# Peruvian Pasos?



## Charlie Horse (Jul 2, 2007)

Soâ€¦ My neighbor will be adding to her horse collection soon, sheâ€™s getting a Peruvian Paso that has yet to be trained (though heâ€™s very friendly and halter broke, not sure of the age). Heâ€™s going to be her project horse (sheâ€™s training to become a horse trainer). 

Sheâ€™s getting him from her trainer, who actually has two. Both are free to good homes. The other one is about ten, broke to ride, but I hear heâ€™s really hard to catch. 

Well, ever since she brought it up, Iâ€™ve been thinking that I just might like to have him. Charlie is an only horse (although he does have a pony friend on the other side of the fence). And I love gaited horses. Just love them. I rode a Peruvian Paso cross years ago, which wasnâ€™t a bad horse at all (even though I had a major accident on her). 

I was wondering what you all think about the breed and what you know of them. She was told by our farrier that there is some sort of (possibly genetic) disorder in the breed that causes their erâ€¦ something to drop. I canâ€™t think of it. The fetlock area I think. Any way, it can be a crippling disease, and so on. Which is a risk, but thereâ€™s always a risk that something horrible will happen. 

So I was wondering if anyone has worked with them and what they are like? Personal opinions more than welcome, because I donâ€™t want to walk blindly into this. And I know my MFT was a great trail horse. I'm thinking of doing some internet searches for information on the breed as well (so any links are welcome).


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## Tessa Bear (May 15, 2007)

i have a peruvian mare, and the breed itself is very hard to catch. they have breed into them whats called brio, and it is a controlled spirit, but most people who do not know the breed think they are crazy and hot. they have to be handled VERY diffrently from any other bred, and tend to spook easily. they take a very gentle hand and you must have patience for if you ever do go off on them and yell or hit them unlike a quarter horse they will never forgive you.they bond w/ mostly one person, so not a good family horse. 

they also have to be trained very diffrently and you cannot break them the same you would say a qh, or even a diffrent giated breed. you have to know what you are doing or you will ruin them and they will never gait correctly. 

3rdly you cannot wear a regular saddle on them. most people do, but i DONOT recomend it. they have what is called termino in their legs, and when they gait they need to be free at the shoulders to "fling" their legs out to get the desired gait. a regular saddle tree prohibits them from doing so, and it also gives them saddle sores, and makes thier back svery sore. a peruvian saddle which has to be specially orderd (if you are interested i can give you the web-site) they run about $1200-$3000 depending on what style you get. you also need diffrent bits and head stalls, more money. 

most peruvians for some reason are prone to founder, and having thyroid problems so a vet check on any peruvian even a free is a must. some are very flat footed and need aluminum shoes, but most can go shoeless. they cannot wear shoes that you would put on a tenesse walker. 

they are a pretty hardy horse, and very loyal once you gain thier trust but they will pretty much always be hard to catch, its just the breed. even the top trainers and breeders run their horses into a stall to catch them. they do not trust easily and it is easy to break that trust. they are somwhat arrogent, and will probably never be like a qh in the "puppy dog" arena. 

if you have any more questions please pm me as i realize that not a whole of people on here are familiar w/ peruvians, and contrary to popular believe they are a totally diffrent breed from the paso fino!! i hope i have been somewhat helpful.
`Sarah


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## Charlie Horse (Jul 2, 2007)

Thanks so much for responding! I was waiting and waiting and waiting. Ugh.

This trainer has two, the one who isn't broke (that my neighbour should be getting) is actually super friendly and comes straight to you, she says. I haven't seen either horse.

I was aware of the laminitis since my farrier was telling me about it, but couldn't remember the name or the exact details, so thanks on that.

I read some about the breed online, and read about the brio and how they weren't that closely related to Paso Finos, which I had thought they were.

I own a gaited horse saddle, with the tree designed for gaited horses (because its the only saddle that would fit my high withered tb). So does my neighbor (her's looks very much like the saddles displayed for Peruvian Pasos).

I'm not too sure now if I want one though. I've already got a spirited horse, and was looking for one that might be a little lower in key and not as spooky, so it could help us both (me and my tb) with confidence.

But I don't want no qh either.

Thanks for all the information. I'm going to think about it some more, examine finances and see about going to check him out before I get too serious (of course), and to see what he's like in person. Never know, might just get to liking him. And he's already completely trained, by a really good trainer, who developes trust and partnerships through her training.


