"Curly Haired Fox Trotters: Missouri Fox Trotters for Folks |
![]() What is the difference between Dominant and ![]() Recessive Curlies? ![]() ![]() There are two different types of curly coated Fox Trotters in the world that ![]() consistently have full curly bodies, manes, etc. and keep these curls for ![]() their entire life from birth to death. These are what most breeders ![]() describe as Dominant or Recessive Curly Fox Trotters. ![]() ![]() Recessive Curly Fox Trotters - Ever heard of an unusual looking ![]() curly foal that surprises a breeder when two straight haired Fox Trotters ![]() are bred together? Many breeders have unfortunately named this odd ![]() genetic occurrence the recessive curly gene. It is in no way genetically ![]() related to the dominant curly gene and we personally believe it is a genetic ![]() defect. This gene lays hidden in the DNA of the best lines of Fox Trotters. ![]() Our research shows that Old Fox and his son, Blankenship Diamond as well ![]() as his grandson, Golden Governor, are carriers of this gene. All the ![]() pedigrees of recessive curlies we have found so far trace back back to Old ![]() Fox on both sides of their pedigree. ![]() ![]() It takes two recessive genes to make this kind of curls present in foals. If ![]() two straight haired Fox Trotters that carry this gene are bred together, 25% ![]() of the time they will produce one of these foals that have curls on their ![]() bodies, sparse manes and tails, potential serious health problems etc. For ![]() some reason, these "recessive curly" foals usually shed some or all of their ![]() manes and tails in the summer. They may also be smaller than regular Fox ![]() Trotters and have more negative health issues than normal horses. Most ![]() people consider this type of horse to be a genetic mishap and used to cull ![]() foals when born. If you can handle the health problems that many have, we ![]() have heard that this type of horse is a very sweet companion. This ![]() "recessive curly gene" is not the same gene that produces curls on our ![]() horses. They are totally different. This is NOT the kind of Curly Fox Trotter ![]() that we produce and raise. We don't know anyone who does raise them ![]() purposely. ![]() ![]() Dominant Curly Fox Trotters - The other type of curly coated Fox ![]() Trotter is the kind we raise here at Zion Gait Curlies. It comes from a ![]() dominant curly gene. This good dominant curly gene has been producing ![]() beautiful and healthy curly horses for hundreds of years. These curly ![]() horses are produced when at least one curly coated parent contributes a ![]() dominant curly gene to its foal. You must see curls on the body, mane, tail, ![]() ears, fetlocks etc. on at least one of the parents to produce this type of ![]() foal. All dominant curly foals have tons of beautiful curls that look like a ![]() lamb as shown on the buckskin curly filly in the photo on the left. Dominant ![]() Curly Fox Trotters are vigorous and beautiful horses with long manes and ![]() tails year round and heights range from 14.2 to 16 hands. They are ![]() extremely healthy and are just like regular Fox Trotters, but with that ![]() beautiful, flashy curly coat. These rare horses come from an unbroken line ![]() of Curly Fox Trotters who were bred to some of the best Fox Trotter's such ![]() as Walker's Merry Lad, Rex's Golden Touch, Danney Joe W. and Mr. ![]() President. We are currently breeding our curly mares and stallion with the ![]() best bloodlines, conformation, gait and temperament in the Fox Trotter ![]() world to produce the best Dominant Curly Fox Trotters in existence! ![]() |
(Occasionally, some Fox Trotters will have a wavy mane, tail or some wavy body hair. This![]() may be some other type of curl or wavy gene at work. These horses are quite different from ![]() the ones produced at Zion's Gait Curlies. Though some may call them curly horses, we do not ![]() as they look totally different from the horses we produce.) ![]() ![]() Are Curly Fox Trotters really hypo-allergenic? ![]() ![]() Yes, they are! Our two oldest children are seriously allergic to horses. ![]() Every time they would take riding lessons we had to give them medication ![]() and even then they would sneeze, get watery eyes and have breathing ![]() problems. That's when we found and decided to start raising Curly Fox ![]() Trotters. Our allergic children can now ride, groom and love the curly ![]() horses with no allergic reactions. I have also talked to many, many people ![]() who have had similar experiences. ![]() ![]() What colors do Curly Missouri Fox Trotters come in? ![]() ![]() Of these 90 horses, most have traditionally been sorrel , sorrel roan and ![]() sorrel sabino in color. In recent years, though, breeders have managed to ![]() expand the color palate of the Curly Fox Trotters to bay, palomino, black ![]() and white tobiano, bay and white tobiano, cremello and now buckskin! ![]() ![]() Where does this curly characteristic in the Fox Trotters ![]() come from? ![]() ![]() Curly horses have existed in the world for hundreds, possibly thousands of ![]() years. The curly gene in our Fox Trotters traces back to a gaited curly ![]() stallion named Curly Jim. In the 1960's, a select number of Missouri Fox ![]() Trotter mares were bred to this stallion. Thankfully, these few curly horses ![]() were perpetuated by pioneers in Curly MFT's.........Mary Etta Coomes and ![]() Lester Tune. There are many theories, but no one is certain of Curly Jim's ![]() ancestry. All Zion's Gait Curlies descend from this dominant curly line. ![]() ![]() Their genetics work just like the cream gene in horses. For example, if a ![]() horse carries one cream gene, there is a 50% chance that the foal will be ![]() cream based (palomino or buckskin.) It's the same with our Curlies. If the ![]() horse has one curly gene, it has a 50% chance that the foal will have curls ![]() when bred to a straight haired Fox Trotter. ![]() ![]() What is a homozygous Curly Fox Trotter? ![]() ![]() ![]() Sometimes, the curly sire and