82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 6,2002
Paso Finos Quickstep Into The Spotlight
MICHELLE RANCK
Lancaster Farming Staff
DALLASTOWN (York Co.)
If you can translate “Los Cabal
los de Paso Fino,” perhaps you
already know what the Latin
American horse breed is known
for.
“The horse with the fine step,”
a gaited breed, came to the New
World on Christopher Colum
bus’s second voyage in 1494.
Bred in Latin America, Paso
Finos were virtually unknown in
the U.S. until the late 19405.
Their ancestry is a mixture of the
Andalusian, Barb, and the now
extinct Spanish Jennet lines.
Today, the two main lines of
the breed are Columbian and
Puerto Rican.
The Horse Business
Arthur Glatfelter, owner of
Field Stone Meadow Farm, Dal
lastown, and his late wife got into
the Paso Fino horse business in
1976, when their daughter con
vinced them to buy three Tennes
see Walker horses.
After reading about the Paso
Fino breed, Glatfelter purchased
two during a business trip to
Florida.
Arthur Glatfelter, Field Stone Meadows Farm, Dallas
town, sits astride Juan Miguel.
These two animals impressed
the Glatfelters, who continued
to expand their horse numbers
until they owned 90 horses at
one time.
At this time they were one of
the biggest breeders in the coun
try and key in introducing the
breed to the northern U.S. Fif
teen horses are now at the farm.
Originally from nearby Cra
ley, the family moved to the cur
rent farm in 1986 and con
structed an indoor and outdoor
arena on the 126-acre operation.
“We sold horses to people
who were tired of going up and
down,” he said, referring to the
bounder gait of other breeds.
Additionally a blind rider, elder
ly riders, and a wheelchair
bound rider have come to the
farm to purchase a horse.
“People with back problems
go to Paso Finos because they are
so smooth,” said Sheri Becker,
farm manager who grew up in
nearby New Oxford.
A good trail riding horse will
fetch $6,500 or below while a
good show horse will cost $6,500
to $600,000 or above.
A Natural Gait
Although the horses can easily
walk, canter, and gallop, they
prefer traveling in their own nat
ural lateral gait. The foals are
born with the distinctive four
count cadenced rhythm.
“Two days after they are born,
when you put them out in the
pasture with their mothers, you
just can’t believe it,” said Glat
felter.
“They are a pleasure to have
and a pleasure to be on,” he said.
The horses’ movement is evenly
spaced. Each foot contacts the
ground independently, creating
the smooth travel appreciated by
the rider.
During breed shows, to demon
strate the fluid gait, an exhibitor
will ride around the ring at vari
ous speeds with a wine glass
three-quarters full, said Becker.
One gait, a walk, according to
Becker, has three primary speeds.
“All gaits are different speeds of
a walk,” she said.
The walk can be sped up to a
“Largo,” the fastest speed, which
allows the horse longer stride.
Top Largo horses can travel at a
walk at speeds of 18-20 miles an
hour.
The average trail gait, and
comparable to the trot in speed,
is the “Corto” gait. The “Fino”
gait is difficult and only attained
by a select few animals. Each
hoof hits the ground in rapid suc
cession, but the forward move
ment is the speed of a slow walk.
According to Becker, it may
take a good trainer to see the po
tential for fino in some horses.
“The gait is so fast that just
watching in the sand, you’d miss
it,” said Glatfelter.
Sheri Becker, Field Stone Meadows farm manager,
enjoys the affable breed.
During a show the horses trav
el across a sounding board called
the “pista” to highlight the speed
of the four-beat gait. The sound
ing board also shows more the
even four- beat sound along with
the speed of the rapid footfall.
Show Time
Although the showing days are
now at a minimum, the Glatfelt
ers exhibited in Kansas, Florida,
Maine, “and everywhere in be
tween,” he said. The horses may
be shown in performance, plea
sure, or fino classes.