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## Tessa Bear (May 15, 2007)

yes most peruvians will come up to you until they see a halter or lead rope in your hands. they are a very very smart breed.lol. 

and yes they are pretty spooky, and hyper so if your wanting low key i woulden't choose a peruian.lol.

i'm w/ you not a big fan of qh's either, if your wanting gaited, i have heard that paso finos are pretty calm for the most part, or the missouri foxtrotters are pretty calm as well. once again please pm if you have any other questions! good luck!


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## galagirl1 (May 17, 2009)

I have my first Peruvian and have had him for a year and a half. From my experience, they are a special breed that takes some handling but worth the effort. It took a while for me to gain my boy's trust and I agree one must be gentle. One must also be firm and above all, fair. There is something called DSLD which has to do with suspension and ligaments. The breed is prone to this problem and it should be checked for by a vet. They gait naturally. As far as I know, as long as you don't push for speed, and you have a saddle that doesn't inhibit their shoulder, you can always get them to gait. They're known as a luxury car compared to a sports car.


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## g8ted4me (Sep 3, 2008)

I have had experience with a bunch of peruvians and done breed demos with them at horse fairs. If you would have talked to me 2 years ago I would have told you I never would have any other breed besides Peruvians, but now is another story. 

I have not had a "spooky" Peruvian. I did demos and did camping and trail riding with ours. I think the spooky thing should not be labeled as a breed standard...more so the training of those particular Peruvians. They have what is called brio. Brio is what people call "controllable energy". Personally I loved it. My mares were incredibly responsive with cues and looked more "Hot" than they actually were. They all were great trail horses. They tolerated the ring and drill team stuff, but much, much prefered to go for a trail ride. Very willing and enjoyable. They were sensitive with things so they did need to trust the people they were around. 

As far as saddles go....I think a gaited saddle would be fine- just make sure to have extra room in the shoulder area for the leg action, but otherwise saddle fit should be similar to fitting any other horse.

I do have to say the the gait of the Peruvian was by far the smoothest gaited horse I have ever ridden. We have had walkers, spotted saddle horses, paso finos and mountain horses, but the Peruvians took the cake with the gait. The others are smooth too, but it is just different. But saying that I feel that this is also partly the reason for the lameness problems going on within the breed. They are breeding for so much action with the front legs that the horse is having a lot of soundness problems. A mare that we had until she was 19 years old and I sold to a family for teaching thier kids to ride did not have a ton of action in her front end- she never was lame a day in her life. I then had a mare that was more showy....well last year I had to make the decision to put her to sleep at 14 years old because I had tried what seemed to be everything (over 5 years time) and she was so uncomfortable from dsld that it was the only humane thing to do. During those 5 years she would have good days and bad days it was incredibly hard to feel hopefully and think that I had it figured out and then to find out that the following week she was lame. Talk about taking a toll out of a person. This is the very reason why I won't have another one. 

I have now switched the the mountain horse breeds. After the experience with my Peruvian I wanted something that was a bit hardier. I think unless things change with breeding practices and people continue to research this disease it is really going to hurt the breed. Again just my opinion. The scariest thing is that it seems like this ugly disease can creep up at just about any age. So a horse that is 10 years old (should be the prime of its life,) could start showing signs so there for really doing a vet check for soundness could be a bit misleading- the horse may be sound now, but doesn't mean in 2 years you won't start to see problems. 

Again, I don't want to sound like a "debbie downer" but just would like you to know an experience like mine.....I had many great experiences and memories with my Peruvians, but will never own another. My friend had to make the choice to put her 8 year old down for the same disease.....really do alot of research before you make your decision....those "free" horses could end up costing you more than you think.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

Any breed can get DLSD but some breeds are more prone to it than others. We lost a horse to DLSD here at the rescue that was an OTTB - so certainly not just specific to one breed or another.

As for Peruvian Pasos, they are awesome - I've ridden several and love them. Like someone else said, they have the smoothest gaits. With regards to saddle fit, any saddle can be used on them IF you fit it properly for their conformation, which is key with saddle fitting on any horse. Because they are put together differently, it's harder to fit a traditional english or western saddle to them, however if you place the saddle in the correct position (not too far forward the way most people are apt to do), then yes, it can fit just fine. Usually a straighter cut flap such as a dressage saddle will fit better because it sits farther off the shoulder since dressage horses also require great freedom of the shoulders.

