Tennuvian:
1/2 Peruvian + 1/2 Tennessee Walking Horse = Tennuvian
By Rhonda Hart


Plug the word "Tennuvian" into any search engine on the Internet and you get a lot of responses, but many of them are either outdated or lead to expired pages. So is this really a breed or what?

The answer of course, depends on your definition of “breed,” and yes there is more than one, even among academics. But at least one version includes breeds in the making; which is definitely where the Tennuvian fits in.

Spotted Tennuvian, PAQO GGF (THE FIRST AURORA, GGF [cremello tobiano Tennessee Walking Horse/Spotted Saddle Horse-son of GENERATOR’S AURORA] X ESTRELLITA DEL LANCERO, both owned by Wendy Morton, Golden Gaits Farm, middle TN) and his dam.

Many breed purists cringe at the thought of cross breeding, but others - as well as most scientists - acclaim the offspring of such crosses as superior in many traits, and generally stronger as a result of hybrid vigor. Such was the inspiration of one woman as she chatted with other horse breeding friends one day in 1991.

Breeder’s Perspective
Veterinarian and horse breeder Wendy Morton has raised one Tennuvian foal per year from her “very hot and non-friendly” Peruvian Paso mare, ESTRELLITA DEL LANCERO, and either a Spotted Saddle Horse or Tennessee Walking Horse stallion. She reports, “Each foal has been somewhat cautious of people – much more so than our [Walking Horse] foals. Once you earn their trust, they are very willing to please and to learn. They seem to prefer certain people and many of our Tennuvian foals prefer men for some reason.”

At the time, Paula Bonser was raising American Quarter Horses. While visiting the home of a Peruvian Paso breeder the conversation turned to crossbreds. The Peruvian breeder claimed that her stallion threw gait even when bred to non-gaited mares. Someone else brought up Tennessee Walking Horses, and another owner piped up that her mother had a Walking Horse/Peruvian Paso cross and “it had the best gait imaginable”. That’s when Paula asked why there wasn’t a registry for the cross, and all present agreed that there should be. So Paula took it upon herself to start the Tennuvian Horse Registry.

Showing off his gaits (right). A Tennuvian riding horse in gait.

There are about 100 registered Tennuvians in the US, with more unregistered. Accepted crosses for registration are Tennessee Walker to Peruvian Paso, Tennuvian to Peruvian Paso, Tennuvian to Tennessee Walker and Tennuvian to Tennuvian.

Tennuvians have been lauded as trail horses, and can be shown in open breed shows. Gaits are smooth, generally leaning towards the square (neither lateral nor diagonal) running walk/paso llano, with little to no termino. Any color, including pinto, is acceptable into the registry. Ms. Bonser points out that though pintos are not registerable in Peruvian associations they are welcome in the Tennuvian registry. “A popular cross is a spotted Walker with a Paso producing a spotted Tennuvian, ” she says. Size averages around 14 to 15 hands high.

QORI (GENERATOR’S AURORA [palomino tobiano/sabino Model World Champion
TWH/SSH]) X ESTRELLITA DEL LANCERO [solid chestnut Peruvian Paso], both owned by Golden Gaits
Farm, TN) is available for sale. Learn more here.

One reason some breeders cite for out-crossing is to avoid any chance of perpetuating DSLD (Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis, now more accurately known as ESPA, or Equine Systemic Proteoglycan Accumulation, which takes into account symptoms beyond those involving the suspensory ligaments). Other reasons for out-crossing include adding more substance and size to Peruvian offspring, while tempering down the disposition. Offspring is typically bigger than the Peruvian parent, with thicker skin and coat and less sensitivity to cold.

For more information contact:

Paula Bonser, Founder
Tennuvian Horse Registry
18443 Moorhaven Drive
Spring Hill, FL 34610
(352) 797-9996.