Y not paso fino

[bruin]

I am fairly new to trialing, Most tof the guys I go with have TWH. I was looking at a paso fino. Is this bad, just curiouis your thoughts, mine are that there a little smaller.

[Kiki's Mom]

I trial off of my Paso Finos...we have two that we like VERY much. I would not trade for the world.
HOWEVER here are some of the drawbacks:
Mine are a tad short so they are handicapped sometimes being a tad slow in tall cover when I need to get on it and run down a dog
Some folks however are not into the "hotter, wound up" temperaments that the Paso can generally tend to have. They can be very similar to riding an Arabian....always wanting to go, go, go!
TWHs tend to be more level headed AND their taller stature is preferred because it is easier to see a dog from the backs of a nice tall 16 hand mount.

My Finos are both under 14 hands.
Now the good points:
But we run mostly gun dogs so the smaller horse is easier to get up and down on repeatedly in a 30 minute brace
They have all day stamina and are exellent little endurance horses
I prefer the four beat gait on the Paso to then rolling gait of the TWHs and frankly both my gelding and my little mare will gait most TWHs into the ground.
They live a LONG time .....

[Brittguy]

I have never owned one but have ridden a couple. I considered them smooth . I don't think there would be any drawbacks owning one. I have seen quite a few at trials

[Greg Jennings]

The argument that I hear is that the PF isn't fast enough at the gait for the faster-moving hour events but is great for the slower weekend AKC-type trials.

Greg J.

[wems2371]

Make sure you ride a good-gaited example of each breed...........and maybe for an hours length to determine what's comfortable for you over the long haul. A paso's stride is very short...........and from what I've seen, produces a very jiggly gait. That is just my opinion from the many I've seen, and observing riders. I have not ridden one, so you need to investigate that for yourself--but just want to express that there will be differences. There are many ill-gaited horses out there also. You can find registered TWHs that pace (lots of these--ick!), rack, run-walk (the proper gait), trot, and foxtrot................and I'm guessing Paso's probably have some variances too that will translate into an uncomfortable ride. So if you're inexperienced with gait, it would pay to take someone with you who is experienced. Denise

[Kiki's Mom]

yes....I hear that argument too and can validate it some what. If i need to scout the AA dogs and need the speed and height advantage I ride the TWH.... BUT....both my Pasos were troopers at the ABC Gun Dog Nationals and gave me 3 days of hour stakes just fine...and they were out gaiting everybody at the end of the day. Denise....although the gait looks choppy it is smooth as glass! For trialling purposes The Largo gait is the fastest and yes...there are three different gaits to be had, sometimes all in one horse! A good Largo is all you need but the Fino gait ( also referred as "Brio" - or enthusiasm to keep up that gait) looks like you are stomping eggs and getting no where fast <GG>. On a well bred Paso , no matter what speed you are travelling - Largo, Corto or Fino you can drink a glass of champagne and never spill a drop.

[zzweims]

I second everything Kiki's Mom said. If you are a horse enthusiast, you will appreciate the energy and intelligence of the Paso Fino. The comparison to an arab is a good one. My pasos are all different, but each has a touch of the 'drama queen.' It can be annoying if all you are looking for is a 'tool' to use in doggy games. The TWH is best for this. In general, the TWH is more even tempered and less likely to test you. But I'm the sort of person who likes a challenge. Heck, I do all-breed horseback trials with Weimaraners !

I get asked to scout a lot. Not because I'm any good at it, but my Aragon (a Hilachas grandson) is the best scouting horse one could hope for. All I do is give him is head, grab a handful of mane, and hang on. He is 100% focused on finding the dog. With our without me. I've been dumped a couple of times when he slammed on the brakes to honor a pointing dog.

Aline
http://sitekreator.com/zzfarms

[bruin]

Not into horses, but it seems like I need one to be competitive. I have only rode TWH, Don't get me wrong they rock, ride some of the best ones around. It seems there are more availble in these parts. I don't see many PF, at trials I was just curious, my friends would not be happy me even bringing this up, cause they train, breed raise TWH. I don't go to a ton of trials, just some local ones, and surounding states. But I do need to get a horse.

