Vikingo del Los Angeles, a Paso
Fino stallion, left; Flair, a grade Icelandic
gelding, right. Flair is at position five of the
rack. Vikingo's canter is highly collected
with a tight, fast beat.
A stallion who is a good step father.
Pintura de Don Francisco, a Paso Fino mare,
left; Flaming V's Sunflower (Sunny), a Horse of
the Americas Spanish mustang filly, right. Both
are cantering.
Video of Vikingo herding Sunny and Red, her
adopted Thoroughbred colt.
Here they are all at a relaxed speed. Flair is
rackingwhile the rest are doing three-beat or
four-beat canters.
Flair has burst into a gallop and taken the lead.
Sunny is in postition two of the canter, while Vikingo
is, as usual for a Classic Fino at high speed, is doing
an odd sort of four beat gait.
Detail of Vikingo from the photo above.
This is not a perfect canter ( a three beat
gait), but rather a four beat canter,
common among gaited horses. His right
forefoot (the lead) is just leaving the ground,
going into suspension. In a perfect canter,
the left hind leg would be landing just now.
Detail of Vikingo, from photo above. He is
going into suspension off his right hind foot,
whereas to the left we see him going into
suspension off his right forefoot. Although
he is faster in this picture, I think he isn't
galloping (a four-beat gait) because his head
is so high.
Pintura is at position two of the canter,
Vikingo at position five.
Sunny is a position one of the canter and Pintura
at position five. Flair is pacing, halfway between
postiions four and five.
Pintura is at position one of the saddle rack. She's racking and swishing her tail to remind Vikingo
that she is already pregnant, so he'd better not get any ideas.
Pintura and Vikingo, a happy horse couple. People who raise Spanish gaited
horses say that the stallions are often so kind that they are safe to leave
with mares and foals.