Missouri Fox Trotter people where are you?

I just got a Missouri Foxtrotter in December. She's amazing. They can canter but right now I'm working mainly on the flatwalk and Missouri Foxtrot. She has great gaits and is getting much better but tended to go in and out (speeding and slowing,) so I'm working on staying in each for long periods but bumping lightly on the bit when she tries to speed up and encouraging lightly on the sides when she tries to slow. I'm riding in a snaffle w/ shank. Going on straight harder (so streets) surfaces is amazing because you can hear the rhythm. When they are in the flatwalk they are supposed to have a very animated headshake and in the Foxtrot a slightly less animated headshake- both with good even rhythm. I've put bells on her bridle to hear the rhythm and watch for the headshake. Getting her in a very relaxed environment is great! You can also feel the rear moving in the trot and the front in the flat walk during the foxtrot so it is faster and slightly bumpier but you still don't move up and down but the rise and fall of the rear will cause more forward backward movement in your own lower body. You can definitely feel the difference in each gait! I'm really loving this breed!

MFT have some of the sweetest personalities. I've had mine for 7 years and he is one of the best horses I've known. He will go through anything and has such a personality! And you've got it right- as long as you develop their gaiting muscles and don't let them pace, you can canter as much as you want (trust me, you will want to do it all the time). To develop the muscles you can back them up a hill while you're on the ground, or tickle their belly and get them to raise their back to help strengthen their back muscles. This helps round and tuck their butt under so they gait more smoothly. They are a fun breed to ride and are very willing and sweet.
If you question saddle fitting, just make sure you get one with lots of room at the whithers and shoulder to make room for their shoulder muscles to glide under the saddle. This will help prevent the gait from being choppy and make it easier on your horse.
Enjoy your foxtrotter!!

What a beautiful horse! I have been looking for 6 months or so for a MFT. Where did you find her?
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Hi everyone...thanks so much for the feedback. I've finally decided on a name for my boy-Gideon. It just works with his blue eyes. I took him out for another ride. He is definitely getting stronger. It's amazing how sure footed he is. We went places I would NEVER try to go with my QH but just just seems to tippy toe though it.

The second ride I was actually going with another stud and mare. I was VERY nervous and expected problems but both the boys behaved like gentlemen.

The third ride we took the mare out. Gideon did fantastic, but this mare who is a very expensive and highly trained barrel horse and usually very well behaved, was being...well marish. Little hussy kept calling to him and throwing her tail up. Tramp. But my Gideon just nayed back a bit and otherwise ignored her. I was proud.

I've started him on weight builder and a little beet pulp. He isn't so sure about the beet pulp and tries to throw it out of his bucket but eventually eats it. His ribs aren't showing anymore, if I can just get his hips and back to fill out more I'll be happy. Pictures to come soon...providing I can get him to quit rolling everytime I bathe him. Right now you'd never guess he is a cremello he looks like a mudpie.

Try mixing something sweet in with the beet pulp- my mft mare hated it at first and then I added a little bit of sweetness, like some apple juice or molasses but only a teeny bit as to not sugar overload and then eventually wean out the sweet stuff and they will eat regular beet pulp.

Take photos anyways! We don't care if he looks like a mudpie or a cloud :)

Hi from TX! I have a blue-blooded registered MFT gelding who turned 10 this year. I've had him since he was 6. He is a big 16hh boy, dapple gray and is just wonderful. He's got a really quiet and well-behaved disposition and doesn't have the big motor that my TWH has. He is one of the ones that can do several different gaits (once conditioned) but cantering is not his best - he just has to be conditioned to do it. To be honest, his intermediate gaits are all I need - I often ride him with my 3 yr old daughter and we can cruise along for hours and still pass people up. He was black with a white blaze when he was born, and he is slowly graying out. He's 10 this year and the perfect horse calendar model if you ask me! LOL!



Congrats on your new boy! I'm glad you are having so much fun with him. I hope you've been taking lots of pictures. It will be neat to go back a year from now and look at the before and after to see how far you've come!

OP how about some photos?

Heddo and Clipy clop yours are beauties!

I just purchased a MFT gelding and love him. I had never been on a gaited horse before, and fell in love. Now that I am getting older I really appreciate the smooth ride. Once you go gaited you never go back.

I will now try to post a picture.

Pictures OP, we need them!

I had a gaited mare a few years back. I had her for 6 years I think before she passed away. To my knowledge, she was just a grade gaited mare. Just something that was smoother than a trot, you know. But looking at your pictures and reading about their gait, I have to say... I think she might have been a Missouri Fox Trotter. Whenever she gaited she had a very animated head movement and her butt would rise and fall. It wasn't like a pace like other gaited horses I had rode - It was more like a fast walk. And I can understand how great it sounds JoyReaper when you are on the roads. I loved riding the roads with my girl to hear the sound of her hooves. :)

She seems to have the same build as the horses in everyone else's pictures. But, again, I am just guessing, lol
(this is a picture of her right after she first started getting sick, so don't comment on her body condition please)