Fox trotters

[tsum]

Have any of you guys ever ridden or had fox trotters? I picked up a 3 year old green broke mare three weeks ago and have had 9 rides on her so far and she has done great. I took her for her first trail ride up to the saddle of baldey last saturday and she did awesome. Just wondering what your thoughts are about them.

 

[foundation]

I have a buddy that I ride with who has a foxtrotter gelding . I'm pretty impressed with his horse from watching him on the 100's of miles that we have covered . All though the kind of riding we do in rough country doesn't really let that horse use his gait .

In the rough country every quarter horse I have rode has out stepped that fox trotter , but when that horse can get in his gait it sure looks smooth . I have also been pretty impressed with how level headed and calm his fox trotter is .

 

[swbuckmaster]

This is what we ride. Nice and smooth. Hands down imho way better then a quarter horse. Especially if its in shape and you want to kick it into another gear!

 

[nfh]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-05-12 AT 05:42AM (MST)[p]have had them and enjoyed them, im down to quarter horses and mules and when i ride with other people that have fox trotters they just want to cruise and its no fun for me. so i learned pick your riding groups wisely

 

[tinenut]

The last twenty years we have evolved to all Tennessee Walkers, pretty much same thing as your Fox Trotter. I have had my gelding now for twelve years, he will be 15 this spring. He is the most awesome animal I have ever been on. Loves the rough stuff, and can flat out cruise, will do any thing ask of him, even take care of the grand kids. There is not a doubt in my mind he would give his life for me if I asked for it. Like what has been said, takes lots of miles to make a great horse, and if you ride with non-gated horses /mules they will ##### all the way.

 

[Roy]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-05-12 AT 01:17PM (MST)[p]I have seen Fox Trotters and Tennessee Walkers both used in the high Rocky Mountains and while some have been great horses, it was my general experience that unless they were trained and experienced in the rocky, nasty, terrain, they weren't nearly as sure-footed as the Quarter Horses or Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred crosses we rode. I did see two Walkers that were excellent mountain horses and had about the best, easiest, and fastest gait I had ever seen in the flat ground, but my Quarter Horse mare would not suffer them to be ahead of her and wore their butts out and matched their easy gait step for step! Her half-brother was the best mountain horse I have ever seen and her mother was better than both of them. I have nothing against Trotters or Walkers but if they are trained mainly for flatland and to step out, they seem to struggle in the rocks - it is all in their training, just like any horse really. One of the Fox Trotters I was around was the worst horse I had ever seen - so clumsy it was scary, nearly killed itself, me, my horse, and his rider heading around Lakeshore Basin over Gabbro Pass to Deadman Lake one day. Of course, a lot of that was his rider too, freaking idiot, but if the horse had a lick of sense he wouldn't have put himself in that situation. He was super hard on shoes in the rocks too and was always throwing them, but he was pretty to watch on flat ground.


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[30inchbuck]

Have walkers, great on the trail, great feet. Wont get into the whole QH vs walker/foxtrotter debate cause you just can't convice the "cowboys" there is any other horse beside a QH.

It takes miles of trial, rocks, logs, water ect to make a great mountain horse. Once you get them used to it, it sure is fun!





Outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.