Shows may include such class
es as the trail class, which fea
tures obstacles such as water and
plastic. Competitions also include
the pleasure class, where the
horse may perform with a loose
gait, the performance class,
where the gait is tighter, and the
fino, where the horse exhibits the
fastest foot motion and slowest
forward movement.
Juan Miguel, Field Stone
Meadows’ star performer, is now
standing at stud at the farm. He
was a Bella Forma champion at
the last Keystone International
Livestock Exposition (KILE) and
the national champion at age
three.
In the Bella Forma competi
tion, the horse is shown with only
two lead lines to exhibit the ani
mal’s conformation and gait.
Breed Traits
The breed is marked by its
gentle disposition. “Everybody’s
an individual,” said Glatfelter.
“However as a breed they’re
known as being very nice and
personable.”
The animals “can be any color
in the book paints are becom
ing popular,” said Becker.
Paso Finos vary in size from
13.2 to 15.2 hands, however most
Paso Finos stand slightly over 14
hands. A long mane and thick
forelock are also distinguishing
characteristics.
In addition to being person
able, easy maintenance is another
breed trait. “These horses are not
as domesticated as other breeds,”
said Becker.
Paso Finos, for example, “seem
to try to sneak foaling by you,”
she said. The animals, “easy
keepers,” she said, need little feed
and can stay fit off of grass hay
and pasture.
In the springtime Becker puts
a muzzle on the horses to curtail
their foraging on the new, abun
dant greenery in the pastures.
She does, however, attempt to
put the horses in the pasture if
possible, as they are herd animals
and “need to interact.”
Hacienda LaFlemente
A farm nearby to Field Stone
Meadows gained a Latin Ameri
can flair when the horses moved
onto the operation. The “Hacien
da LaFlamente,” Felton, is now
home to Paso Finos after the
owners, Earl and Dawn Burg,
purchased a Paso Fino from
Field Stone Meadows Farm.
The couple bought their first
Paso Fino five years ago as trail
riding horses and are now breed
ing and showing the animals.
Trainer Cliff Lawrence, origi
nally from a farm in Illinois,
traveled the southern states ex
tensively, where he was intro
duced to the breed while he
trained Tennessee Walking
horses in Pikeville, Ky.
“At first I didin’t think the
horse would carry me that far I
thought of them as ponies,” he
said. “I found out that they’re
not, and that they’ll take you up
and down mountains.”
According to Cliff the animal
combines the smooth ride of a
gaited horse yet also possesses Paso Finos are often marked by their gentle disposition
great agility uncommon in the and friendliness,
larger gaited breeds. In Puerto
Trainer Cliff Lawrence, Hacienda La Flamente, teaches
the horses to respond to leg pressure and body language.
test. “It’s different for each horse,” he said.
Rico, for example, the horsqj is
used to herd cattle.^
Lawrence places a premium on
making sure the horses have a
soft mouth and are responsive to
leg pressure, so he often trains his
animals without reins.
“The horse should respond to
your movement,” he said. “If you
put constant pressure on the
reins, a horse’s mouth will go
numb. I teach these horses a lot
of body language so that they re
spond to leg pressure so I don’t
have to be ‘in their mouth’ as
much.”
The trainer uses a variety of
bits to help each horse looks its
best. “It’s different for each
horse,” he said.
While he rides he demon
strates the horse’s focus on body
language and pressure by taking
the reins in his teeth and guiding
his horse around the ring.
Horses on the Hacienda La
Flamente are traveling to show
rings from Kentucky to Ohio. A
Juan Miguel colt has taken third
place in the national pleasure
class.
In the Fino class, 80 to 90 per
cent of the judging is based on
gait. “Finos are the most presti
gious and the most rare,” said
Lawrehce. “To me, the perform
ance horse is your ultimate horse.
They have to be fino-qulck, ele
gant, and have strong hocks to
drive with the rear end.” A Fino
horse takes tight, three-inch
steps, said Lawrence.
In addition to show ring quali
ties, however, “I like a horse you
can take on the trail and put in
the show ring,” said Lawrence.
Additional information about
the breed can be found at
www.pfha.org.