Present
and Vital Challenges in Breeding Peruvian Paso Horses
By: Raul Risso
The need for
foundation stock based on a better STRUCTURE of the Peruvian
Paso Horse must become a priority in breeding programs. In
North America in particular, where areas for riding horses
are available throughout the region, our horses compete in a
wide market of many gaited breeds. Our PPH has captured the
attention of a very particular sort of rider. This is,
generally speaking, a middle aged person who at their stage
of life can afford a valuable horse but is no longer looking
within the trotting breeds, preferring a “passive
equitation” on a bounce free trail riding kind of animal. At
the same time we must continue to supply the market with
unquestionably the smoothest, most elegant and refined
gaited horse in the world, but one with a longer productive
riding life span. To achieve this strength without losing
the IDENTITY of our breed, with it’s wide thread of gait
including termino and arrogance, is the subject that I am
addressing in this article.
Our breed has
long since transcended the limits of Peru and become
internationally recognized. Our horse was a traveler’s
horse, ridden between valleys of the semi-deserted coastline
of Peru. It was also a Plantation Horse, a rugged animal
used by landowners and overseers of laborers engaged in
agriculture practices along the coastal land of Peru.
Beginning in 1968, and for a long period of time after, Land
Reform was decreed by the government. Large estates of
property owned by rich and prosperous families were
confiscated. This event changed the scenario of Peru. The
Peruvian Horse owners and/ or new aficionados did manage to
preserve our breed and moved the horses onto small plots of
land. At the same time, mechanized vehicles mostly
substituted the horse. The horses bred during the 70’s and
80’s (a time when large numbers of PPH came to the US) were
predominantly bred with the show ring mentality in mind.
Preference was given to adornments such as collection, lift
and termino. The same has happened in the promotion of this
breed here in North America where horse shows have been the
main attraction for the established breeders. As a
consequence Peruvian Horses today are not as strong as we
would like them to be in order to fit the immense market of
trail riding people.
Unfortunately, in
Peru horse shows remain the predominant goal in mind for most
aficionados. Furthermore, there is still only a Breeding
Division competition, with no Pleasure or Performance classes
that demand an able horse capable of more mileage. Consider that
the ANCPCPP owns a fantastic show facility in Lima that could
hold many more events, perhaps opening the market for a more
basic riding horse. In the “good old boys mentality” that still
prevails in Peru, only now are women timidly beginning to
participate in activities related to the Peruvian Horse. On a
positive note, “Cabalgatas” (as Trail Rides are known in Peru)
are becoming frequent among new aficionados and many family
groups participate. Further, well known judges and breeders such
as Mariano Cabrera, in his excellent article “Breeders and the
Destiny of our Horse” published in the ANCPCPP’s 2002 Annual
Report, writes about the need for going back to breeding a more
rugged horse.
CULLING is the
first step and forever the primary tool for the improvement of a
breeding program. Therefore we must continue to use it,
eliminating (and by that I mean “put down”) any weak or
defective foals that give us any signs of being such. All
breeders, LARGE and SMALL, must be prepared to do this! It is
our responsibility and obligation if we choose to fool with
nature. The rule of “three days, three weeks, three months” is a
pretty accurate one for observing and deciding. Additionally,
bilaterally broken down horses of any age should be culled.
The second
most important tool we need to apply within our relatively
small gene pool is to OUTCROSS the available important
bloodlines that we have. In fact, I believe that presently
we have a more diversified, wider genetic pool in the USA
than in Peru. This is not due to the fact that the USA has
the largest Registry in the world, rather that an elite
group of many outstanding horses, in particular stallions
such as Piloto, Laurel, Hercules, Mantequilla, Palomo, HNS
Domingo, AEV Cascabel, FG Candela and others, were exported
from Peru and left little or no descendants in that country
before their departure. Others born in the USA, such as
Principe de la Solana, El Palomilla, RDS Me Llamo Peru,
Antares, Soberano, etc., have made a stamp in many breeding
programs in North America. This is the reason why we are now
seeing a reversal and a select few stallions are being
imported back to Peru from the USA, Central and South
American countries. Before I raise controversy on this
subject, let me very clear: I have not said that North
America has either more nor better show horses. I am merely
expressing my opinion about the options different countries
have for breeding opportunities.
My wife and I can
tell you from our own experience that the introduction of
outside bloodlines has improved our breeding programs. First it
was through “Principe de la Solana” (Hercules x Ingrata), still
going strong at age 29. Principe crossed excellently with
predominantly Northern Cayalti x AV Sol de Paijan mares who
present only a touch of Sol de Oro (V) blood. Presently we
have“WFP El Joven Peru”, (Me Llamo Peru x Pacifica) a 9 year
old, very strong National Ch.of Ch. breeding stallion, “Oro
Blanco” a 21 year old and the last living actively breeding son
of Piloto. Each of these three excellent stallions is OUTCROSSED
and only remotely related to each other.
Nevertheless,
we should always breed a special mare to prominent stallions
other than our own if it would be a more complimentary
breeding for her. Which brings me to a third, very important
consideration in breeding: HUMILITY. Be open minded and use
other than your own bloodlines when it benefits a particular
mare. Thus we achieve a wider genetic base in our stock,
preventing degeneration such as infertility and weakness.
Many breeders proudly exhibit pedigrees of their horses,
displaying ancestors carrying the same bloodlines
intertwined with each other. As many of us have learned,
this can be a double edge sword. Often, breeders that
achieve notability become vain and refuse to use outside
bloodlines.
As well as
culling, out crossing and humility we need the other
essential tool: FOUNDATION STOCK. Quality begets quality.
