working mules

Mules are commonplace for work and pleasure riding in many parts of South America.

Here is a video clip from Brazil, showing how to do a neat tail knot on a mule. I wish my Portuguese was good enough to understand what he's saying. But it's interesting all the same. Enjoy!

And here is a video of someone's saddle and gear collection. I believe this is all gear for mules. Some beautiful stuff.

green broke

Pretty good advice right here, for when your young horse comes back from the breaker.

tiger eye

I had noticed that several of our Paso Fino horses have very interesting eyes. Distinctly amber or lighter.

Here is a picture of Zara (AuSome Zarzuela by Don Cristobal Mako out of La Tentacion Mako), taken by Yvonne in December 2010:

The next photo shows Guajira (AuSome Guajira by Don Cristobal Mako out of Guanatanamera de la Raza). She was with us to be started under saddle a few years ago, when Yvonne took this picture. Guajira is now in NZ.

We have couple of other mares with similar eyes. It has always struck me as unusual and interesting. By coincidence (I was flogging google for other information), I came across an article about "Tiger eye" on a NZ website. It describes how "A researcher in the US has received a grant to study the genetics of "tiger eye" in Paso Fino horses". Quite interesting.

It is mentioned that tiger eye has a recessive pattern of inheritance. I have too small a sample of horses to draw any useful conclusions in that respect, but my observations agree with this this. Zara's sire Cali had dark eyes, so did her dam. Her full sister also has normal eyes. Two halfs sister out of another mare, however, have the tiger eye, and you can also see it in their dam. Some eyes are not as obviously yellow, but rather more like a dark amber, but close up, it is still pretty distinct.

I will see if I can find more photos with interesting eyes.

RIP Jorge

It feels like the end of an era to me. I received the sad news over the weekend. My friend Jorge de Moya passed away.

His uncompromising search for excellence, his vast knowledge of the Paso Fino breed and thorough understanding of the mechanics of gaited horses became inspiration and guidance for me. We were both too stubborn and opinionated to agree on everything, but from spirited discussions came better understanding for me. I had the pleasure of working for Jorge and taking care of his OliVaylle horses for several years. We always remained friends even after our paths diverged. He was generous to a fault. He was in love with his horses and even when his riding years were over, he never lost his passion for them. Paso Finos were in his blood from his youth, being a native of Cuba. However, he was never breed blind, and was able to appreciate and admire a good horse of any breed or colour.

Many years ago, Jorge did some ground breaking research into the gaits of the Paso Fino, and produced a video called "What is my Gait?". Unfortunately, not many good copies of this remain. This video is the best I have seen to clear up some myths and misunderstandings about the four beat gait of Pasos (and other horses). It was the first time I heard the term "isochronal" in the context of gait. Yet, it perfectly describes the ideal we seek for in a gaited horse: an even-timed four beat gait. Neither lateral nor diagonal.

He was an accredited judge for Paso Finos and wrote several articles about the gaits. His particular passion were the Puerto Rican Paso Finos. I understand that he was instrumental in bringing Alicante to North America, and he, together with Betty Klein, bred Paso Fino horses with the famous "Mako" postfix for many years.

Jorge was the first person to bring Paso Finos to Australia. He bred horses under the "AuSome" prefix. Aside from Paso Finos, he had Peruvian Pasos, Andalusians and Australian Stockhorses. We were of a like mind when it came to mixing the blood of some of these breeds to produce superior gaited riding horses, and both OliVaylle and Narrawin went down that road.

Sadly, when Jorge became ill, the horses had to be sold. I was able to help place many of them. I also acquired some of his Paso Fino and Paso Creole horses, which are now integral part of our stud.

The last time I saw Jorge, we picked up a float full of his best horses. He was happy to see them go home with me, but I could see it was breaking his heart.


Rest in peace, Jorge.

I will promise I will keep taking Chewie out for rides while he's fit and well. While I can no longer tell you the funny stories about Chewie's adventures, I will certainly be thinking of you.

you beaut new riding horse

Update on Rorion... We didn't do much during the week because I didn't have time. The only free morning I had was taken up by holding horses for the farrier. But yesterday, we took out Rorion for his first proper (if very short) ride on the road and into the forest.

He did fantastic. He is such a cool kid :-)  Here he is in perfect gait (s'cuse my chair seat...):

 Photo by Yvonne, who was riding Flamenca (hence the 'elevated' position of the photographer).

He never put a foot wrong and he's now going to have a good holiday to grow up some more. After all, he is only four and a half years old and by no means ready for continuous work. But I'm so happy with how he went and he'll be a breeze when we bring him in again in summer. That one might be a keeper.

beauty is as beauty does....

We've got this youngster at home. He's well bred. But he is a cross of two very slow maturing breeds, so he is still gangly and unfinished at over four years old. Depending on when you look at him, he doesn't seem to fit together sometimes. And due to one of the breeds which is responsible for 1/2 of his pedigree, he is a hairy s.o.b. as soon as the weather turns cool :-)

He was a spectacular foal, but he's been ugly as sin ever since. My friend thought I'm mad when I said I have high hopes for him, and she fell in love with his elegant (if still hairy) half brother. She couldn't stand the sight of this young fellow. I will agree, on a beauty scale of 1 to 10 for horses, he'd be a 1.5 :-) It didn't help that he rubbed his forelock off, and just had this jagged stubble of fur between his ears. I actually cut it to the same length of stubble, which looked mildly less bad.

But... we brought him in to start him. She thought that's great because then he becomes a saleable item and she won't offend her eyes by having to see him much longer. But... what transpired is that he's one of the easiest, calmest, most sensible horse critters we've ever started. He's also very well gaited. His solid body and sloping croup look none too appealing out in the paddock. But put a saddle on him and ask him to step out... Whoa! What self-carriage! He steps under well and his has a lot of natural action as well.

Suddenly there is no more talk of wanting to see the back of him. He has impressed everyone with his personality and his movement. He is a delight to work with. And when he moves, he is beautiful.

May I present .... Rorion NS:

In case you are wondering what his breeding is? He is by an Icelandic stallion out of a Peruvian Paso mare. In Germany, these are known as Aegidienberger horses. Here, we would call him a Paso Creole.

Next summer, when he has shed that winter coat and is another year closer to maturity, he will look as nice as he is inside.

saddle testing

We are currently testing a treeless Hidalgo Valencia II. First impressions are very good. I will post a report and pictures soon.

The saddle is sold in Australia by Horse Connections.