In 1493, Columbus, on his second voyage, introduced the ancestors of the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos to the New World. during his and subsequent trips by Columbus and other conquistadors, Andalusians, Barbs and Spanish Jennets were brought into what is now Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other areas of the Caribbean. The Spanish Jennet - now extinct - was the primary contributor to the uniquely smooth gait. The Spanish Jennet consistently passed on their smooth natural gait to their offspring - even when blended with Barbs and Andalusians. The selectively bred offspring became the foundation stock for the conquistadors' remount stations and eventually what was to become known as "Los Caballos de Paso Fino" the horses with the fine gait - or Paso Finos.

The descendants of the jennet became particularly prized for their four-beat lateral gait. As colonization spread, demand grew for these smooth riding horses on haciendas and plantations. These horses provided a refined mount for the gentry as well as a tireless work horse for the managers and owners of vast sugarcane plantations. 

Over the last 500 years many of the specific details of the Paso Fino history have been lost, but the fact that the smooth gait remains, especially in the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino horses, is a great testimony to the breeders who had the foresight to preserve it.

The Puerto Ricans have generally prized the presence of gait and smoothness as primary considerations for choosing their breeding stock. Hence, the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos are consistent in terms of passing on gait to their offspring.

While owners of many other paso fino horses have to hire trainers to train the lateral gait into their horses, this practice is unknown among Puerto Rican Paso Fino owners. Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos gait naturally from birth, without special training or appliances!

With fewer than 500 Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos registered with the Federation and only a relatively few breeders in the U.S. & Puerto Rico who have not yet diluted their bloodstock with horses of outside origin, the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos are very rare and valuable horses.

If you decide to become an owner of these wonderful Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos, while it may not be easy to find this rare stock available, we believe your search will be more than amply rewarded by these horses of great temperament as well as smooth gait!

Paso Fino, which means "fine step or delicate walk" in Spanish perfectly describes a Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino's natural gait which is performed laterally in four beats. A Pure Puerto Rican Paso's natural gait is a short, low gait performed with elegance, poise and swiftness resulting in a shock absorbing action and a very smooth gait with a distinct four beat taca-taca-taca-taca sound. A Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino's gait is a gliding, forward movement, not a rocking or bumping movement of other saddle horses. People who can not ride other gaited horses because of back or other physical problems find that they are often able to ride again due to the extremely smooth ride of the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino.

A Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino's gait is performed at three speeds. Fino is a gait fully collected with incredibly fast footfall, The corto gait is executed when the horse is moving forward at a speed similar to a trot with medium extension and collection. The corto is an excellent trail gait and, in condition, Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino horses can execute this gait with ease all day long. Largo is a ground covering gait with bold, animated and long strides. Some horses can largo at a speed up to 25 miles per hour.

Many Colombian Pasos perform a variety of gaits: paso, trocha, and trote y galope. A Colombian Paso's up and down piston like movement, is usually executed without much flexion of the pasterns. Their footfall may be quick with a short step but results in little shock absorbing action and in a choppy ride. On a hard surface no definite sound of gait can be distinguished. While in movement, they rest in their natural gait (trocha) and can be collected in gait. Don Fabio Ochoa, a famous Colombian horse breeder once expressed the following in an article in a well-known Paso Fino publication: "Nuestros caballos, en su mayoria, trene ascendencia de varios pasos, muy pocos puros; asi que es comtin que cambian de paso a cualquier edad." Translation: the majority of our horses have descended from a variety of gaits, only a few are pure; so it is normal that they change gait at any age.

Dr. Carolos Gaztambide Arffllaga, a well known doctor of Animal Science states in his book, Breeding Better Paso Finos, noted that Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino horses are the only Pasos who meet specific criteria to be considered a true paso breed with fixed genetics which consistently pass their natural gait on to their offspring. The six criteria are:

Consists of a large population of similar individuals.
Be different in type and performance from other breeds.
Should breed true to type.
All individuals look alike.
A number of different well-defined families should exist.
A studbook with enough information on all individual horses must exist.
In the pasture, Puerto Rican Paso Finos walk, canter and execute their natural gait. When foals are born they immediately exhibit this natural gait. Puerto Rican Pasos never have to be taught to gait, perhaps only enhance it with riding. In contrast, not all South American Pasos horses are born with the ability to perform the Paso gait from birth. Training techniques, artificial devices and proper riding that only highly knowledgeable Colombian trainers possess can be very important in making these Pasos to gait. Training has to be constant to keep the induced Paso gait. A few months of rest to these horses may mean that the training must be initiated again. This process requires a great deal of financial support. At the end you will never own a four beat natural Paso gaited horse. Some of these horses, even with all the expensive training, will chronically exhibit a three beat gait, and will tend to be pacey or trotty. Also, because of their mixed genetics, South American Pasos can execute one gait but may produce offspring that perform paso, trocha, or trot. The ability to breed true to type and transmit their unique gait separates Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos from other Pasos.

