ARTICLES BY DON WEST

To Bounce or Not to Bounce

That is the Question

Don, I went to test ride a Peruvian Paso last spring, but didn’t think I liked the feel. I actually rode 3 different horses, each of course having their own rhythm. When I got done, I didn’t like the ride. I was so disappointed, since I thought that was the horse for me. Is it an acquired feel? Maybe I’m too old to change at 51. Will you be still selling Pasos? The horses I’ve looked at so far sell for about $5,000.00 to $7,000.00 for a 5-10 year old. Cheaper ones come with problems such as attitude, age, or physical problems. Is this typical of your prices? What is your opinion about other gaited breeds? Thanks for any info you can give me. I’ll be ordering your book, Paca Paca, A Sure Cure for the Trots: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Peruvian Paso Horses, But Didn’t Know Who to Ask soon. I’ve heard it’s really great! Jackie

Dear Jackie,

Thank you for taking the time to e-mail me, and for the interesting questions. In a very few words you were able to raise a lot of issues! I have no doubt there are many other people (just like you) who are searching for that “perfect pleasure-trail riding horse”, and are not finding exactly what they are looking for. I know from personal past experience that this search can be frustrating. First of all, remember this, it’s a lot easier to buy a horse than it is to sell a horse, so don’t be in a hurry. Most breeders don’t want to sell you their best horse for the lowest price. In fact, what they hope for is just the opposite! If you do buy one of their best, they will want to be able to cry all the way to the bank.  So, let me see if I can shed a little light on your questions, and help you in your ongoing search.

First, let me tell you about how I became involved with Peruvian Paso Horses. That may help you understand your disappointment with your first encounter with this breed. Let’s go back about twenty-five years. I was already committed to a career of being a full time professional horseman. At the time I was breeding Appaloosa horses and I wasn’t making any real money for my efforts. Feeling like I was going nowhere, I began by really defining my target market. After doing a little homework, I concluded that my best potential customers were (no great surprise)…middle-aged women! Why? They had newfound leisure time on their hands, and enough discretionary money to pursue recreational riding. I also wanted a new breed, one that would meet the needs of that selected market niche, and command a price that would give me an adequate profit after expenses. And what did they want? They wanted horses that were beautiful to behold, smooth to ride, and easy to handle, a phrase that I coined, and promptly adopted as my ranch slogan. What breed of horse would best fill their equine fantasies? Finding the answer to that questions became my next quest.

First of all, I decided that I would have to switch to some breed of naturally gaited horse. At the time I had never even ridden a gaited horse, but I had heard that they were smooth, and, after all, “smooth to ride” was one of my three most important criteria. I wrote away for literature on all the naturally gaited breeds; all the ones you mentioned in your e-mail, plus Rocky Mountain Horses, Mountain Pleasure Horses and Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, and Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses. After doing some more research, I narrowed the field down to Peruvian Pasos and Paso Finos. Why? Because both breeds were “beautiful to behold”, my most important criteria, they were naturally gaited, and even more importantly (remember, my motivation was profit), they were (at the time) quite pricey, compared to the domestic gaited breeds. In the end, I chose Peruvian Paso as “my breed”, because they were, on average, a little bigger than Paso Finos, and, even more importantly, they sold for a higher price (at the time). Remember, that was twenty-four years ago. Much has changed since then  (including me). I have learned a great deal about both life and horses, mostly in the school of hard knocks. That hard-earned knowledge would certainly effect my decision, if I had to make it again today.

Now, let me tell you about my first ride on a Peruvian Paso. He was a large, stocky palomino gelding. He was well-gaited, smooth, but somewhat lazy, compared to most paso horses. Of course I didn’t know that then, because I had nothing to compare him to. He carried me effortlessly enough, if unenthusiastically around the arena. I thought to myself: “Is this all there is to riding these horse?” You see, subconsciously I started out already pre-prejudiced against these smooth riding horses. After all, I had spent years mastering the gymnastics of walk, trot, canter equitation, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t put my hard earned skill to work on this laterally gaited, ambling breed. At that moment, I concluded that these gaited horses might be O.K. to breed for the bucks, but they’d never be my choice of a personal riding horse. Well, guess what? I was wrong! Time and age have turned the tide of my opinion. Within a few years, as I came to understand and appreciate the nuances of riding naturally gaited horses (something I now call “sit-down equitation”) I totally changed my tune (or was it changed for me?). Either way, now (at age 64) I can’t imagine myself riding anything but naturally gaited horses. And today, I can’t understand why so many people insist on riding those bouncy old trotting horses, especially when so many of them do it so poorly.

