformation (there are a lot of conformation faults that still allow a horse to be a wondeful riding animal as long as you do not try to breed and make more horses with conformation faults.

This would be the ABC's of breeding or buying to me. If I am going to breed a horse, again brains are the most important. You could have a horse with excellent conformation and gait, if you have no brains then what is there to work with.

[Terry Wallace]

#1...DISPOSITION. Without that, it don't much matter how "good" it is otherwise. I am totally blown away by people who will breed stallions (or mares) that they have to handle in "special ways" due to bad dispositions.
Its the hardest thing to breed for and the hardest thing to get.

I would already expect GAIT on a gaited horse...BUT..if he gaits like a million but has to be handled with a chain on the nose, poles or any other "special equipment" I would not breed it. Likewiae if the horse is nutty, or unpredictable.JMO

[Linda Y]

Like Cindy said, if they are a quality Paso Fino, they will look like one and basically act like one. What I don't want is a silly, flighty, spooky nutcase...which there seem to be way too many of. Or a horse that is mean or unpredictable. I will not own a horse of any breed that is nasty.
Once I owned a PR mare that delighted in throwing herself down in ditches when I was riding. She was dangerous and I purely hated her. She looked every inch the Paso, and never gaited a step that I know of. Fortunately, her breeder took her back...unfortunately, they bred her.

[Monty]

ROFL - this is hard for me to answer - given both mine were rescues ,and I have never had the plaeasure of "shopping" for Paso Fino !
Both had the prime thing I would look for " sweet and willing personality" and what Terry and Cindy said !
IF I had the chance to actually "shop" for one - I would want one that were a combo of Venus and Monty ! BUT, 14 hands or under - ;)

[pasosx3]

It's all about the gait but, hand in glove, it has to have a good mind. I don't care if it's a World Champion, if it doesn't have a good mind, I don't want it.

[moonrize]

I'm kind of like Cindy, I want the whole Paso Fino package. But they must be sound first, have a good disposition second.

[Red Ryder]

At the risk of getting trashed
Cindy said
"The one most important thing to look for in a Paso Fino is that quality that IS Paso Fino. If they have that, they have everything else. If you don't know what that is "

I think the above can be read in multiple ways and really says very little

If we look at "is that Quality IS Paso Fino"

One could read that as all Paso Finos are equal. All it needs to be is have regeristration papers that says it is a paos fino. We all know that within the Paso Fino breed there's gooduns and there's baduns

So Cindy guess I need to understand what you are saying, as to me you are trying to group a bunch of traits together and I'd like to know your version of what "IS Paso Fino" includes, as this seems to be a very broad statement.

[Pam M]

This is a tough one since there are so many different "types" of Paso Finos but for me it's all about the gut feeling. Two of my three Paso Finos, I committed to based on photos alone and the third I bred so obviously the overall "look" means something to me. I do believe that even the worst attitude can be overcome with the right person so for me, after the whole gut feeling thing, would be the Paso Fino traits/gait. I want people to know what kind of horse it is upon seeing it. I'm always embarrassed (mostly for the horse) if I guess someone's breed wrong. I don't want that happening with my horses.

On a somewhat related note...the other night my vet was out and I thought my gelding was off. I ran him out for the vet and asked him what he thought and he said, "well, it's a Paso Fino, I can't tell if he's moving funny or not. They all look weird to me!"

[motorgypsy]

But the question was what would we look for in a paso fino - NOT what would we look for in a horse. If I were buying an Arabian horse I would look for exactly the same thing I would look for in a QH or a thoroughbred or any other horse other than the critical attribute/s of that particular breed. For the paso fino horse the one thing that completely separates it from other breeds is gait. I can find spirit, intelligence and "guts" in Arabians, toughness in a Cracker or mustang, speed in a thoroughbred, versatility in a Morgan but I can not find the gait.

Sooo - if you want to know what I would look for in ANY horse I'll be glad to share but it will be the same for the paso fino - brains, tractability, willingness, toughness (physical and mental), good conformation, responsiveness, beauty of body and spirit, energy, agility, speed, good sense and a good disposition. These are of course the characteristics of a good paso fino but are not limited to a good paso fino. I have seen these same characteristics in good examples of many breeds and would not buy a horse of a different breed without them. So what does that leave that is different? Gait. So what do I expect from the gait of my paso fino? Smoothness, correctness, good range and preferably not a foot stomper.

The problem lies in the fact that many paso finos like many registered members of other breeds are just not good paso finos. Some lack the mental characteristics, some are badly conformed, some are lazy, some are crazy. Even if these guys gait like a machine they are NOT good paso finos. So - gait alone does not a good paso fino make - but without good gait the horse is NOT a good paso fino although it might be an excellent horse.

[CarolU]

LOL Nancy...."one quality" not dozens! ROFL

[motorgypsy]

One quality - I look for pasofinoness in any horse (other than gait of course) and pasofinoness in a pasofino!:v:

[motorgypsy]

Why not do a little reversal on this thread and ask what characteristics would cause you to REJECT a paso fino who has impeccable gait???

For me I think it would have to be unredeemable nasty temper and stupidity. In other words a nasty temper and too dumb to cure it.

