It's hard, if not impossible to critique conformation without him standing square on level ground. He looks a nice sort, but lacking muscle and top line which make him look ewe necked and hollow backed.

 

What kind of work would be required to get him more filled out?
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I'm guessing he's not in much work?

I would start riding him and encouraging him to stretch long and low which will stretch his back muscles. Make sure he is warmed up and ask him for large, sweeping figures of eight until he is relaxed and softened. Then ask for a collection, encouraging him forward into the bridle but also containing the energy and hold for a couple of strides then extend back into the long and low position.

You need to get him working from his hindquarters and become more balanced, which concentric circles, figures of eight, serpentines, lateral work shoulder in, etc will all help with.

When he is working well is those exercises, introduce pole work and then raised pole work. There are so, so many exercises you can do with poles. Again, make sure he is stretching long and low on a contact.

Also make sure that he is being fed appropriately to help with muscle development.

 

He looks very typical of Paso Finos that I have seen. I bet he's an easy keeper, right? He is a bit chubby, but that is the way they often are. His back is flat and does lack muscle but the flat back is normal. Since they gait, they will tend to utilize their neck a lot more than non gaited breeds and their back a bit less (it tends to stay more rigid). Working up and down hills and over trot poles and cavaletti will help to build the topline. Having them stretch down , if possible, is helpful , too, but once you start gaiting, they cannot do that.

The only conformational fault I can see is that the neck is a bit sunk down in it's under part. I mean, where it leaves the shoulders, it bulges downward a tiny bit. This probably is the curve of the neck bones themselve (the neck is shaped like a snake, kind of, with two "C" curves and this one bulges out/downward a bit. )

The face if very pretty and though he seems a bit light of bone, he looks nicely built to me.

 

Yes, he is an easy keeper. His owner rides him a couple times a week if the weather is nice, almost always in an arena. I doubt that she knows how to really to get him to tuck his neck, push him into the bit, collect, or prevent him from gaiting.

And every gaited horse I have seen just seemed to have a completely different build and structure in comparison to non-gaited horses.
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Is it just me or is anyone else seeing over at the knee, sickle hocked, large in the head, long cannons and roach backed, AS WELL as the incorrectly muscled neck?

I am not a gaited horse person so I am judging this horse purely on what is considered correct for MOST breeds of that build.

 

I am not a gaited horse person either, but I have seen a few gaited horses, and their body structure is quite different from non gaited horses. I also know that they make saddles especially for the gaited breeds. Although I don't know if this is for fitting a typical back found on gaited horses or for some other reason. Met a young Paso Fino about a year ago that had a large lump on her spine (about where the back of a saddle would sit) as well as having a roach back. Although the lump was more likely an injury caused from being ridden in an average western saddle.
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I have a Paso Fino-they are not going to look like a QH! The whole point to having a gaited horse is to enjoy their gait, ,but that might just be my opinion,& I'm not trying to tell anyone else how to ride their horse. Hope the right buyer comes along & can appreciate him for what he is.

 

My little mare has a short back, so I only ride her in my Aussie Saddle, & hse does great w/that. It does look like the OP's pictures show that the saddle may be a bit too long for him.

 

this is an image of a Paso taken from the web. This one is conformed better, but you can still see some of the breed specific characteristics.


Don't know why that copied in so huge! Sorry.

 

Not sure that is actually better, it has some weird lumps that disrupt a smooth line (a sudden bulge on the top of the neck and a strange looking dip right above the tail). Is it a Paso Fino or a Peruvian Paso? They are completely different breeds with their own very different characteristics.
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The bump at its' tail is a muscle build-up from using a crupper too much, not a conformational issue.

 

I have used cruppers before, and I can only imagine that kind of rump shape being caused by seriously tight cruppers that pull the tail itself up. Causing permanent damage to the horse. The actual purpose of a crupper is to prevent the saddle from sliding forward, just like a chest collar's purpose is to keep the saddle from sliding back. Not super loose, but not tight fitting either. Use of tack shouldn't cause deformities, only the improperly fitting and used ones do.
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I'd love to see more pictures of him squared up. My Paso could pass for a QH, but he still has the defining characteristics of the Paso Fino. Is it possible you can take a picture of him from the side?

 

Your boy is cute
I can ask his owner if she could take some more pictures. I really wish that I could just fly out to Tennessee I do it myself, LOL! But, I may end up trying to explain squaring up, on level ground, with the camera directly centered and such all while talking on the phone. Could lead to some interesting results. Have yet to get my mom to do it right and she has owned horses almost her entire life, and was her school photographer back in the day
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dont mean to be mean, but are you not riding that horse with a saddle pad????

 

Not my horse, not my tack. I really don't know any more about his tack they use other than he bit reins bit a snaffle bit. LOL! It could be a bareback pad or a gaited saddle (never actually seen one in person, but I know they exist) for all know. Never seen the horse in person, he belongs to a friend of my mom's (they have been friends for longer than I have lived) and I live across the country. So you can say all the "mean" things you want and I will just laugh because the owner has only the actual horse ownership experience of the time she has owned her Paso Fino. LOL! Which is why she also doesn't ride well, I don't think she has ever received proper riding lessons
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i wasnt trying to be mean at all! I just was a little worried for the horse is all. Even if it is a gaited saddle you still use a saddle pad. It is deffinalty a saddle not a bareback pad

 

Fairly typical of breed. They naturally have a leaner muscle type that is endurance oriented so don't expect muscle growth like a Quarter Horse. Slightly upright blade. The rear cannons do appeart to be a little off line although that may be the surface.