THE MISSOURI FOXTROTTER: THE ULTIMATE OUTFITTING HORSEBy Gary Hubbell
If you would ask any of the old ranchers around here which horse is appropriate for the Colorado Rockies, nine times out of ten you’d hear “A good stout quarter horse” as the response. That may be true if you own cows. Personally, the only interaction I wish to have with cattle is between my silverware and a good steak. Actually, quite often we help our neighbors gather their cattle in the high country, and still the foxtrotters do a great job of covering the country and digging cows out of the brush.
Missouri foxtrotters were bred for the long haul. Anyone who has ridden a nice gaited horse can tell you that it’s a very pleasant experience. In a racking or pacing gait, a gaited horse keeps one foot on the ground at all times. This makes for a beautifully smooth ride, one where you can sit at the speed of a fast trot, stirring sugar in your iced tea, and never spill a drop. Smooth is good, particularly when you’re taking dudes out on their first horseback ride. So what is a Missouri foxtrotter, exactly? Well, according to the lore that comes out of the Ozarks, the breed was developed in the latter half of the 1800’s, using the best qualities of four outstanding breeds: 1) the Morgan horse, known as a good cow horse, tough and strong, relatively small in size, and capable of long days of hard work; 2) Arabians, known for outstanding endurance, intelligence, and great looks; 3) the quarter horse, with its reputation for durability, cow sense, and hard-working attitude; and lastly, the Tennessee Walking Horse, which contributed the easy temperament and beautiful flowing gait. At first glance, a well-built “breed conformation” Missouri foxtrotter will look a lot like a quarter horse, standing between 14.2 and 15.1 hands, with a stout shoulder, deep neck, big hip, and attractive head, weighing between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds. At closer inspection, however, you’ll see that the tail is set higher on the croup and foxtrotters often have a curly tail. The neck resembles a Morgan, deeper and thicker than a quarter horse, and some foxtrotters have a roman nose. They run the gamut in color, ranging from common colors such as sorrel, bay, and chestnut, to grey, buckskin, palomino, liver chestnut, dun, and pinto. So how do they work in the mountains? GREAT! The biggest problem we had with Missouri foxtrotters in our outfitting business was keeping them in our herd, because people kept showing up with big fat checks to buy them out of our string. As a breed, we found them easy to train and introduce to the job. They’re easygoing and don’t take things personally if you make a mistake as a trainer. They like to work and they like to go. We found them easy to catch, easy to handle, and a LOT OF FUN to ride. Every horse breed has its detractors. People told us that gaited horses are clumsy in the mountains and will eventually break down with a lot of use. We found it to be just the opposite. Our foxtrotters were our most dependable and durable horses, next to our Arabians. If I didn’t keep a close eye on our wranglers, they’d use the foxtrotters on long day rides, day in and day out, because they were durable and capable of hard use, and when our heavy-hitter guests got off the horse at the end of the day, they’d hand a big fat tip to the wrangler because they enjoyed the ride so much. I had to insist that they give the foxtrotters a rest from time to time, because there were other horses in the string that weren’t doing nearly as much work. Our mares worked just as hard or harder than our geldings. We had one sorrel mare with a plug-ugly roman nose that was truly one of the most wonderful horses you would ever ride, silky smooth in her gait, and absolutely durable and dependable. I remember one time having a hard time rounding up the herd in the morning, so I caught Franzi and gathered the whole herd and pushed them across the Crystal River riding Franzi bareback using a halter and leadrope. I’ve never had a smoother ride, and we were working at a fast pace. Now let’s talk about cows and riding in the high country. Last fall my friend Jim Deutsch asked Doris and I to ride with him onto his grazing permit on Kebler Pass to gather the last few cows off the mountain before the winter snows came. I chose to ride Rebel, our liver chestnut foxtrotter gelding. I put 25 miles on that horse at 10,000 feet in elevation that day, and still had gas in the tank at the end of the day. A well-broke foxtrotter will follow a cow just as well as 90% of the quarter horses out there, and you have a smooth-riding horse that will minimize the wear and tear on your body. I felt great at the end of the day. True, a foxtrotter isn’t your best choice for roping, team penning, or barrel racing, but for all-around ranch work, they’re an excellent choice. Foxtrotters seem to command more money in the marketplace. All their desirable attributes add up to more $$$$. A well-broke, nicely aged seven- or eight-year-old gelding will usually bring at least $5,000. If he’s got some chrome on him, such as a pinto or buckskin color, prices will often start at $8,000. It’s not uncommon to see nicely broke foxtrotters bring close to $10,000. |
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Just last week, in the middle of January, a woman called us up to book a horseback ride with our stables in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. “I hear you have Missouri foxtrotters,” she said, “and I wondered if we could ride them this time of year.” After a pleasant two-hour ride with her husband and children, she remarked, “Well, you sure didn’t steer us wrong on the horses. They’re the best we’ve ever ridden.”
For an outfitting business, however, it’s my opinion that the Missouri foxtrotter makes the ultimate horse. Just so you understand where I’m coming from, let me describe my former life as an outfitter. My wife, Doris, and I used to run an outfit that offered hour rides, day rides, overnight pack trips, flyfishing trips, and elk and mule deer hunts on over 120 square miles of the Maroon Bells/Snowmass and Raggeds wilderness areas in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. We owned a mixed herd of 38 horses--some just good old grade geldings, but others reflecting our various interests in horses. Today we’re down to just 22 head! We have several registered paints, half a dozen or so registered quarter horses, another half dozen registered Arabians, and a half dozen gaited horses—including four Missouri foxtrotters. In 2006, for example, we hosted over 1,100 horseback riders. In the fall, we outfitted 55 elk and deer hunters on week-long trips. All camps and gear had to be packed in by pack train, and all access is by horseback or on foot. 
Why is that? Well, for one thing, Americans have become bigger people in the last decade or two. Personally, I stand 5’10” and weigh 170, and my wife is 5’8” and weighs 130. We both prefer horses that stand between 14.2 and 15 hands tall, and we have had several outstanding horses that were only 14 hands. We really like Arabians, those finer-boned horses that often top out at 900 pounds. But when our clients are 6’2” and 230 or 5’11” and 250, the smaller horses just can’t handle the load over the long run.