Breed History
CHANGES
Before the turn of the 1600's, most of the known riding horses
in the world were naturally gaited breeds with trotting horses
used as pack animals or servant's mounts. Most people knew
very little about riding and most traveling was done by
horseback, making a smooth riding horse a necessity.
As roads were built, and people began to travel by horse-drawn
vehicles rather than on horseback, a decreased need and use
for gaited horses resulted since trotting horses were more
suitable for pulling wheeled vehicles. At about the same time
horses became important for working cattle and horse racing
placing even more emphasis on breeding trotting horses. As the
seventeenth century opened, it was unusual to see a horse that
trotted but at the close of the same century, it was unusual
to see a horse that did not trot.
ISOLATION
As horsemen of the world were making the transition from
gaited horses to trotting breeds in the South American country
of Peru, the Peruvian horsemen continued breeding their
naturally gaited "Caballo Peruano de Paso". The
Peruvian Horse descended from bloodstock brought to the new
world by the Spanish conquistadors. These horses are said to
have been a blend of several breeds: the Barb, Spanish Jennet
and the Andalusian. Through 450 years of isolation such
factors as climate and forage served to modify succeeding
generations and a new breed was created which possesses
characteristics that are different from those of any other
horse in the world. The Peruvian Horse has evolved as one of
the purest breeds in the world and has the unique
characteristic of being the only natural laterally gaited
breed in the world which can guarantee its inherited trademark
gait to 100% of its offspring.
REDISCOVERY
In recent years, horsemen have begun to rediscover the
pleasures of the natural easy gaited horses. Horse fanciers of
all ages from many nations are turning to the Peruvian horse
as an ideal mount for the Twentieth Century horseman. The
Peruvian Paso is one of the showiest of all breeds, with
beauty, arrogance with inner pride and energy that make him
travel with a style and carriage as if he is always "on
parade".
TRADEMARK
The trademark of the Peruvian horse is a special, inherited,
completely natural, four beat lateral gait. Called Paso Llano,
it is a type of broken pace which makes the Peruvian horse the
smoothest riding horse in the world. A unique, spectacular and
beautiful natural action of the front legs that is highly
desired and universal in the Peruvian breed is called
"termino". Put simply, termino is similar to the arm
motions of a swimmer in which the foreleg rolls forward and
toward the outside before stepping down, which also allows the
hind foot to advance sooner and farther than would otherwise
be possible. The gait can be as slow as a walk or as fast as
an extended trot or slow canter and it is completely natural -
the gait is not induced or aided in any way by artificial
training or devices. Naturalness of the Peruvian horse is
placed to the forefront with such emphasis that competitions
in Peru and the United States require the Peruvian horse be
shown without shoes and with a short, natural hoof.
LOOKS
The average height of the Peruvian Horse is between 14 and
15.2 hands, and the weight is commonly between 800 and 1,100
pounds, about the same as Morgans and Arabians. The head shows
power and vigor, with a straight line or slightly concave
profile. The ears are alert, of medium length with fine tips
curved slightly inwards; the eyes are expressive. The
neck is of medium length with a gracefully arched crest. The
body is well-proportioned, length to height, medium-size. The
chest is well-proportioned, strong, wide and well
muscled. The back, is short to medium in length, strong
and rounded. The bottom line of the barrel runs nearly
horizontal. The limbs are solid and firm and stand in proper
alignment. The tail should start rather low, carried
quietly, close to the rump. The hooves should be hard,
well rounded and of good size proportionate to the horse with
sloping walls and sufficient high heels to permit the proper
projection of the angle of the pasterns. The Peruvian
Horse, because of its direct link to the Barb horse, comes in
an array of striking color tones and shades, coming in all
basic solid colors as well as grays and roans. There is
discrimination against animals with marked albino factors.
NUMBERS
At the present time there are approximately 11,000 Peruvian
horses in North America and no more than approximately 30,000 worldwide.
reprinted and edited with permission
from Pasos on the Web!
www.peruvian-pasos.com