[Karen]

If you're looking for a smaller horse than a TWH, take a good look at the Rocky Mountain horses. I sent my TWH to a Rocky breeder/trainer last summer for some finishing touches (not a lot of gaited trainers around here at all), and I went on a judged trail ride with the trainer, a few of her friends and some of her young Rocky Mountain horses and was just so impressed with their calm, willing temperaments, and nice, smooth ground-covering saddle racks. My TWH was a bit more reactive at 6 yrs old than her 3 yr old Rockys. We're seeing more and more of them at trials now.

[Brittguy]

They look like they are working hard to keep a fast pace but don't let that fool you. I have seen them go for two weeks at the Nationals ( hour stakes) and keep up with the gallery.If I liked one the size or endurance factor would not be a problem.In the past most that I have seen for sale have been a little more money than TWH

[RayGubernat]

The Paso's I have seen are a little to wound up for my taste, but then I am not a good rider.

Also, they are a physically smaller horse and cannot, or should not be expected to haul around a 240 pound rider.

In some parts of the country Paso's are relatively rare which drives the price up. Walkers are everywhere and are relatively inexpensive compared to Paso's for a horse of similar quality. Missouri Fox trotters are similarly smooth gaited horses and can also be had for prices similar to Walkers. The smoothest horse I ever rode was a Fox Trotter and he could flat "get it" when he had to.

I too have seen an influx of Rocky Mountain horses in my area. They seem to be a bit smaller than Walkers but a bit bigger than Paso's. They also seem to be pricer than Walkers or Foxtrotters, again for horses of similar quality.

That being said, the old truism holds ..."Good is never cheap."

RayG

[CherrystoneWeims]

I'll second what Aline said. Her Paso Finos are very smooth to ride. They do run "hotter" than TWH and Rocky Mtn. horses and may not be the best for an inexperience rider. They are the perfect size for me since I am only 5' tall. Although I have been known to ride with my left stirrup long so that I can quickly mount after working my dog. Then again I've also just ridden with the stirrups dangling since I am using someone else's horse and saddle and many times there aren't enough holes in the leathers to get them short enough for me!

I've also ridden some Peruvian Pasos. Some of them have been nice and others have had terrible gaits! But that goes for some TWH too!

Hey Aline how is Obama?? I LOVE that horse!! VERY smooth and like a rocking chair.

[zzweims]

Hey Aline how is Obama?? I LOVE that horse!! VERY smooth and like a rocking chair.

Ha ha. Obama misses you. Too bad I didn't get to see you ride him. Those stirrups must have been a foot too long. Obama is nearly 17 hands tall! (that must have been a sight--you on that massive TWH while my big man husband rode the little paso fino)

Aline
http://sitekreator.com/zzfarms

[CherrystoneWeims]

Hey Aline how is Obama?? I LOVE that horse!! VERY smooth and like a rocking chair.

Ha ha. Obama misses you. Too bad I didn't get to see you ride him. Those stirrups must have been a foot too long. Obama is nearly 17 hands tall! (that must have been a sight--you on that massive TWH while my big man husband rode the little paso fino)

Aline
http://sitekreator.com/zzfarms

I used your saddle so the stirrups weren't too bad. But I did keep the left stirrup long so I could hop on quickly after I worked my dogs.

Did Nicholas tell you about my "mishap" with Obama? I got lazy one day and decided to ride him bareback and with the halter up to the barn to hose him off. (I used to do it all the time when I was a kid!) Seems Obama doesn't like to be ridden bareback and also doesn't rein well with just a halter and lead rope. He took off in a gallop for the woods. I decided it wasn't a good situation so I bailed. Obama does have sense though and he stopped when I bailed. It dawned on me at that point that I'm not as young and flexible as I was when I was riding and competing in my younger days!

It was kind of funny seeing Nicholas on a small horse and me on the big horse.