Just some FYI from the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association:
The Fox Trotting Horse, a pleasure and using horse, was developed in the rugged Ozark Hills to answer the needs for a horse that could carry a heavy load for long hours at a ground consuming gait and, at the same time, a gait that was easy for both horse and rider. This was a favorite horse for cattlemen, assessors, sheriffs and others who made long rides before the advent of good roads and cars; he was a using horse with an easy gait. He remains such, but too, he became a great pleasure, trail riding, endurance and show horse.