Does any of this relate to your experience? If you are going to make the bounce free transition and successfully switch from trotting to gaited horses, you are going to have to relinquish your old ideas about riding and start afresh, learning a new set of horse handling skills, and leaving your old ideas and techniques behind. To help you with this, I have written a book called Horse Handling-Horse Sense: A Practical Guide for Today’s Pleasure-Trail Riders (Especially for Naturally Gaited Horse Riders). Through that book I can be your long distance “equine success coach” – your learning leader for equine adventure.

Now, assuming that you decide to go for the smooth ride of a four beat, laterally gaited, ambling horse let me tell you the truth about gait. Horses are not like motorcycles, built on an assembly line, one after another, each one essentially the same as the last. You are not making a choice between a Honda and a Harley. No, horses are individuals; each one unique unto it’s self. In spite of the promotional material produced by the various breed promoters, horses are still individuals. Like the people who ride them, each one has its own qualities, and its own faults. If I were you, I’d take the time to read my book. That way you will have some good, basic knowledge about gait, and riding gaited horses. If you really want to get a quick, hands-on basic education, sign up for my “Come Ride With Me!” program, here at West Gait Equine Learning Center. It’s a Five-Day, Paso and Naturally Gaited Horse, Training-Trail Riding Intensive. I run these programs, each one limited to three people, during March, April and May. Armed with that new knowledge, go out and ride as many horses of as many naturally gaited breeds as possible. That way you can find the right horse to meet your dreams and expectations. Remember, it is a lot easier to buy a horse than to sell a horse – so, take your time. Always try before you buy.

Let me remind you, initially I was drawn to Peruvian Pasos primarily by their selling price. And, for a while, I made really good money in the Peruvian Paso Horse breeding and training business. Now, like it or not, the market has changed. It seems to me that most of the gaited horse breeds are bringing about the same price. In today’s market, you can expect to pay between five and ten thousand dollars for a good gaited riding gelding, regardless of the breed. The important thing is that you get the individual that will fulfill your personal fantasies. In other words, buy that special horse; the one that you really want to get on, and go out and ride. And remember, if and when you become “converted” to the paca paca gait, you will not only have to change your techniques, you’ll have to change your tack, too. Don’t let these “Johnny Come Lately” walk, trot, canter trainers and clinicians tell you that all horses are the same – can be ridden the same, and use the same saddles, tack, etc. It just ain’t true! Trust me, I had to learn this lesson for myself.  I’d like to save you from the longer learning curve and the bumps in the road that I went through to come to these conclusions.

Here at West Gait, we have heard from many of our “Intensive” participants (especially those who are fairly new to horses) that they want a horse that is a little easier going than some pureblood Peruvian Pasos tend to be. They also want a horse with a little more size and bone under them than our pureblooded Peruvian Pasos tend to have, more of a pick-up truck type horse than a Rolls Royce type horse. Over the past three years we have been out crossing our remaining pureblood Peruvian Paso mares with a Mountain Pleasure Horse Stallion. We are producing horses that we are calling Paso-Pleasure Horses. We currently have seven of these horses on hand, and another four coming this spring. Based on what we have produced to date, we are very enthusiastic about our little “experiment”. Based on your experiences to date, I hope you will not give up on gaited horses, but will expand your quest and try a wide variety of amblers, until you find the one that is just right for you. If you do that, I believe you will become a “convert” to the paca paca gait. After all, why bounce when you can float? Happy trails, Don West

Copyright © 2005 by Donald Parker West

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 Last Updated: February, 2005