question for this forum

[Hacienda Del Sol]

How many of you would consider purchasing a Trot and Gallop horse or a trocha, even knowing that currently there is no large-scale association providing opportunities to show? What is it about these two breeds that you find so appealing?

[Kerry W]

I'd consider a Trote y Galope. I am mesmerized by their movements. The fact that they are "Paso Related" is a bonus as well, because it is the spirit of the Paso Fino that sold me on the breed...even moreso, than the gait.

[AJ]

What I find more appealing is the Phenotype, the movements, how strong they are (step)..
I would have as many as I can 8-) ... I love them, i dont care there are no shows... they are perefect for trail, they can take you to the end of the world..... :lol:

[Pasolady]

I'm facinated by them. The first one I saw was a gorgeous bay national champion from SA in Texas, at farm where Stephanie Longonotti had her Tigre. He was awesome, powerful and beautiful. Then that same year I saw several being exhibited at Nationals (on the asphalt of all places between arena and warmup ring)while the exhibitors party was being readied. They really captured my heart.

Would love to own one. But for now I have Paso Finos who a very special to me and I enjoy them at home, on the trail, in parades. Who knows what the future may bring.

joni

[Brigitte]

I would if I lived n the US

[Hacienda Del Sol]

If you owned a Troton or a trocha, would you like the ability to compete in shows, or would you prefer to use it for pleasure? What price range would you be willing to pay for either of this breed? Comparable to a Paso Fino?

[motorgypsy]

There are plenty of opportunities to show the diagonals - some of the allbreed shows are huge and a great way to popularize the breeds.

If I were trying to market the diagonals I'd do several things.

First of all put them in every parade I could find and all the local allbreed shows.

Second of all advertise free rides and have farm open houses.

Third - don't be so touchy about PFHA and their attitude toward diagonals. The paso fino owners are one of your best potential future owners and getting angry at the association is counterproductive. You're getting angry at an association full of future customers.

Fourth - take them to paso fino shows if you are allowed to which I think you are and just show them off. Get a drill team organized and show them off as a demo.

Fifth make sure paso fino owners understand that the diagonals have their own registry and breed only to horses in their own registry. That the owners of the diagonals are not out to crossbreed to paso finos and in fact will not do so because the offspring would not be worth any money.

Now I have a question - other than show and showing off, of what pleasure use are the trote and trocha horses? Can they and are they used for trail, endurance, cattle work and so in Colombia???? And I mean the show quality, not the culls???

[Kerry W]

I think for anyone coming into the diagonals, they should be aware that the possibilities for showing are somewhat limited, as far as breed specific shows. I think that in time, there will be more events available to them, as they become more popular. I think that one would be ahead of the game, if they were educated in the bloodlines, breed standards, etc., and could help potential clients. Being that there are few breeders in the US, having one they could trust, would be a bonus. I'd hate to pay a fortune, for a show horse, only to find out, that it wasn't...because I had no clue as to what was going on elsewhere in the world. Elsewhere, is where most are located, so that would hold some import.

As far as what I'd pay...likely similar to the PF, but being they are more rare, I'd EXPECT them to be higher in price. Especially, if we're talking about importing horses.

Show horse vs. trail horse...have to test ride. Likely would prefer the Paso Fino for trail, but a smooth diagonal might change my tune. I realize that the diagonals are used, and preferred by many, as trail mounts.

Hope this helps. :-?

[lisa l aka marci]

Having ridden a show quality stallion (Antares Mokus - sorry if I butchered his name!).....I'd LOVE to own one for my own pleasure use parades etc..I love the powerfull feeling, but yet being in total control. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I felt so RIGHT and COMFORTABLE in the saddle.......felt like I could drop the stirrups, ride bareback - not worry about the horse and just ENJOY the ride......

If there was the opportunity to show, I would for my own pleasure, just as I do now with my PF mare.

As for price, yes, being more rare they would be more expensive, but as I have no $$$ I couldn't afford one anyway!

[Terry Wallace]

What appeals to me about the ones I have seen is that it appears they are bred with confo & size in mind. The confo of the horses posted on the video in this forum is outstanding. Good legs, good confo, balanced bodies... larger size... horses bred to be useful for a lifetime.

Sounds like you are thinking of getting into them Jamie..I bet your wife would like them, since she trains Lusitanos... and is well aquainted with diagonal moving horses...

