The Peruvian Paso Horse Magazine Vol 2 Issue 2 October 2013 | Page 6

the toe for the front feet, and should be rounded for a good breakover. The rear toes should be the
same length but slightly oval shaped at the toe. The heel bulbs should be at minimum one inch off
the round. An excellent guide to good foot care for horses is a book called Building the Equine Hoof*
by David M. Hood, DVM, PH.D., Connie K. Swenson, PH.D., A. Bruce Johnson, PH.D. (see end of
article for more information). Understanding the horse’s body makeup, its function and needs, what
makes it do what it does*, make for a more enjoyable and, needless to say, problem free ownership.
For the future of the Peruvian Horse to be ensured, it behooves the owner and breeder of this
magnificent horse to manage their breeding practices with the utmost care and diligence. Choosing
absolutely the best quality mares they can afford is paramount. This means that the mare should be
of excellent conformation, have already proven herself as a broodmare by having had at least one
foal (healthy at birth and up on its pasterns) without any breeding problems, be in excellent reproductive health (no uterine or vagina infections and good vulva conformation for ease of birth),
have distinct feminine qualities without weakness, excellent gait and feet. In all breeding operations
of any breed, the mare is the most important factor, being that she throws at least 60% of herself on
the foal, the stallion only 40%. It is the mare that teaches her offspring how to be a horse. Her
temperament must be gentle and kind with a certain joie de vivre that gives the foal his spirit. The
stallion imparts temperament also, and so he must have a good temperament as well. Breeding
must be conducted in a clean safe spot that allows for safe handling of the stallion and mare, and
safety for the handlers. No pasture breeding please. If you have a herd of 100 mares, go ahead and
pasture breed if record keeping is not important to you. Otherwise, keeping a record of all breedings
is important for recording familial lines and for registering offspring. Also, pasture breeding allows
for more possible injuries to your stallion and also to your mares by unruly stallions. For the Peruvian
Paso to endure into the future, breeders must select only the best quality animals to breed, and
breeders must understand the essence of breeding. Acquiring a good set of books about breeding
and reproduction is a worthy investment for a breeder. Only the absolute best mares must be bred
to the absolute best stallions and both should show no overt symptoms of manifestations of DSLD.
Before breeding any animals, an ultra-sound should be conducted to show no signs of suspensory
problems until a DNA test is available. If a horse is manifesting pastern or leg problems, has uneven
gait and these manifestations show up on ultra-sound the animals should not be bred. We can no
longer ignore the fact that DSLD is within this breed. It is. It is a fact. All PP’s have the possibility of
manifesting DSLD. It is undeniable. This does not mean, however, that the PP is doomed or no
good...quite the contrary. This is still undeniably one of the most exquisite horses in the world. What
must be done to maintain its viability is to breed responsibly (selecting the best animals), ensure
proper training without injury, body condition the horse prior to riding it, maintaining proper health
with proper horse feed(excellent quality hay, grain supplements if needed, checking for proper
selenium content, clean water and salt). It is imperative to maintain the proper calcium and
phosphorus content in hay. Too much calcium and you have bone troubles. Check your hay. While
maintaining good health is important it is also important to have the very best stallions and mares to
continue the breed. Luis de Ascasubi, a gentleman who understood the essence of breeding said this
about the selection of good breeding stallions: “ I sincerely believe that there are far too many
stallions being used in the breeding of the Peruvian Paso horse. It would be advisable to castrate a
large number of these sires and leave the function of reproduction to those males that are truly
worthy. To conserve an inferior stallion is to conserve that which constitutes more than dead