Horses -The Paso Fino
By Michael Russell
When Christopher Columbus landed in the New World in 1492, he found a continent without horses. After returning to Spain, upon his return to the Americas, he brought back mares and stallions from Andalusia and Cordela. These horses were a mixture of Andalusian, Barb, and the now-extinct Spanish Jennet. The resulting offspring of this mixture was a horse with a very smooth and comfortable gait suitable for the varied terrains of the New World. Because of a trait contributed by the Jennet, of passing the most desirable characteristics along to its offspring, the horse quickly became favored by the Conquistadors. This was the founding stock of the Paso Fino breed. The breed established a place in the history of Western Civilization, being cited as instrumental in the conquest, exploration, and development of the Americas.
Over the 500 years since the introduction of the founding stock in the Western Hemisphere, the Paso Fino has been selectively bred and refined. And although they can be found elsewhere Peru, in South America, claims the most famous and purest bloodlines of this breed.
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