The way the PF market is out there in the west...it *might* be a wise investment...Hard to say...if it is an over-all larger horse, it just might fly!
Like...maybe a cowboy would not be embarassed to own & ride one! :lol:

[Terry Wallace]

QH comes in all sizes..and there are PLENTY of each... Pasos run to the small size, and so nearly every call I get is somebody loking for a BIGGER Paso.... I don't know what is so hard to undrstand about that.

I can tell you this, the western riders for the most part, do not like to look to big for the horse, when they ride. Something lots of Paso owners/show-ers don't seem to care much about.

Why would you think any different of a T&G horse in asking what they can "do"..why would they be any different than any other horse? Why do you think a T&G could not trail ride, jump, or do anything any other horse can? I don't get that...they are after all...horses! ;-)

[ErinC]

I would love to try one, then I could answer this question.

[Brigitte]

Diagonals can be used for anything. I prefer diagonal horses for trailrides and cabalgatas. If properly trained they should be able to do whatever asked

[motorgypsy]

It's funny that you mention size being such a problem in the West Terry because here in SC the word is that the QH's are all too large for rodeo work and the cowboys are looking for smaller ones. We have tons of huge QH's because the ladies are into dressage and eventing and hunter/jumper stuff so the poor cowboys can't find any small ones. Try dropping onto a steer from a 17 hand QH. You'd kill yourself!!!

What one rodeo guys told me about paso finos wasn't a problem with the size but with the "brio". He says he wants a horse that turns it on and off, not one who's on all the time. I told him that it depends on the training, not the breed and ours tend to be trained to be on all the time but wouldn't be if they were trained differently. In Florida we saw paso finos used for all sorts of things so I would hope people would start judging the horse by its ability to do what the owner wants to do, not just it's breed, size, color and so on.

I'm still waiting for my answer to what the diagonals can do besides being shown and paraded around???

[Soltera]

Coming from a dressage background, I'd really be be interested in a test ride. Why are they so good for trail riding? I've seen videos of the trot/canter variety, and the gaits look smooth, but it's hard to tell with pro riders on them. Any horse with the Paso Fino nature is worth trying!

If they are rare in the USA, perhaps Hacienda Del Sol could find some video links for this forum? Do you have, or could you make, videos featuring them on uneven terrain?

[britzlove]

I would certainly consider buying one. The breeding to me is so selective for type, like Terry mentioned..those I have seen are incredible animals. I do love the paso fino gait..but I ride a smooth trotter nearly every day. I am also enamoured with the characteristics of "brio", and powerful movement.
I think I would prefer the Trocha modality though..I'm just one of those that really likes the "snap" for lack of a better description. As with the Paso Fino..I personally tend to prefer the horses with BIG movement, crispness and "snap" this is why I prefer to watch performance classes, pleasure classes and the finos I tend to like also have alot of action.

I'd like to speak about the QH's though too, Terry and MG, QH's are in all sizes everywhere..it just happens that some areas are more geared toward different sports. In my area, its perfectly fine to try to place in a reining class with a converted pleasure QH, but that same horse if it won even at the regional AQHA show, but likely wouldn't even make the cut at a NRHA or NCHA show, or even a regional show in TX, OK, CA for example. Here..the market supports western pleasure/hunter pleasure type QH's mostly. They're the ones you can win on, anyone can ride them just about. Most of them have high TB %, and all of the ones that win have pleasure conformation. The lines of QH's bred to be most competitive in reining, working cowhorse, cutting are small, so of course future offspring stay smaller. These are animals..and to bred for some characteristics occasionally some may be lost. I bet that's true with any breed that try's to achieve multipurpose status.

You can carry this over to the Paso Finos, or modalities of Paso blood and horses (not really sure how to arrange the politics of this). When breeding for function, the function takes priority. For these horses the style of gait has taken precedence. I like that. When considering to breed these animals their ability to produce the same or better is generally considered. Now I know everyone will want to jump in and say it isn't always, I know that..but I think the truer I stay to this design the better and the breeders I admire are the ones which consider this critically. If I had a bottomless checkbook I would certainly drop a load of cash on a horse specifically bred for a big, powerful, rhythymic (I think I misspelled that) trocha, just like I would drop a generous amount for a horse specifically bred for the Paso Fino gait (for instance...my favorite Paso Fino to watch is Diosa de Fantasy..if she were for sale and I could arrange the money..no amount would be too high). Just the way I see it.

Britz