Article 3: The Essence of the Peruvian Paso
What is the true essence of the Peruvian Paso horse you may have asked yourself? Simply put, it is a feeling of floating, not flying, that is achieved by many factors. What are these factors? First, the rider must be experienced enough to recognize the "floating" phenomenon when it occurs. Second, the horse must be ridden and "cued" correctly in order to refine the movements. Also, trust is a big factor, you must bond strongly with your horse in order for him to carry you with nobility, he will not respond to punishment. Some horses do this more naturally than others. Some do not have the conformation to do it.
So once again, what is meant by "floating"? It is a strong impulsion from the hindquarters, a rounding of the back, a suppleness of the neck, mouth, and head. What is the key ingredient to all these movements? Energy coming from strength. I am glad to hear that judges within the breed are now considering strength over "flash". "Flash doesn't last". That has been proven time and again during the 60's, 70's and 80's. I've heard of many beautiful animals that never made it to fifteen years old because of weakness. On a positive note, I think the owners and breeders of these wonderful horses are "cleaning up their act" from twenty years ago. We must. We have no choice. The best marketing for our horses is their strength. Why? Most people want to trail ride, not show. All of us as members of the organization have a moral obligation to breed the best to the best, conduct our business with new owners professionally and honestly, and be available to our new owners who may be novice riders with green horses! It is important for marketing that we "match" horse and rider. I have rejected almost one hundred inquiries into my horses because they were simply too inexperienced or had serious physical injuries. I have recently been contacted by numerous new owners that feel they got "burned". Of course there are always two sides to every story; however , we do not need a group of disgruntled new owners running around telling vets, farriers, feed store owners, and anyone else that will listen, that Peruvian Paso breeders do bad business.
Returning to our topic, some may disagree with me or simply not understand my meaning and that is fine. I do believe that true horseman and women understand what I reference here. To the rest, find a good trainer that likes to teach English, Western, Peruvian, or Trail, and practice, practice, practice.
(printable version of article here)
---~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---
Barbara Thompson-Firestone Barbara is a former Licensed Clinical Social Worker who at one time practiced as a psychotherapist. She received both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University, respectively. She began riding at age 5 at the Encouragement of her father. Her classical training began at age 7 with formal English Pleasure, Western Trail, and later Dressage. Upon finishing graduate school in 1988, she purchased her First Peruvian Paso. “The Peruvian was the ideal choice for me due to chronic back pain”, according to Barbara. Today, Barbara lives on a quiet ranch with her husband of 16 years.
---~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---
Ranch | Stallions | Breeding Program | Hall of Fame References Sires | Mares
Sales | Industry Links | Return to Home Page
Photos and Copy on this site Copyright © 1988-2006 Firestone Peruvian Ranch.
All Rights Reserved.
