About Missouri Foxtrotters

The Missouri Fox Trotter, or "Trotter" for short, is an American breed of horse with a unique four-beat gait. They were bred in the Ozark mountains for their smooth, comfortable ride and great endurance.

The breed is best known for its unique gait, known as the fox trot,a four-beat diagonal gait in which the horse appears to walk with its front legs and trot with its hind.The gait, however, is not a mixed patter of footfalls, it has a clear pattern of diagonal foot movement where the front foot hits the ground split-second before the opposite rear foot. The head shakes in unison with the rhythm of the gait. The tail perfectly balances the movements of the head.

In the early 19th century, when pioneers came to the rugged foothills of Missouri from Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky, they soon realized that a horse with a natural four beat gait would be ideal for the rocky and forested land. Farmers selectively bred for the gliding fox trot by blending American Saddlebred, Standardbreds, and Tennessee Walkers with the Morgan, Thoroughbred and Arabian. An early breeding policy was to use horses that had reached fast running speeds.

Lazy Saguaro Ranch Missouri Fox Trotters come from the very pedigrees, which include many of the foundation stock for disposition, gait and conformation.