Re: Paso Finos

["Glenda R. Snodgrass" <grs@theneteffect.com>]

I first began riding on a "pleasure" class Paso Fino (which means she's
not very "fino" as "pleasure" is the bottom class and "fino" is top
class), and I'm friends with a few Paso Fino breeders, attended nationals
last year, so I'm pretty familiar with the breed (though not an expert by
a longshot), and I would not recommend Pasos for endurance.  The ones that
I know, while certainly forward-moving and fun to ride, tend to be a
little too high-strung for long distance work -- they just get so excited
they lather up right away, even when worked every day of the week.  They
wear themselves out before they've gone very far!  They are bred to have
that temperament ("brio"). They are very good trail horses in that they
are very willing to go forward, over just about anything.  However, they
also tend to be less sure-footed, I think.  Cosqui, at least, with her
head up and legs just a-pumping, manages to put her tiny little feet in
every hole and trip over every tree root on the trail. :)

However, I've seen two PF not far from here who do competitive trail, 
and the slower pace seems to work better for them.  They're also pretty 
calm for PFs, so I guess you just need to find the right one, if you 
really want to try it.

Glenda & Lakota (don't talk about my pasturemate that way--she's awful 
pretty!)