curly dam will both give the foal a curly gene. ![]() Then the foal will carry two curly genes and is homozygous for curls (see ![]() Berry and Patches). These foals who are passed on the curly genes from ![]() both of their parents will grow up and ALWAYS produce curly foals, even ![]() when bred to a straight horse, because genetically speaking, they have to ![]() pass on at least one of those curly genes. Homozygous curlies are ![]() extremely rare and are highly prized by breeders because they can ![]() guarantee curls for every foal. ![]() ![]() Currently, there are no scientific tests to prove whether a horse is ![]() homozygous for curls. There are, however, distinguishing physical ![]() characteristics, which make it fairly easy to predict whether a horse is likely ![]() homozygous. Many breeders use the term "microcurl" to describe the ![]() texture of the coat of these horses (see Patches' page.) Out of all of the ![]() Curlies with the trademark characteristics of being homozygous, none have ![]() ever thrown a straight haired foal when bred to straight or curly horses. ![]() There are only about 5 of these horses with Curly Missouri Fox Trotter ![]() breeding in the world today. Two of these rare horses reside at Zion's Gait ![]() Curlies! ![]() ![]() What is different about DCC Vegas? ![]() ![]() Because there are so few Curly Fox Trotters in existence, they are all at ![]() least distantly related. Most come from a single sire, Walker's Prince T. ![]() Our stallion, DCC Vegas, is not from the Walker Prince T line. In fact, he is ![]() one of only two Curly Missouri Fox Trotter stallions in the world that is not ![]() related to Walker Prince T. This makes him acceptable to cross with the ![]() majority of Curly Missouri Fox Trotter mares now in existence. A handful of ![]() breeders have taken on the important cause of expanding the gene pool to ![]() retain the vigor, strength and beauty of future generations of Curly Fox ![]() Trotters. We have chosen to cross our foundation curly stock with high ![]() quality straight Missouri Fox Trotters. This will help ensure the future of ![]() these wonderful horses. ![]() ![]() ![]() Is it true that curly horses can survive extreme cold ![]() conditions? ![]() ![]() Curly Fox Trotters are not only beautiful, they seem to be hearty and able to ![]() survive extreme winter conditions. Their curly coat creates a warm air ![]() layer and insulates them from the weather. People claim their curly horses ![]() are often found with a crust of snow on their backs, which the curls ![]() support, and they are warm and dry under the curls. We live in Southern ![]() Utah and have not been able to witness this for ourselves yet, but see ![]() below article entitled "The Dameles and the Curly Horse." ![]() ![]() What is the difference between ICHO and ABC ![]() registration? Is it important to have my horse ABC ![]() registered? ![]() ![]() ABC stands for American Baskir Curly. They are the original registrar for all ![]() curly horses. Many of our horses are registered with ABC or qualify for ![]() ABC registration, but we do not actively participate in ABC registration. ![]() Several years ago the board of directors for that group decided to close ![]() the books on curly horses. This means that only ABC registered horses ![]() may be bred with other ABC registered horses in order for the offspring to ![]() qualify for ABC papers. Many breeders of Gaited Curlies and Curly Missouri ![]() Fox Trotters were not happy with this decision. Currently there are only ![]() about 300 Gaited Curly Horses in the entire world and of that 300, about 100 ![]() of them are MFTHBA registered Curly Missouri Fox Trotters. This would ![]() mean that the only way for us to maintain ABC papers would be for us to ![]() breed our few horses together indefinitely. If we allowed this to happen, ![]() severe inbreeding would result after only a few generations as most of ![]() them are related at least distantly. ![]() ![]() Thus, ICHO (International Curly Horse Organization) was created by ![]() progressive and dedicated members of the curly community. They saw that ![]() inbreeding for gaited curlies and many other specialty groups of curlies ![]() like curly sport horses, curly ponies and curly draft horses was NOT ![]() acceptable. While they have strict specifications for allowing a foal to ![]() become ICHO registered, the ICHO allows the specialty breeders to ![]() outcross their valuable curly foundation horses with the finest straight ![]() haired examples of their particular specialty. This way, World Grand ![]() Champions can be added to curly foundation stock to create the highest ![]() quality curly horses in the world. Thus, continually improving and ![]() strengthening gaited curly horses for future generations. ![]() ![]() The ABC and the ICHO are both great organizations, however, serious ![]() breeders of Curly Missouri Fox Trotters recognize that the ABC registered ![]() Curly Fox Trotters are literally a dying breed. In just a few years they will ![]() either be seriously inbred or the last remaining ABC registered Curly MFT's ![]() will simply die off. Given these facts, all of our clients have been more than ![]() happy to have their Curly Missouri Fox Trotters ICHO and MFTHBA ![]() registered. ![]() ![]() How much do these horses cost? ![]() ![]() Many people anticipate very high prices when purchasing such a rare, ![]() quality horse, but prices for our Fox Trotters are usually similar to other ![]() high quality horses. Most are purchased as foals, but occasionally a ![]() yearling, two-year old or trained riding horse may be available for purchase. ![]() Our straight haired foals (which often have the same hypo-allergenic ![]() qualities) generally sell for $1,500 and up. Curly MFT's generally sell for ![]() $4,500 and up depending on the bloodlines, training, conformation, gait and ![]() color. ![]() |
Curly Fox Trotters are wonderful and incredibly rare members of the Missouri Fox Trotter |
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