I have a paso fino/QH that is in the process of being broke to ride. We are on the the 2nd trainer, he scared the first one. The current trainer is on ride 15. The pony just has so much energy. He just can’t get him quiet enough to teach him anything. Does anyone have experience with this breed? Is there a method that works well with paso brains?
He is not gaited.
Not enough info. How old is this horse? What do you intend to do with him? What’s the trainer trying to do? What’s this horse eating? Turnout? Etc. I don’t have experience with Paso Finos explicitly, but with Arabians, which are also smart sensitive horses.
I would suggest a complete reset with this horse starting with an on the ground relationship building. Play games with this horse, just have fun. Make time under saddle pleasurable, go trail riding to engage his brain.
Once he’s on board and relaxed you can start adding elements to the training but until you or a new trainer can get “zen” with this horse I’m sure he’s just gonna hollow out, evade the aids, and railroad around the arena.
Also, what is the horse doing that is scary, exactly? Pasos are wonderful horses, but they do tend to have energy (of course that is a blanket statement, and my definition of energy is not the same as yours might be). Is the horse nervous and fractious, explosive, or just moving in a way that the trainers are not used to? If they are H/J trainers that only deal with “typical” breeds commonly found in our world, that could be part of the issue.
I like @MadTrotter 's suggestions for actual training process going forward. Solid advice for any horse when we don’t know all the variables. Slow, correct, confidence-building groundwork and simple, relaxed time under saddle goes a long way, especially for a greenie. I hope that can be done in your case and is helpful!
I have never heard of a non gaited Paso. They do tend to be hot, and might be better with a gaited horse trainer.
It’s a Paso/QH cross. I missed that at first, too, after reading the subject line.
Where are you located and what types of trainers are you working with?
I’m on the West Coast in a very breed-diverse area so we have good colt starters who start Andalusians, gaited horses, Saddlebreds, hot baby dressage horses, TBs, etc. I’d look for someone like that rather than a typical H/J trainer. Might be worth reaching out to local Paso people and breeders to see if they recommend anyone?
I used to own a Paso Fino mare. She could be a fire breathing dragon if she was not happy.
I was boarding at a Paso Fino breeding farm. I bought her as a weanling. When it came time to train her I followed the training method in “Training Your Horse” by Vladimir Littauer, starting with a few months of lunging to get her strong enough to carry me and to learn her voice commands. I had no problems introducing her to work under saddle, slow, consistent, with plenty of “good girl!” and gradually creeping up the reins to establish contact.
This mare was EXTREMELY feed efficient. In the summer she got maybe 2-3 handsful of grain (oats) mostly so I could put salt on it. She was also on 12+ pounds of hay, usually fescue.
I broke her in a single jointed snaffle and had some difficulties with getting reliable contact. When I switched her to a regular Kimberwick she settled down. She had a small mouth, 4 1/2" and she did not like snaffles that were too wide, though later after my car wreck I needed a little bit more handle on her when she saw some juicy grass and we ended up in a 5" Walking horse curb with loose cheeks which let her move the mouthpiece up and down some. I had to give up contact with that bit but I had a good connection with her brain every step.
This mare was ardent. She was expressive and full of brio. I had to ride her with a lot more care than I had to use with my Arabians. If she did not like your riding you were in for an adventure as she expressed her displeasure clearly, sometimes at a full gallop (not me, I could ride her like she wanted me to.)
Paso Finos have a LOT of Barb blood, hot blood, ardent, brave, PROUD and eager to go forward. Not as patient with so-so riders as my Arabians, she thought she was super special and deserved good riding.
I get the feeling from your tale that breaking this horse to saddle like one would a hunt seat QH is a BIG mistake. Part of the reason I succeeded with following Littauer is that Forward Seat is ALL about the horse going forward with impulse so I was not going against her desires to go somewhere, anywhere, just go, go, go. I ended up riding her with a light hand and she was happy with that and I had no problems controlling her at all, she was loads of fun to ride.
I’d find a trainer who specialized in horses with abuse histories. Paso’s are bright and sensitive. Someone who is adept at understanding how to stay below a threshold and the difference between calm vs shut down will be really helpful. They are very neat horses but the average trainers toolbox is going to be insufficient.
Paso Finos tend to be forward and can run hot (this is called Brio). They’re also typically very clever.
If the trainer is pushing too hard, the horse might be amping up because of the pressure. Keep it simple. Take it slow. Make it fun and reward often.
Thank you
Thank you. This is helpful. The trainer is riding him forward. I need to be committed to this as well. I hired another trainer who is able to teach him to relax and that is working on the ground, but we haven’t seen it under saddle yet. He had the winter off and goes back in May. I tried a different trainer over the winter and she will not get on him.
I would recommend looking into Buck Brannamans techniques. When there is lots of energy, you need to get to his feet to get to the mind. This means asking him to think about where his feet are and letting him use up that energy in a productive, useful way. If you have any questions, let me know 
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