Phyllis Gaudreau, distinguished Paso Fino Judge and long time owner and breeder of Paso Fino horses, was asked in an interview, "What does a judge look for in judging a Paso Fino?" Her reply was "We look at many things, but the most important thing is gait and smoothness." These are the special qualities that the owners and breeders of Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos prize most in their animals. Natural gait and smoothness are what set them apart from other horse The Pure Puerto Rican horses have excellent dispositions, great strength, cooperation, intelligence, stamina and courage. They are people horses and are beautiful and proud. Most have long flowing manes, forelocks and tails. Puerto Rican horses come in a variety of colors with and without markings and range in size from 13 to 15 hands. They are remarkably versatile. Contrary to popular stereotype,they are not just wonderful show and parade horses. They can learn to jump, excel on competitive trail rides, in barrel racing and gymkhanas or on the ranch with their natural born instinct for working cattle. Any of you can gallop a Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino without spoiling its gait! Pure Puerto Rican horses can do anything any other horse can do, do it well and do it with extreme comfort for the rider.

In 1987 in Columbia, S. C. the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino Federation of America, Inc. was incorporated to preserve, protect and promote the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino horse. When Paso Finos were first introduced in the United States, a Paso Fino was known to be a natural four beat laterally gaited horse. In the showring today Paso Finos who exhibit quick footfall or a lot of brilliance are often awarded over horses who perform a true gait. Federation members believe that this trend is a deterrent to the preservation of naturally gaited Paso Finos. They also believe that everyone should be aware that there is a difference in the horses and be able to know and choose which type of Paso they want that will fill their need. According to a survey done by the Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture, due to the blending of other Paso horses with the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos, these horses today number only about 2,500 live worldwide. Members of the Federation are working with the Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture's Commissioner of Paso Fino to make sure that these irreplaceable horses are not lost.

There are fewer than 500 Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino horses registered with the Federation and only a few breeders who have not diluted their bloodstock with horses of outside origin. These scarce and valuable horses may be hard to find, but members of the Federation believe that these horses are well worth the effort and should be treasured. 

The American Paso Fino is a mixture of Colombian, Puerto Rican and, in some cases, Peruvian Pasos before they established themselves as a separate breed. In the beginning the goal was to breed together the best of both worlds to produce a beautiful four beat laterally gaited Paso Fino. However, when Pasos from Colombia were imported many of these horses were trocha, trote y galope (trot and gallop) or a mixture of the two diagonal gaits. These horses were promoted and bred as Paso Finos. Therefore, an American Paso may exhibit and produce any gait in its genetic pool 

In Columbia, South America, the terrain influenced the development of its horses. Two types of horses were bred in Colombia. The first type was bred in the plains (llanos) and in the swampy areas. These horses had wide hooves and executed a front leg action called pinceleo (the movement of a hand brush), which is called termino in the Peruvians. This way of moving allowed for easier travel in the water and swamps. The second type was developed in the mountains. These horses executed a smooth pistoneo gait. This is a front and hind leg action resembling an engine's piston like up and down movement and was desired so that a horse traveling on uneven ground could balance and continue to travel.

Also developed in Colombia was the trote y galope, a mixture of the two beat diagonal gait (trot) and the canter. In the beginning Colombian Pasos would trocha (an uneven four beat diagonal gait) at rest or when the reins were relaxed and paso with collection. In the 1950s a horse named Don Danilo appeared who had 1/4 Lusitano blood. Breeders bred extensively to him to produce highly raised feet and a more spectacular trocha. Columbia began to develop better roads for travel and horses for riding were less important. Appearance became more important than comfort, the trocha rage was intense and the fino gait almost completely disappeared. In the 1930s and 1940s polo was a popular sport, and in many circles thoroughbreds were bred to all Paso mares. Horses were often crossed, depending on the popularity of a horse at the time, without regard to differences in gait. 

All Paso Fino horses are the same. A Paso Fino is a Paso Fino. Right? Not true, say fans of Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino horses. They believe that Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos are a separate, unique breed and the smoothest naturally gated riding horses in the world.

Although all Pasos had a common origin, in other countries the availability of other breeds with which to cross and the desire for other uses led to the development of clearly different types of horses. Sr. Josef M. A. Pons, accredited judge and breeder of Puerto Rican horses explains the difference this way. "There is no doubt that both had their common origin in the horses brought to the New World. Evidence found in the Archives of the Indies indicates that the first group of mares and two stallions shipped to Colombia came from Puerto Rico. Through many years the Puerto Ricans developed a taste and preference for the smooth gaited fino horse while in Colombia, the more spirited horse with its trocha gait (an uneven diagonal movement) became popular. Thus each country bred its own way and according to its needs. New genetic configurations were evolving in each country and two different breeds were being developed: the Paso Fino in Puerto Rico and the Colombian Paso in Colombia."