opportunity to promote the breed

[Terri]

I got an email today from the president of the local riding club. They want to feature Paso Finos in their April Newsletter and she asked me to write something up and provide some pictures. So I am starting my thesis to gush about our wonderful breed and am selecting pictures of Rio and Mico to grace the publication. (oh okay Erin, I'll put Incendio in too) But I was hoping you guys could help be clarify what it is about the Paso's confirmation that produces the gait. I was told it was because the stifle bone was different than other horses. Someone else told me it was because the pelvic structure was tilted differently. I know my guys seem almost "double jointed" (for want of a better word) the way the stand sometimes; one leg twisted funny. So I would be interested in a clarification of all this. Thanks

[dana]

[size=18]You go, terri! i think it is wonderful that your rio and mico are going to be included in your regions april issue.
as far as the stifle bone goes, i have no interest there.
almost scares me to have to think about EVER buying another paso. coming from the "do-everything" trail riding (85% sector, from what i am told)paso, i don't EVEN want to know their bloodlines. i could care less.
i want to climb on that horse, that i "might" consider buying and have a horse that is a little bit flashy, has a bounce in his/her step, is one that "clicks" with me and has the attitude that with you on my back i can do EVERYTHING!
i am REALLY drawn to the old bloodlines because of this, but if i walked in to buy another paso and all they tooted was bloodlines, the sale would be off. JMHO.

dana

[El Indio Elegante]

i will find the facts completely but i do know that the degree of the angle in the shoulder is different from a trotting horse. I can't quite remember the degree but either the trotting horses have a 45 degree angle or the pasos have it. I have a presentation somewhere in my closet that tells all about it. I will post it on here as soon as i can find it

[Terri]

yep, that is what I am looking for, Thanks

[ErinC]

Terri use your horses, and maybe a foundation Sir.
sont worry about me.

[Barbwire]

Hay Terri, can you post your article here when it's ready?

[Terri]

yep, be happy to. It will be next weeks project. Today is devoted to accounting and tax stuff (yeck)

[Barbwire]

TAXES, don't remind me! Busy season will soon be here and I won't see my hubby for more than a few moments here and there. I hate it. He will soon be working 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week, and still bringing stuff home. Poop!

[El Indio Elegante]

i found the angles
paso fino:
shoulder to ground-55*
shoulder to arm angle-89*
inner pelvic bone to thigh bone-88*

compared to a trotting horse
shoulder to ground-51*
shoulder to arm angle-82*
inner pelvic bone to thigh bone-84*

[Terri]

thank you, I think that is what I am looking for, but help an old slow person out here, are you saying on a Paso the shoulder to ground angle is 55 degrees where on a trotting horse it is 51? and the same for the rest? of the comparisons. I assumes those are averages. Is there some place I can go for a diagram of that? I can't seem to visualize it. Thanks

[Terry Wallace]

Terri..I have that article, it has drawings that show it. I could fax it to you, it is on copy papers.... (provided I can FIND it !!) It used to be on the Paso Fino website that Sherry Peraulta had..I don't know if it exists anymore... I can't remember the name of the site....perhaps someone here knows. I think Sherry still has email....perhaps Jaquee has it? Or Carol U? Or Charlie Barks at pasopedigree.com He got Varon from Sherry, Jaquee got a mare.....

Chime in here folks if you are reading this...

[Hollis D. Gammon]

Use as many pictures as you can of children riding pasos by themselves

[El Indio Elegante]

yes they are comparing with each other i will try to find a diagram but it mite be hard

[Terri]

Exactly Hollis!!!! I got lots of pictures of kids and pasos, paso's as reindeer, pasos as trial horses, pasos swimming, pasos at 4H shows....etc. In fact the primary focus of what I am going to write about is what great all around family horses I have found them to be and how versitile they are. I don't want to make the article technical, but because I have had people say to me that they thought Pasos gaited because people do "things" to their feet to make them do so, I wanted to put a little blurb in that the gait is natural and is a result of their breeding that produces a certain confirmation. It is that little blub that I need help with so I dont' say anything stupid. So if anyone could point me to a website or fax me an article (I'll have to find a fax machine to send it to) that would help me compose a simple paragraph to dispell disinformation out there, I would appreciate it. As for the rest of the article, I could gush on and on about how wonderful a Paso is from all standpoints. I personally believe that when God said "let there be horse" a Paso stood in front of Him.

[ErinC]

good place to start

http://www.gaitedranchhorses.com/pasofino.htm

I have more but at work

[cowboy ed]

terri, confirmation doesnt have as much to do with the gait as the "hardwiring" does. a paso fino that doesnt gait can be as well conformed for gait as any of them, but if the brain isnt firing the right signals, then it just doesnt happen.

[Terri]

a paso fino that doesnt gait can be as well conformed for gait as any of them, but if the brain isnt firing the right signals,then it just doesnt happen.

Really :shock: hmmm, that is interesting. Adds a whole new view point to one of the horses I have in the barn. Can you change the way the brain is firing say through conditioning? And if the brain isn't firing right, is that genetic or environment?