Good luck! They are an amazing breed!


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## mylittlepony1 (Jul 11, 2011)

Tessa Bear said:


> i have a peruvian mare, and the breed itself is very hard to catch. they have breed into them whats called brio, and it is a controlled spirit, but most people who do not know the breed think they are crazy and hot. they have to be handled VERY diffrently from any other bred, and tend to spook easily. they take a very gentle hand and you must have patience for if you ever do go off on them and yell or hit them unlike a quarter horse they will never forgive you.they bond w/ mostly one person, so not a good family horse.
> 
> they also have to be trained very diffrently and you cannot break them the same you would say a qh, or even a diffrent giated breed. you have to know what you are doing or you will ruin them and they will never gait correctly.
> 
> ...


Just a comment about the Peruvian breed, and I am by no means an expert as I have only owned one. But I do have to say that she was a delight and where they do seem to bond tightly with one person I found her to be very steady and brave on the trail and she took very good care of me. I didn't have the traditional tack and rode her in a Tarpin Hill field trial saddle with no problems. The Peruvians do have some issues with suspensory ligaments, but over all I found mine to be a very healthy little girl. All breeds can have certain problem areas, you just have to study the individual horse you are looking at. I have never riden a smoother horse since!


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## Thyme (Sep 4, 2010)

I have a Peruvian X Arabian, he is super smart. Hard to catch like before, he runs arounds away from me, but then he will turn and trot right up to me and stick his nose in his halter. Forward moving, and self motivated breed in my experience.


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## mylittlepony1 (Jul 11, 2011)

Was wondering about opinions on cross breeding the Peruvian. I have a beautiful sweet Missouri Fox Trotter mare and have the opportunity for a free breeding to a registered Peruvian Paso. He is a wonderful old horse and I am thinking it would improve the gait of the offspring. Any thoughts?? And he is a pretty old stallion so don't know for sure if he can still successfully do the deed. :shock:


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## Thyme (Sep 4, 2010)

I love my peruvian cross, I have heard (from a peruvian breeder, and a peruvian trail rider) that Peruvians have a tendency to come up lame for periods of time, however my peruvian cross has never had lameness issues and we ride barefoot in the mountains
it also gives them great necks and my horses tail is like 20lbs and I cut about 2-4inches off every month and it consistently grows down to the ground


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## Patti memsic (Jun 4, 2012)

Great to hear all of your comments on the Peruvian Horse. The Peruvians and the National Registry have dropped the "Paso" to eliminate the confusion with the Paso Fino, which has no relation to the Peruvian Horse. Yes, I do own a wonderful Peruvian Horse, 10 year old gelding. They are smart, magnificent, easy to train. The gait is a genetic gait, which they do from birth. Saw a foal last summer, gaiting around her mother at 18 hours old. If you really would like to learn more about the Peruvian Horse, go on to the NAPHA website, which is the national registry. Also, the website, Peruvian Horse World, has an international forum, where you can talk to owners, breeders, and trainers, all over the world. There are many great breeders of the Peruvian Horse in the US. The breeding standards are very specific, and regulated. In Peru, this horse is protected by the Peruvian government. Sort of like the Bald Eagle in the US. Because this horse is considered a "Luxury" horse, the breeders pride themselves on producing the best and avoiding some of the genetic anomalies that lead to dysfunction down the road. Al of the Peruvian Horse Shows are sponsored by NAPHA. Once again, no backyard shows (and very little backyard breeding) for the "Luxury" horse. They do have "Brio" which is a controlled energy, a willingness to work and please. I have ridden several Peruvians, from champion stallions, to mares, and geldings. They do aim to please. They are not a one person horse. Nothing is weird about the tack. I use both Peruvian tack and Aussie tack. My best horse friend rides her 3 in dressage tack. Several of my friends us well-fitting western tack. Well-fitting is the key. Don't fear the Peruvian horse. If he/she is well breed, from a responsible breeder, they are amazing. I guess we get what we pay for, and "Luxury" is not cheap. Enjoy your ride.


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## Janna (Apr 19, 2012)

My Peruvian pasos is easy to catch. Easy going. Not spooky. Just about bomb proof. 
Either I got lucky orr..


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