History
The Missouri Fox Trotter was developed from equine stock, including gaited horses, brought to Missouri by settlers from Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. Breeds that contributed to the Fox Trotter included the Arabian, Morgan, American Saddlebred, Tennessee Walking Horse and Standardbred. By the time of Missouri's statehood in 1821, the horses of the state were known for their unique gait, which was useful in the rocky terrain of the Ozark Mountains. The breed became popular with cattlemen for their smooth gaits and ability to work with cattle. In 1948, the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association (MFTHBA) was founded, with an open stud book that registered all horses with the fox trot gait and other specified physical characteristics. The first Fox Trotters were exported to Europe in the 1950s, when the Queen of England imported several palomino-colored horses.
In 1982, the stud book was closed, allowing only horses from registered parents to be entered. In 1992, the European Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Association (EMFTHA) was formed as the Fox Trotter association for Europe and an affiliate of the MFTHBA. The first European Championship Show for the breed took place in 1996, and in 2010 the EMFTHA and the Free University of Berlin began working together to start a European stud book for the breed. The Fox Trotter became the official state horse of Missouri in 2002. In 2006, a new registry, the Foundation Foxtrotter Heritage Association (FFHA), was formed with a goal of preserving and promoting the original heritage type of Fox Trotter that was seen in the first 20 years of the MFTHBA registry, in large part through reducing the amount of Tennessee Walking Horse blood. The Tennessee Walker did not figure prominently in original Missouri Fox Trotter pedigrees, and so the FFHA, by restricting the amount of Walker blood, is attempting to develop horses that more closely resemble the original Fox Trotter type. Missouri Fox Trotters are seen throughout the United States, as well as in Canada and several European countries, and as of 2012 the MFTHBA had registered over 97,000 horses and counts over 8,000 current members. As of 2009 there were approximately 600 Missouri Fox Trotters in Europe, with around 350 of these living in Germany.
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