[motorgypsy]

We agree with cowboy ed - that conformation is secondary to the brain being hardwired for the ability to gait. They do it at birth. There most definitely is a difference in the shoulder angle - it's always intersting to look at our mini and see just how steep her shoulder is - but our Florida Cracker does not gait nearly as well as our paso finos and he has a laid back shoulder also and his conformation is much like our paso finos. No it isn't environmental - it's genetic. Our guys have the ability to put the four feet on the ground in many different cadences all the way from the pace to the trot but they prefer the even four beat bait

(please don't put lateral - they AREN'T lateral - lateral is pacey which used to be allowed in paso finos but is no long accepted).

We have a small pinto mare that boards with our paso fino mares at a boarding barn and it's quite amazing to see the difference in her gait and theirs even when ours are doing a broken trot. Her trot and she never does any other gaits but walk, trot and canter, is always very consistent, two lateral feet hitting the ground, a pause and the other two hitting the ground. Our guys on the other hand do all sorts of gaits in the pasture when they're showing off.

So first and foremost the paso fino has inheritied the ability to gait regardless of what its conformation is.

So why the training? The training tells the paso fino which of the possible gaits (walk, broken trot, broken pace, even four beat, trot, pace, canter) we want it to do, at what speed and when. If you let them select the gaits, which we do on endurance rides, they will start in the preferred four beat gait but then do all sorts of different gaits as they get fatigued - but when we lift the reins they are back into the four beat which is their perferred but not only mode of travel.

[ErinC]

Here is a few , and one has Hilaches ,,,Foundation sir you can use!

http://www.gaitedhorses.net/BreedArticles/PasoFino.htm

http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/paso.html

Toddler and riders Gait decription

http://www.trpasos.com/articles/ridinggait.html

USEF:
http://www.usef.org/content/equestrianSports/breeds/pasoFino.php


Versatility is the passport to satisfied ownership for this popular equine. In addition to show and pleasure-trail abilities, the Paso Fino can be trained for a variety of uses. In competitive trail riding the endurance of the well trained Paso Fino has earned the breed national honors. Its compact size and quickness have carved it a place on ranches where it becomes a hard working partner and employee. It is an excellent driving horse, and competes with spirit in gymkhana. In bird dog work, the Paso Fino not only demonstrates a fine temperament for field handling, but is of a size that makes frequent mounting and dismounting easy. Because of its exceptionally smooth ride, it is the premier and prudent choice for those with back and neck injuries and arthritis, as well as for therapeutic riding programs for the handicapped.

Paso Finos are ridden and trained both English and Western. They are lightly shod or go unshod away from rocky or paved surfaces. Many owners choose stylish tack from one of the countries of the horse's origin.

[Tracey]

"In bird dog work, the Paso Fino not only demonstrates a fine temperament for field handling, but is of a size that makes frequent mounting and dismounting easy. "

I am still the only one at the trials in this area, I have met some gals from the south that use them. The men always comment on how nice she is and how easy it is to get up on her (14.3). They know she is faster then the 16 h twh's, but I think they all have that John Wayne thing going 'Can't look cool on a little horse'. And, most of then are not that much taller then me, 5-8!!! That said there are never many for sale in this area, and tons of twh and mft, so that plays a part in it also, not many are willing to travel too far.

[stella]

I agree that the neurogical component to gait is primary, but this then must be "translated" thru conformation, as it also has to do with the horse's ability to retain balance(the effects of gravity).

There is scientific documentation only, that gaited horses differ from trotting horses in the proportions of the hindquarters, including the attachment of the pelvis to the spine(UofPa, circa early '80s).
The point of hip, to point of buttock, to the stifle approximate an EQUILATERAL triangle, which is, from an engineering standpoint, the strongest most balanced form, and may be why, to varying degrees, gaited horses do not have to totally change their support systems much from that of a walk when increasing speed in movement.

It does put the horses' hind legs more"under themselves," and you compare the movement, gaited horses drive more consistently forward with their hind legs, whereas trotters tend to come forward and then "push off"' in intermediate gaits, capable of getting more "strung out."

Also, when you may have noticed that when your farrier comes, if he tries to hold the back leg out behind the horse, like he can do with trotters, it may act up, because its very uncomfortable, and very difficult for a gaited horse to hold their leg in such a position, due to the difference in rear end configuration. (tell him to stay more "under" the horse, to alleviate that problem!)

Personally, yes, I see some of this changing to some degree with a higher point of buttock/change proportion in some lines, in order to reduce impulsion and step size, particularly for fino, and then they wonder why the horse has difficulty maintaining consistent gait.

oops, getting off topic....good luck on the article, sounds great so far!

[Terri]

This is great stuff! answering the question "what makes a Paso gait?" We always say it is natural, it born in them, but I never really understood what that meant. Always assumed it was their confirmation, hadn't thought about the neurological component. thank you

[Barbwire]

Just be careful about swiping pictures & words for your article. Get permission first. ( I'd hate for you to get into trouble. :D )

[Terri]

Don't worry, It is MY horses pictures that are going in the article and I am pretty good at putting concepts in my own words. If I can't do that, that means I don't understand it and shouldn't use it.

[Barbwire]

Righto.