The Colombian Paso Fino

The Colombian Paso Fino or Colombian Criollo Horse is a small, light horse, breed with high endurance and a smooth, foxtrot, gate that make them a beautiful horse to watch, but are equally desirable when it comes time to get some work done. Throughout history this breed has developed into what it is today. Its breeding has continually been developed to a point that the Colombian Paso is considered superior to its cousins in South America. The word “Criollo” was initially used by the Spanish to refer to pure-bred people or animals born in the Americas. The first Spanish horses to arrive in South America came through Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1935. As the Spaniards were forced to leave Buenos Aires by the natives in the area, their horses were left behind and the natives began to use them and breed them for their own use. The story repeated itself all over the North American and South American continents throughout the centuries which followed. In the nineteenth century the breed had been developed more or less as a native breed of South America with slight variations common to various regions of South America along with the variations of its topography and climate. The Colombian Paso was a hardy little animal used extensively in the Eastern plains of Colombia where vaqueros used the quick little horses to work cattle. They were also found to be very well suited for use in the Colombian Andes, because of their endurance and easy-going nature. In the area surrounding Medellin in the late 1800s and early 1900s the Colombian Paso began to replace the use of “sillateras”, a type of chair carried on a man’s back to transport goods. The quick gate actually defies what appears to be a nervous spirit. The breed as a whole is extremely gentle and even tempered. Their quick, foxtrot gate is also very smooth and the rider feels little of the quick hammering motion of their hooves. These hardy little horses are rarely found over 15 hands, but remain very popular as working cowhorses in Colombia and are continually bred to ensure their ability to perform the demanding tasks to which they are most suited. Though they are not large, they carry some of the traits similar to the mustangs which were once prized by the American cowboy: the thick, heavy front end, the thick neck, sure footedness and endurance (plenty of bottom).

Because of their easy-going nature and frugal eating, they are easy keepers and typically withstand extremes of heat and cold with equal vigor. They have excellent bone structure with resistant joints and hard, durable hooves. These qualities, along with their extraordinary endurance, cause many to argue that the Criollo and especially the Colombian Paso surpasses the Arabian in overall, long-term endurance. All in all, this hardy little beauty is certainly a keeper and a truly remarkable for its highly desirable qualities in gate, quickness and stamina. However, above all, this light horse breed is highly prized because of its even-tempered gentility. Enjoy a fictional history involving the realization of a dream of raising Criollo horses in the Belle of Colombia Series novels by Bil Howard.