Have the best possible mare you can afford instead of a herd
of lesser individuals. A mare is a precious investment. You
can upgrade by breeding her to the right stallion and get an
improved offspring, but you are going to be behind the
overall better horses if you did not start near the top. The
stallion, who is so much what people want to have, is the
least important to own. You can incorporate most stallions
into your program as they are available for breeding service
if you choose to use them.
Now, having
before us the tools of culling, out crossing, humility and
good stock, how do we continue to improve our breed as a
whole, where do we go from here? As we have in the last 50+
years, since the creation of the ANCPCPP Peru’s National
Breed Organization, we must continue to make our breed more
attractive to the equine world and therefore STRONGER, in
order to cover our deserved portion of the market.
First, let us
analyze the present situation. We have come a long way but there
is still a great deal of improvement to be made in conformation,
in particular to the REAR END of our PPH. Despite it’s lift and
termino, it is not surprising that DSLD (Degenerative Suspensory
Ligament Desmitis) manifests itself much more dramatically in
the branches of the suspensory ligaments of the hind limbs as
Dr.s Mero and Poole’s confirm in a recent report to the AAEP
(American Association of Equine Practitioners). The rear end is
the crucial area to improve in our breed at present. There are
only a select few stallions that can really help in this area.
We must use them!
Over the present
“chat lines” on the Internet, we find opinions of long
established and knowledgeable breeders coinciding that until and
IF we locate a genetic marker for the detection of DSLD,
conformational defects and/or weaknesses are the only lead that
we have to recognize susceptibility to future soundness
problems. Other people have responded that some horses break
down even though, they claim, the horse had correct
conformation. It is my experience that defects show up soon
after birth (a good reason to cull them) and then, as the
individuals grow and until they reach adulthood at 6 or 7 years
of age, their weaknesses are “hidden” or “covered” to the eye of
most viewers. Such is the case especially with the post legged
horse. We need to breed for improved angulations (not too much
and not too little), more bone that generally speaks of stronger
well wrapped joints and well proportioned hoofs.
We need horses
that are able to stand plumb and decisively under their body
mass. They must have a rather short muscular loin area, a long
and inclined croup and proper correlative ANGULATIONS beginning
at the stifle, to the hock, (slightly sickled), continuing at
the pastern, (medium to short and not too flexible or squishy)
with the hoof following the axis of the angle of the pastern
(not coon footed).
When viewed
from the rear or the front, the horse’s limbs should be
perpendicular to the ground. Whether standing or in
movement, the hoofs in the rear should touch the ground
closer together than the hoofs in the front, with the
footprints forming the figure of a trapezoid. This last
quality provides our breed with more IMPULSION from behind.
PPH that are rectangular in their footfall have less power
and when in motion, “waddle like a duck”. Such horses,
generally speaking, reach far under their body mass while in
gait but lack the DRIVE that the rear end described above
provides.
When viewed
from the side, a horse’s profile must show a front end with
rather sloped shoulder blades (allowing looseness) with
front legs that are VERTICAL to the ground.
Individuals
that stay “close to the ground” with deep bodies that
provide a lower center of gravity give our breed of horse
the ability to move in a GLIDING MODE. Long, arched, lean,
elevated, firm necks (avoiding fallen crests) with correct
insertions of the head and neck into the withers permit
NATURAL COLLECTION. This last trait makes training much
easier as the horse requires little assistance from tack
devices or the rider’s ability in order to travel elegantly
with the head up. Proper angulations, deep bodies and
elevated necks as described above are conformation traits
that allow the Peruvian Paso Horse to propel itself
elegantly in a natural manner.
The basic
requirements of a good Peruvian Horse along with
CONFORMATION (the main subject I wanted to deal with at this
time) are PISOS (*) and BRIO with GENTLE DISPOSITION. As
with other traits, brio is inheritable. An unruly horse does
not have brio, is not a desirable individual and CULLING
should be considered out of kindness to the animal as well
as the human. Not all people are kind people. It is not
different with horses and dangerous individuals should be
eliminated.
In as far as
gait, there is one “rule of thumb” that I learned from the
old master breeder Jorge Juan Pinillos. He used to say and
repeat: “Pisos mas Pisos = Pisos”. This is very true as
Pisos are recessive to Paso, a Paso is recessive to an
Ambler and an Ambler is recessive to a Trotter. I have
written before sustaining that “Pisos” is the most important
characteristic in the breeding of the PPH. I have not
changed my opinion because Pisos IDENTIFY our breed and make
a Peruvian different from other gaited breeds, be it the
ancestrally related Paso Fino or the Walker, the Islandic or
others. Conformation, brio and pisos all complement each
other. I am quoting from an article I wrote back in 1984:
“no horse has an excellent gait if it is not strong enough,
or lacks the temperament or character to sustain the paso
llano over a lengthy distance”.
Finally, I
suggest that the “Standard of the Breed” should be
re-examined in order to portray an Ideal Type for the future
and not merely a carbon copy of our present PPH. It needs to
reflect a vision, through its conformational/functional
requirements of, first and foremost, A HORSE, capable of
carrying us for many miles over many years. Many years ago,
Fito Matellini proposed that in order to obtain an ideal
type we should outcross individuals of prominent bloodlines.
In those days inbreeding and line breeding were in swing and
some of us, with disdain, referred to his suggestion as
“Fito’s Cocktail Horse”. Eventually, I followed that path.
Fito was right!
PISOS (*) An expression
used in Peru referring to the original and natural ability
in which the PPH travels by breaking it’s predominantly
lateral gait into a four beat one, showing a wide thread of
“Aires” within that motion. With smoothness and advance,
they identify themselves by the gliding-driving long and
energetic stride of their rear legs while showing body
collection and adornments in the front limbs with what is
referred to as “Termino”, elevating, extending and laterally
rotating the forearms with the forefeet returning to land
squarely under the body mass.