The Costa Rican Saddle Horse (CRSH for short, also known as 'Costa Rican Paso Fino') is a gaited saddle breed.

Background:
The development of the Costa Rican Saddle Horse began in the 19th century, when imported Spanish-Barb and Andalusian stallions from Spain, as well as Peruvian Paso stallions from Peru, were crossed with native Costa Rican mares. The result was a gaited horse with a robust conformation, especially in its neck.

Over the course of decades, Costa Rican Saddle Horses were bred to accentuate their high knee-action, which can be as high as the middle of their chest. Today, this breed is known for its iconic high-action ambling gaits which are comfortable to ride. It used to serve as a ranch horse on cattle farms, but today it is primarily used for trekking and pleasure riding.

Gait:
The most iconic gait of the Costa Rican Saddle Horse is a rapid diagonal ambling gait, where the front leg of one side is elevated a fraction before the hind leg of the other side is elevated. At this stage, both legs are off the ground for a short moment. When both legs hit the ground, the horse elevates the front leg of the second side a fraction before they elevate the hind leg of the first side, thus having the second diagonal in the air.

Alternatively, the horse can also elevate the front leg of the second side a fraction before the first diagonal lands on the ground. After the diagonal hits the ground, then the horse elevates the hind leg of the first side.

Conformation:

In terms of conformation, Costa Rican Saddle Horses have a massive neck that resembles the neck of an Andalusian. The head is of medium length, broad at the forehead and tapers to a smaller muzzle with large nostrils. The eyes and jaws are large, and the profile is straight. The neck is arched, extremely muscular and thick, and of medium-length. The back is short, the croup is rounded, and the tail is often held slightly high (though not higher than the croup.) The girth is deep, and the body is broad and muscular. The mane and tail are straight and are medium or long in length.

Performance metrics:
The following are the: range, average, (SD), and MOE of performance metrics of ordered Costa Rican Saddle Horses in Horse Isle (not bred ones). In rare cases, horses might have metrics outside of the range. Breeders can produce horses that are beyond this range.

Speed: 15.2-16.2, 15.7 (0.3), 0.05.
Sprint: 51-64, 57 (3), 0.54.

Accel: 0.98-1.19, 1.07 (0.05), 0.01.
Decel: 1.01-1.14, 1.08 (0.03), 0.01.

Jump: 5.01-5.27, 5.14 (0.06), 0.01.
Pull: 2.38-2.99, 2.65 (0.13), 0.02.

Turning: 58.31-71.86, 65.16 (3.18), 0.62.
Reverse: 2.7-3.4, 3.1 (0.1), 0.03.

Stamina: 46.19-51.00, 48.49 (0.99), 0.19.
Reaction: 0.70-0.79, 0.75 (0.02), 0.00.

Coats & Height:

Colors: mostly bay, grey, and dominant-white. The colors of chestnut, brown, and black exist but to a lesser extent.
Additionals: flaxen, roan, sooty, rabicano, all rare patterns. The coat is either solid, frame-overo, or sabino, including sabino-1.
Height: 14.1hh to 15.1hh