The Paso Fino breed was formed during the second voyage of Christopher Columbus to America, when the Barb and Andaluzian breeds were introduced in the continent. This horse resulted from the crossing of the Barb and Andaluzian breeds, known as the famous "Spanish Jennets" ridden by the conquerors. The Barb is one of the oldest breeds in the world and contributed to form many breeds.  The Barb horses are small, but have great endurance, agility and courage, being greatly used in wars. This breed was introduced in Spain during the Moor invasion, having there remained for almost 400 years.

They are smooth gait horses, with great endurance, rusticity and brio. The Spanish word “paso” means step and “fino” means “short”. Therefore, the name comes from their particular way of going, highly characteristic in these marvelous horses. They aren’t so big, but are strong enough to carry an adult, always gaiting with spirit and brio, as though it were proud of being a horse. The breed is friendly and easy to manage. American patriotism is one of the strongest, but the Paso Fino horse won over the American heart due to its merit, being called the “American Paso Fino”, formed from the best bloodlines imported originally from countries of Central and South America.

In the beginning, breeders coming from Spain to the "New World" were located in Central America, where they bred horses apt to survive in the new conquered continent. At that time long trips were common (about 150 Km/day) and the demand was for strong, rustic horses with a smoother gait. With these basic characteristics in mind, the breeders set to work, through artificial selection, as well as natural. It is important to emphasize that the original herds were kept isolated, without mixing with other breeds. So, the blood of the Barb and mainly of the “Spanish Jennet”, are the most present in the Paso Fino Breed. As time went by, other Paso Fino lines were formed in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Peru, all of these presenting the same original bloodlines. Occasionally, these lines have been crossbred among themselves.

However, the breeders wanted to preserve the national lines in their pure form, especially in Peru. The Puerto Rican breeders have developed a show horse with more style. The Colombians have developed a more versatile horse, having in mind cattle work. The breeders of Peru developed a horse more related to the social culture of the time, resulting in a horse with an uncommon foreleg movement, which moves up and outward. In the Dominican Republic the lineage had a less significant development taking into account the number of animals bred.

The Paso Fino horses bred in all the countries mentioned above, all showing differences in conformation, but the extremely smooth four beat lateral gait is present in all. However, in Peru, the breeders classify their horses as the "Paso Peruano", not accepting the name Paso Fino, but they must admit that the genetic basis is the same. The Paso Fino horses from Puerto Rico don’t have as refined a conformation as the ones from Colombia. But in Colombia, many breeders selected a more elevated and elegant gait, like the trot of the Andaluz, and decided to increase the percentage of this blood in their herds. The result was the creation of a breed type known as "Trochadore", and the gait named “Trocha”, is an uneven broken diagonal displacement of the pairs of legs – left fore and right hind, right fore and left hind. The fore leg touches the ground before the hind one. The “Trocha” may be a smooth gait, but the closer the diagonal pair of hooves touch the ground, the harder will the vertical jarring effects suffered by the rider be. Another type of horse developed in Colombia was the “Trocha-Galopero”. The gait is an elevated trot, intercalated by a collected canter.

In the United States, the Paso Fino breed was introduced in 1950, brought from Puerto Rico by members of the military force. Later, some horses were imported from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Peru. Direct crossbreeding among these lineages formed the American Paso Fino, under the guidance of the PFOBA, The Paso Fino Owners and Breeders Association, today named PFHA – Paso Fino Horse Association. 

There has been some criticism of the small size of Paso Fino horses, but the average height has increased lately to between 14 and 15 hands (probably due to selection), which facilitates mounting and dismounting. But there are many horses as tall as 16 hands, for those that prefer taller horses, and as small as 13 hands for those who prefer smaller horses. It is just a kind of personal preference. Even the smaller horses are able to carry big riders, like any sound and well conditioned horse is able to carry, without great effort, at least a third of its weight.

A versatile breed, today the Paso Fino is used for work in farms, shows, pleasure riding, cross country competitions, agility tests, hunting and endurance tests. Even the less experienced horses are quite tractable, presenting high trainability. Their good disposition to work and highly developed intelligence make each lesson an easy learning experience. Their main conformation characteristics and performance are described in the Breed Standard:

The Paso Fino is a light horse, of medium size, with an average height between 13 and 14 hands. The ideal gait is a perfect evenly spaced four beat, neither lateral nor diagonal. The Paso gait has three speeds, according to the level of collection, named Classic Fino, Paso Corto and Paso Largo.