Peruvian Paso

The Peruvian Paso is a saddle horse bred up in Peru over several hundred years. What sets it apart is a smooth, evenly timed four-beat gait that foals are born with rather than one riders have to train into them. For anyone who spends long stretches in the saddle, that gait means none of the jolting you get from a trotting horse.

The breed pulls off something not every horse manages: it is forward and full of energy under saddle, with the drive Peruvian breeders call brio, while staying calm and easy to handle on the ground. A good Peruvian Paso carries its head and neck high, with a proud look about it.

Its signature move is the termino, an outward roll of the front legs that starts at the shoulder. No other breed has quite the same action. It gives the front end a swimming look while the hindquarters stay low and do the driving work.

Who it suits

The Peruvian Paso suits riders after comfort over distance, think trail riders and anyone who spends hours in the saddle at a stretch. Its steady nature makes it manageable for riders without a lot of physical strength, though that brio rewards a confident, consistent hand. Riders who came up through pony club often take to its willing character quickly, and the breed is just as much at home under saddle at A&P shows and in parades.

The breed's roots go back to horses brought across from Spain in the sixteenth century. Spanish conquistadors began arriving in Peru from 1532, bringing with them the Spanish Jennet, an ambling horse known for its smooth lateral gaits, alongside Barb and Andalusian bloodlines.

Peru never had the road networks that Europe did, and the big estates were scattered across coastal valleys, desert, and mountain country. Owners needed horses that could cover long distances comfortably at a steady pace, so breeders selected generation after generation for the smooth four-beat gait, for stamina, and for a willing nature.

For most of its history the breed was raised in relative isolation on Peruvian haciendas. With little outside crossbreeding, the gait became fixed and passed reliably to foals. That long, closed line of breeding is why the gait shows up naturally in almost every purebred Peruvian Paso.

Through the twentieth century the horse spread past Peru's borders, and breeders in North America and further afield set up registries to track bloodlines. New Zealand's own biosecurity rules mean any horse entering the country, Peruvian Paso included, goes through strict quarantine and testing before it ever sets foot on New Zealand soil. The Peruvian Paso is recognised as a national symbol of Peru, and it should not be confused with the Paso Fino, a separate gaited breed that developed elsewhere in Latin America.

The Peruvian Paso is a medium-sized, well-balanced horse built for stamina rather than height. It has a deep chest, strong sloping shoulders, and rounded muscling that carries it through a long day's ride. The neck is fairly heavy and arched, the head medium-sized, with an expression breeders call alert and proud.

Mane and tail are fine and full, and the tail sits low, carried close to the body. The hindquarters move low and reaching, while the front legs show that rolling termino action that marks the breed out from anything else.

Coat and colours

The Peruvian Paso turns up in a wide range of solid colours, plus a few dilutes and roans. Bay and chestnut are the most common, and black, brown, grey, palomino, and buckskin all turn up too. White markings on the face and legs are accepted. The coat itself stays short and fine, while the mane, forelock, and tail grow long and silky.

The Peruvian Paso is known for pairing brio with gentleness. Brio is the word breeders use for the horse's forward energy, courage, and willingness to keep going when asked. Under saddle it is spirited and responsive, with an obvious want to move out.

On the ground and around people, that same horse is usually calm and good-natured. It bonds closely with its handler and tends to be tractable and keen to please, which makes day-to-day handling straightforward. Turned out with other horses it is generally social and settles into a herd without much fuss.

With strangers, a confident Peruvian Paso stays alert rather than flighty. Its proud carriage is as much part of its character as its build. The breed suits an owner who can put that energy to good use with fair, consistent handling.

Grooming

• Brush the body several times a week to keep the coat clean and the skin in good order.
• Comb out the long mane and tail carefully so it does not break off.
• Pick out the hooves daily and check for stones, packed mud, and any sign of thrush.
• Bathe as needed and dry the legs off properly to keep skin problems at bay.
• Check eyes, nostrils, and skin while grooming so early trouble does not go unnoticed.

Exercise

• Give the horse regular ridden or in-hand work to stay fit and keep the gait clean.
• Daily turnout in a paddock keeps both mind and body sorted.
• Mix up trail outings with arena schooling so the horse stays interested.
• Build fitness gradually before asking for longer rides.

Environment

The Peruvian Paso does well with paddock access and a run-in shed or stable to get out of the weather, whether that is heat, wind, or Kiwi rain. It copes with a range of climates as long as it has proper shelter and steady care. Company from other horses helps keep this social breed settled.

Forage is the backbone of the Peruvian Paso diet. Good pasture or hay, or baleage where hay is harder to come by, should make up the bulk of what the horse eats each day, roughly 1.5 to 2 percent of bodyweight in forage. Plenty of these horses are efficient keepers, so hard feed only goes on the menu once work demands the extra energy.

Fresh, clean water needs to be on tap at all times, along with a salt or mineral lick. Feed at the same times each day and split larger rations into smaller meals to help digestion along.

Treats and supplements

A small bit of carrot or apple makes a fine treat. A balanced vitamin and mineral supplement can help when forage alone does not cover everything, and your vet can advise on extras for older horses or ones in hard work. Bring in any feed change over a week or more, not all at once.

The Peruvian Paso is a robust breed with a long working life. Plenty stay sound and active well into their twenties, and 25 to 30 years is a typical lifespan with good care. There is no single defining genetic disorder in the breed, but it shares the usual health concerns common to horses generally.

Routine veterinary care, attention to diet, and good hoof management do most of the work in keeping these horses healthy across a long life.

Preventive care

• Book annual or six-monthly veterinary checkups and core vaccinations.
• Drench based on a vet-guided parasite programme and faecal testing.
• Get teeth checked and floated at least once a year.
• Keep hooves trimmed every six to eight weeks.
• Watch body condition to avoid both overweight and underfeeding.

The Peruvian Paso is bright, willing, and quick to bond with whoever is training it, which makes it responsive to patient handling. Because the four-beat gait is inborn, training does not create the gait; it refines balance, rhythm, and collection instead. Brio gives the horse plenty of forward drive, so most of the work is about directing that energy and building soft, consistent responses.

Groundwork builds trust and respect before and alongside anything done under saddle. The breed does not respond well to harsh or forceful methods, and does far better with cues that are clear, fair, and repeatable.

Basics

1. Start with handling and groundwork to teach leading, standing still, and yielding to pressure.
2. Introduce tack and get the horse accepting the rider's weight calmly in short sessions.
3. Establish go, stop, and steering at the walk before asking for the gait.
4. Bring out the natural gait with light contact and a steady rhythm.
5. Add transitions, lateral work, and trail outings as confidence builds.

Peruvian Paso horses reach physical maturity at around four to five years old, though they are often not started under saddle until they are mature enough for the work. Mares are usually put in foal once they are well grown, and breeders select for sound conformation, a clean natural gait, and good temperament.

Gestation runs to roughly 11 months, and the mare almost always carries a single foal. Twins are rare in horses and generally unwanted, since they bring high risk to mare and foals alike. The newborn foal is up on its feet and nursing within the first few hours.

A defining feature of the breed is that the gait breeds true. Because the trait has been locked in through centuries of closed breeding, purebred foals reliably show the smooth four-beat gait from a young age. Young horses are weaned, handled early to build trust, and brought on gradually toward saddle work as they mature.