Missouri fox trotter
Missouri fox trotterMissouri Fox Trotter, the common man's pleasure horse, is both versatile and well-mannered. They are best known for their pleasant gaits and surefootedness. According to the Missouri Fox Trotter Horse Breed Association, this is a "horse of all talents." ("The Winning Combination")
The Missouri Fox Trotter Horse should stand fourteen to sixteen hands high (approximately seven to nine feet tall) and able to carry weight. All colors are accepted including pinto and albino, and they usually have white markings. A strong saddle horse, compact and up to weight, its head is attractive and alert, tapering to a small muzzle. (Edwards, Larousse Guide , 196) The withers are pronounced; the back is short and straight; the croup muscular and rounded; the tail set rather high; the chest broad and deep; the shoulders sloped and muscular. The legs are sturdy and well muscled. (Hendricks, 286)
Its uniqueness lies in its ability to execute the strange gait known as the Fox-trot. The Fox-trot is when the horse walks with the front legs and trots with the hind legs. A more technical description is: the horse hits with its hind foot shortly before the diagonal forefoot lands.(Brady, p 50-53) This gait achieves speeds between five and ten mph. The other two natural gaits are the long easy-going flat foot walk and the delightful rocking horse canter.
The Missouri Fox Trotting horse was developed in the rugged Ozark hills about one hundred sixty years ago by the settlers who needed a horse to plow, haul logs, work cattle, and be a stylish buggy horse or riding horse for the family. The pioneers who streamed across the Mississippi River to settle in the Ozarks came mostly from Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.(Hendricks, p285) Naturally, they brought horses that were popular in those areas: Thoroughbred, Arabian, Morgan, and Plantation horses. Later American Saddle horse, Standardbred and Tennessee Walkers were added to improve form and disposition....
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