[CarolU]

Actually, the next question I was going to ask was to look at their first Paso Fino, maybe even all their Paso Finos and see if they really looked at THAT quality when they bought it/them. As an example, I've bought 2 Paso Finos (including my first) at 3 weeks of age. It is very difficult to judge smooth gait or disposition at that age.

I notice that PRICE was not anyone's primary criteria.

I just read of a study they did on wine, where the participants tasted 10 glasses of wine. In two cases, the exact same wine was placed in two different glasses and tasted. The glasses were marked as costing different prices. The majority of people liked the more expensive wine better, even though it was the exact same as in the cheaper price marked glass.

[motorgypsy]

Anytime I have a garage sale and sell something nice - if it doesn't sell - I raise the price. It always sells. I totally agree with what you say and I have a friend who has sold some really really nice horses and had trouble selling the really really nice horses. WHY? They were waaaay too cheap. She has self image problems and this carries over into her pricing on her horses. She sold a most amazing stallion for $1500. I didn't like him but I knew just how good he was. She has even given away horses worth probably $20,000.

So you do have to be careful to about under pricing and you do have to market a good horse well. If you can't do it you'd better turn the horse over to a broker and pay the commission happily because it will be well worth it.

For example we've lived in two different subdivisions in the same city. In the first on, a starter home, you just couldn't price things too high because people who could afford to pay it didn't go to that neighborhood even though it was lovely. Our second home though was in a much nicer neighborhood. Anything we've sold in this neighborhood we have gotten top dollar for. It's all in perception, not reality.

I will say we don't sell anything that is not in top condition. If it's junk we donate it or sell it for pennies. But when something is good - you have to ask enough so people don't think something is wrong with it. You get what you pay for IS what buyers believe even though they love to get a bargain. When you price something at what it is worth you have a far better chance of selling it than if you price it too low.

This works in human relationships also. Anyone read the story of the "8 cow wife? I LOVE it!

[karenf]

The one thing I look for is a horse I like riding.

If I get on and I'm bouncing all over the place, even if in a four beat gait, no thanks. I have one horse now that I don't really bond with on the ground, but, she is a wonderful trail horse, and I usually ride her.

If I had only judged her looking at her and saw how she is not too people bonded, not all that pretty etc..., I would have rejected my best trail horse.

[Fuego]

Had to think about this one for a while. I have an ugly Paso, so had to rule out looks as most important.
He can go from sweet and mellow to psychotic quicker then you can blink, so had to rule out temperament.

But his speed, agility and atheleticism never ceases to amaze me. So I guess versatility would be most important to me. His gait is incredible smooth and correct, but if gaiting was all he had to offer, I would have fed him to the dogs long ago.

[Serendipity]

(for me) IF no gait no buy,if trocha no buy

but must also have a great temperment and a fun personality most of my horse are always playful,or poking me for attention.

confirmation so they are built to last

I buy young horses 2 this is where bloodlines come in if mom and dad had what I'm looking for theres a good chance baby does

[motorgypsy]

Would you buy a pacey horse? For the readership this gait problem is supposed to be even harder to square up than trotty (trocha).

I guess I'll be in the minority here and say I really don't don't care what gait my paso fino does in the pasture. Most of ours gallop! But when on a lead and held back i.e. collected or under saddle I expect square gait to be the preferred gait. But I don't really evaluate gait until the horse is nearly six and full grown and "fit".

I do have to brag - Arwen gaited perfectly the ENTIRE time she was ridden in gait for the first and second time. No she's not perfect by any means in other aspects but she is a GAITING MACHINE! GO ARWEN!

[Soltera]

MGs - The only reason I'd want a buy prospect to gait at liberty is bc there are so many PFs that do just that. Why settle for a less than full-time gaiter? That would be a natural starting point for me, given a choice. Remember that I'm still only 2 years in this breed, so I need all the "natural" help I can get for ensuring a gaited ride. Then I'd try the horse out based on disposition.

And, regarding Arwen, congratulations! Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal!

[britzlove]

Nobleness, attitude, carriage, finesse. These things to me, that proudness, that something different from every other horse I've ever ridden. It's one characteristic I look for, but not easy to fit to a one word.

[Heidi]

"brio"

[sporthorse]

What would make the sale is disposition /that is why certain breeders get top dollar for "riding" horses

[motorgypsy]

You are so right for top dollar going to a breeder that can provide both gait and good behavior in a gorgeous paso fino.

When we first went shopping for paso finos we looked for a mare, 5 or older, fairly small, who would stand for mounting. Pretty basic - right? We immediately eliminated any paso fino who would not stand for mounting. We always had the owner/broker/trainer ride the horse first so we could see how it behaved and moved. If we liked what we saw I would then ride the horse. If I liked it then Kyle would ride the horse. We finally included geldings. We must have ridden 100 paso finos. One we loved - didn't gait. I got him to gait once but he was western trained and obvious thought he was supposed to trot. I didn't think I had the ability to get him to gait. I wish we had bought him. He was amazing.

We went back to Barb Preiss's farm about 7 times before we finally bought Brandy. We've never regretted it. Of course we've bought 3 more paso finos since then from Barb. If you sell a horse that someone really loves they will come back.

[Pasofinoguy]

I changed now i think size is most important. Since alot of white men weigh around 200 hundred pounds and overweigh paso finos. I think we as a breed need to get our horses stronger and taller to hold the extra weight. If we dont we will be done as a breed as we are in the north central us were mid american region has all but died.