Breeding

Ciera Princess H. and her 2006 Missouri Foxtrotter colt, Mythical Magus, when he was
20 minutes old.

We are small breeders of quality, gaited horses, who are handled regularly and treasured
daily.  We don't breed for quantity.  Nor will we breed for color per se, as in chocolate to
chocolate (Silver Dapple in the Mountain Horse lines) just to get high-priced chocolates
with white manes and tails.  That said, we love color, but we won't breed for it unless the
quality and the quality control is there.

Our program is simple: Breed the best to the best.  A good stallion will not fix all the
faults that a mare may have.  If the mare isn't exceptional, don't breed her.  In our
opinion, disposition and conformation are of  primary importance.  If you don't have a
horse with a good disposition, why would you want to have it around, much less trust it
with your life?  If the horse isn't structurally sound, it will let you down eventually.  

Decide your long term riding and breeding goals and don't get waylaid by fashion, just
breed to improve those qualities.  Too many great breeds have been spoiled over the
years because of ideals and fashion carried to the extreme.  

We prefer the old-style Foxtrotting horses, with big, dense bone & calm demeanors,
rather than the finer, more hyper, show-bred Foxtrotters.  Not only are they a joy to be
around, but their gait is more comfortable to ride -- and they can go all day long because
they have more economy of motion.

Likewise with our Mountain horses.  We prefer the old-style, big boned, large horses
with some of the Kilburn Chocolate Sundown lines (one of the 5 sons of the foundation
sire, Old Tobe).  Refinement is lovely, but not at the expense of strength and stabilty.  

As you can see, we really do love color.  Below is a photo of our yearling filly, Southern
Dixie, right after we imported her from Kentucky.  As a double registered Spotted
Mountain & MFT homozygous mare, she will always throw tobiano colts.   But, as the old
Dodge commercials used to tout, the Quality goes in before our name goes on....