Product name : Trotter horse

Item : H-02

• Breed characteristics

Missouri Fox Trotters stand 14 to 16 hands (56 to 64 inches, 142 to 163 cm) high, and weigh between 900 and 1,200 pounds (410 and 540 kg). Begun in 2004, the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association also maintains a separate registry for fox trotting ponies standing between 11 and 14 hands (44 and 56 inches, 112 and 142 cm). Fox Trotters may be any solid color or pinto. White facial and leg markings are common. The facial profile is straight, set upon a neck of medium length than ends in pronounced withers. The breed is muscular, with sloped shoulders, a short back and sturdy legs.

The Missouri Fox Trotter performs an ambling gait known as the "fox trot", which replaces the trot seen in many other breeds. The fox trot is a four-beat broken diagonal gait in which the front foot of the diagonal pair lands before the hind, eliminating the moment of suspension and giving a smooth, sure-footed ride. The gait is sometimes described as having the horse walk with the front feet and trot with the back. In a fox trot, the horse must keep one front foot on the ground at all times and display a sliding motion with the hind legs. The fox trot and the regular trot are both at a speed between a walk and a canter or gallop; ambling gaits are four-beat gaits, whereas the trot is a two-beat gait.

The extra footfalls provide additional smoothness to a rider because the horse always has at least one foot on the ground. This minimizes movement of the horse's topline and removes the bounce of a two-beat gait, caused by a moment of suspension followed by the jolt of two feet hitting the ground as the horse shifts from one pair of legs to the other. The value of an intermediate speed is that the horse conserves energy. More than thirty horse breeds are "gaited," able to perform a four-beat ambling gait; some can also trot. A Missouri Fox Trotter, with rider, can maintain a speed of 5 to 8 miles per hour (8.0 to 13 km/h) while using the fox trot, and can cover short distances at up to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). In comparison, the average medium trot speed is 6 to 8 miles per hour (9.7 to 13 km/h).

• Uses

Missouri Fox Trotters are used extensively by trail riders, who appreciate their gaits, stamina and weight-carrying abilities. They are also used in handicapped riding programs, and their smooth gait has proven useful for riders with minor physical disabilities. Crosses between Fox Trotter mares and donkey jacks are often made, creating mules with the fox trot gait that are used to carry hunters and trail riders, especially in the western United States. The US Forest Service also employs Fox Trotters for their speed, stamina and gait, and members of the breed were used to make the first horse-back descent of the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

• Orlov Trotter

The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse.

The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov (Voronezh guberniya) . The Orlovs emerged as the result of crossing various European mares (primarily of English, Dutch, Mecklenburg, and Danish breeding) with Arabian stallions.

harness racing by Russian nobility. They were valued for their beauty and elegance combined with the ability to work hard. They were also used for the improvement of other Russian horses. When harness racing became widespread at the end of the century, the Orlovs faced intense competition from American-developed Standardbreds, who are generally recognized as less refined but faster than Orlov trotters. Eventually Standardbred stallions were crossed with Orlov mares and a new breed, the Russian Trotter, appeared. The possibility of the complete extinction of the Orlovs was a concern in the 20th century because of crossbreeding and the Soviet disregard of horse-raising. However, the breed survived, and today fifteen stud farms in Russia and the Ukraine raise pure-blooded Orlov Trotters.