Pure Puerto Rican Paso Fino Federation of America

In 1493, Columbus, on his second voyage, introduced the ancestors of the Pure Puerto Rican Paso Finos to the New World. During this 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!