WHY YOU COULD CONSIDER BUYING YOUR PASO IN THE UNITED STATES
1. The choice is much larger. In Europe some 30 foals are bred every year, in the U.S. 900. Many breeders in Europe breed for their own use, resulting in the fact that the number of foals/horses that come on the market is even more limited.
2. The breeders in the U.S. have larger herds and have longer experience. Breeding for quality and health is something that you only learn by breeding “much”. Therefore breeding with at least 10 mares and with stallions who are known to produce quality proven by the fact that they have produced many tens or hundreds of good foals…. and (!) systematically eliminating horses from breeding if the horses themselves or the results from breeding are unsatisfactory.
Multiplying horses is easy; real breeding is something else. Responsible breeders have as a breeding goal to breed Pasos that have ALL of the following characteristics:
The most comfortable gait,
AND the best possible character (nice and friendly with a lot of self-confidence)
AND prepared to willingly work for their partner,
AND strong and having the longest possible useful life,
AND with a beautiful exterior.
3. The training is done by a professional, fully employed, team. Horses spend their first years in herds and are raised by their companions and humans. The saddle training lasts 6 to 12 months; horses are first started in bozal and the bit is only applied when the horse is fully used to the bozal. So the choice is yours, whether you like to ride them with bit or bitless.
After this, horses are further ridden 2 to 4 times a week, mostly on trail.
4. We only work with some 20 breeders that meet our criteria, including natural horsemanship techniques.
5. Pasos in the U.S. are never shoed. More and more people belief that it is better for the horse legs and health not to put horseshoes on the horse. That rule is strictly applied to Pasos in the U.S.. A Paso that would enter a competition with shoes or whatever artificial object on his legs, is immediately disqualified and eliminated from the event.
6. We do not want second hand horses. We only select horses that go from the breeder to the first new owner and no horses that had one or more owners before. Not that this is always bad, but better no risk.
7. Our clients choose their Paso out of a choice of some 20+ selected Pasos. In order to do that they have to use their heart/emotion AND their brain. Our experience is that when hearth and brain are used in equal dose, people do better choices.
8. Import from the U.S. is very competitive with a European purchase, provided one would find the same quality over here. And we accompany you during the whole process.
9. We work with “open books”. Our clients know all the cost elements. The participation in our costs is a fixed amount, so that we do not have any advantage to recommend a particular horse. Key is to find the most suited Paso for a particular person.
10. Gerda and Georges have ridden some 500 to 600 Pasos on 3 continents. So we “start” to have a feeling for the breed (and the breeders).
And last but not least: people know us. Breeders in the U.S. tell us that, due to our annual trips, we know better what is happening in the U.S. than they do themselves. And we buy some 10 Pasos per year; another reason why we receive good price and quality proposals.
Remark:
1. As from 2011 we also offer the possibility for you to visit the breeder and confirm your choice.
2. Whether you buy a horse in your neighboring village or in the U.S., you will always have to take into account that the horse will need some time to adapt to you, to his new companions and to his new environment.
The time length of that adaptation will depend on his character, how much training and new experiences he already has, the amount of time you will spend with him, your communication skills, …