A question for you Gabby. Is the horse's gait natural or does it take a lot of training to get him/her to run like that?. Much the same as the trotting horses.
I would assume they are trained???.
Rob Roy.
I know for a fact the Paso Fino babies will gate from the start and I suspect those running walkers like Homer do as well they do take some training to make them really reach out and fly but so do any race horse Gallop, Trot or Pace. Look up the Icelandic horses they share the gate and are even smaller than the Pasos and they call the gate the Tolt, and they can fly too.
It is an extended four beat gate actually the same thing as a horses walk pushed to its limit, the Tennessee Walker
is included in this group as are a few others not as famous.
The main thing about it is the smoothness as felt by the rider if you watch Homer again watch the shoulders and top of the riders head. It travels without hardly any up and down movement and the smoother the better. I've ridden my horse Canto all day and we were both fresh at the end of the day since we aren't jarring or being jarred which is what takes its toll on horse and rider! The Spanish brought a now extinct breed called the Jennet (Skip to America), which was developed as a pleasure mount for ladies and later used by their cavalry because they would ride all day while wearing their armor and this was much more comfortable than riding a trot with all that hardware bouncing around and wearing holes in your hide.Talk about torture! To America to breed with the other animals they had brought along for riding and packing, they evolved into the Paso Fino and the Peruvian Paso which is normally coarser and larger and has a winging action (paddling) in front which I don't approve of due to the fact their shoulders and elbows can break down and are suseceptable to arthritis and other problems. The name Paso Fino means fine walk or fine step as in Spanish they turn things around when they say it. The language teachers on here can supply the name for that.
A simple search will bring you hours of entertainment including videos and instruction while looking at some really beautiful animals, so have at it, I'm through being the know it all for today.
Enjoy folks,
Gabby
Heh, you might jump to the conclusion old Gabby likes horses, yessireee Bob!
