What the Beck???
Field
of Dreams – “Iggy"
Ignacio, or "Iggy" as we like to call
him, is a 17 year old, 14.2 hands high Paso Fino gelding (see below), with an incredible
forelock and mane. He has a sweet temperament, loves attention and is adjusting
well to life at FOD. Iggy came to FOD overweight and having experienced a
slight case of founder this spring. As a result, his diet and
insulin levels are being carefully monitored and our farrier and
veterinarian are working together on the care of Iggy's hooves. Very soon, Iggy
will begin working with our trainer to get back into shape and ready for a life
of trail or pleasure riding with a new owner.
Iggy is so much more beautiful than this photo shows him to be. He is the sweetest horse in the barn. He is gentle and would be a great addition to any home.
According to the
Field of Dreams website:
https://www.fodonline.org/
The Paso Fino’s
journey to the Americas began more than 500 years ago with the importation of
Andalusians, Spanish Barbs from North Africa, and smooth-gaited Spanish Jennets
(now extinct) to the “New World” by Spanish Conquistadors. Bred for their
stamina, smooth gait, and beauty, “Los Caballos de Paso Fino” – the horses with
the fine walk – served as the foundation stock for remount stations of the
Conquistadors. Centuries of selective breeding by those who colonized the
Caribbean and Latin America produced variations of the “Caballo de Criollo,” among
them the Paso Fino that flourished initially in Puerto Rico and Colombia, and
later, in many other Latin American countries (primarily Cuba, the Dominican
Republic, Aruba, and Venezuela).
Descendants
of the Conquistadors’ horses are believed to have spread into North America
after the Spanish soldiers forayed for a brief time into this territory. The
modern-day mustang has traces of his Spanish forbears. The Nez Perce Indian
tribe, renowned for their expert horsemanship and sophisticated knowledge of breeding
spotted horses, may have mixed some Spanish stock into their famous Appaloosas,
whose name is derived from the Palouse River region of the Nez Perce’s tribal
homeland in Oregon.
Awareness of
the Paso Fino as we know it today didn’t spread outside Latin America until
after WWII, when American servicemen came into contact with the stun¬ning Paso
Fino horse while stationed in Puerto Rico. Americans began importing Paso Finos
from Puerto Rico in the mid-1940s. Two decades later, many Paso Fino horses began
to be imported from Colombia. For a while, there was some contention as to
which country produced the “true” Paso Fino. Though there are still some
self-professed “purists” who advocate for one or the other country, the
American Paso Fino - true to our “melting pot” tradition - is often a blend of
the best of Puerto Rican and Colombian bloodlines.
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