breaking age for paso's??

[mrhappypantz]

what age can you start breaking and riding a paso fino? what age do the end up with their final height??

[Paso Matchmaker Extraordinaire]

Hi MrHappyPants. That is a great question and I'm sure you will get lots of good advice here. Welcome back btw. ;-)

We waited to send our colt to the trainer until he was 2 1/2. He has some light ground work and lounging up to this point just to keep him manerly and the brain working. *He's a smart one.

About the height thing. I think it all depends how the horse was fed and maintained thru the crucial times of growth. My gelding was 2 1/2 when I got him and very narrow and scrawny. I measured him at 14 to 14.1 hands. Now he is 6, had plenty of time to fill out, and is a shade under 15.
Echo our colt has been well cared for all his life and if anything, is a bit over weight for a 2 1/2 yr old. I also have him measured at 14 hands (give or take an inch) and I expect he will grow a bit more too, but I don't know if he will shoot up like Tequila did after this point. *I just don't think Echo will be as tall due to genetics.

But in my experience, I'd say they finish up between 5 and 6 years old. The growth might be slower and less noticable tho. ;-)

I'll see if I can find the great article I posted a long time ago about the growth of the skeletal system of horses.

I also wanted to mention that you should log in at the top so that you can post in the rest of the forum. I only have a few forum that guests can post in. This would be a great topic for the GCC or Training forum. I think once you get logged in good, I'll move this thread so more ppl will see it.

[Paso Matchmaker Extraordinaire]

Here is the thread w/the article. :D

http://www.americanpasofinos.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=149

[halfmoonfino]

IMHO, no EARLIER than 5. Some horses might take extra long to reach full maturity, but I'd say anything than younger than 5 is still growing and filling out.