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Peruvian Pasos..lengthy



I have had over 30 years experience with  Peruvian Pasos as a trail horse.  I
think they are the best trail horse in the world.  In the ten or so that I
have been involved with, with one exception which was not the horses fault, I
have never had one fall with me, they do not stumble, they do not shy, they
are eager and the exaggerated gait does not deprive them of energy except in
the case of highly nervous, high strung individuals (the prized "brio" of the
show ring).  An Arabian Park horse  is not as good a candidate for endurance
as a less showy one. Neither is a Peruvian with an exaggerated paso gait the
ideal trail horse. The gait is totally natural (my foals were pasoing within
an hour of birth) and the foot is lifted and planted down which in my opinion
eliminates the stumbling that other breeds can be prone to. My foundation
mare, *Marinera, died at age 30 and I have never respected any animal as much
as I did her.  There is no worse thing to inflict upon a horse than an
ignorant enthusiastic rider.  And that's what I was.  I sorely abused this
horse by overriding and underfeeding. In the 60's the conventional wisdom was
to keep them lean and have a wet saddle blanket in the barn each night.  And
that is what I did to a gallant animal.  She  finished the Tevis Cup twice,
once in 22nd position and once in 25th place.  She finished 3rd in the Castle
Rock Challenge Ride and won the Best Condition award  in a ride which included
Bezatal,  the Fitzgerald Hyannis horses and a couple of Wendell Robie's. She
was the toughest horse I have ever had, but moldy hay brought on the heaves
and  her endurance career was cut short, but not her trail riding days.
However, I do think she was unique to her breed and the eight foals she had
were never as good as she was.  Her first foal, now 25 years old, is still
carrying me several times a week around the Santa Cruz Mountains.    She is
sound and eager, but I would not have asked her to do a 50 mile endurance
ride.  Another *Marinera daughter did a fifty miler at age 6. But my
preference for endurance is Arabians..they fall, they stumble,  they spook,
but 9 out of 10 Arabians will get you to the finish line.  I do not think that
is true of the Peruvians.  I think the majority of them are too heavily
muscled to excel at endurance. But I believe there are more *Marineras out
there and I hope that the lucky person that has one enjoys the breed  as much
as I have.
Julie Suhr



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