Opal (registered name Red Curly Opal) is a four year old red roan curly Missouri Fox Trotter (foal date 05/11/2019). They don’t get much rarer than that! She stands 14-3-1/2 hands (measured 07/15/23) and still has a little time to grow. I expect she will finish out at an even 15 hands. Opal has nice MFT conformation, good hooves, and a wonderful disposition. Being a curly, she is also hypo-allergenic, for those who love horses, but suffer from allergies when around them. She is current on Coggins and vaccinations and is healthy and sound (vet certified) in every respect. UPDATE 09/21/23: Opal now measures an even 15 hands.
Opal is very gentle and calm. She greets you at the gate and never turns away. She puts her nose right into the halter. She has no aggressive tendencies toward other horses and does well in a herd. Opal stands well for grooming and tacking and is good with her hooves. She is good for the farrier. She ties well, is not skittish, and does not pull back or paw. Opal loads into and unloads from a trailer very well. She will back out or come out forward. She also hauls very well. In fact, Opal has no bad habits.
Opal received 30 days of professional training earlier this year. She has excellent ground manners and is calm under saddle. Having said that, Opal lacks experience on the trail and she needs coaching with regard to her gaits. Opal shows a flat walk, a very nice fox trot, and a canter, however she needs work on selecting and staying in gait. For that reason, the owner brought her to me to further her trail and gait training. I will continue to provide training to Opal until she is sold.
To update the above, Opal has responded very well to her training. She is now responding well to heel and leg pressure cues, moving her hind and fore quarters and side-passing. She neck reins well and is soft on the bit. She has a very nice square flat-walk, an excellent fox trot, and a nice, rolling canter. I have been improving her trail experience as well. She is very solid on the trail and does not respond to hikers, bicyclists, deer, dogs, or ATVs. She makes steep ascents and descents safely and without hesitation. She also crosses water easily and without hesitation. She handles trail obstacles calmly and safely. Opal tends to be just a little skittish when being ridden in rural situations alone (trash cans, tires, etc), but she is improving quickly in this respect as well. Opal does not respond at all to vehicular traffic.
Opal would be an excellent show prospect and would throw very nice foals as well.
Opal was specifically bred by the owner for his grandson, who is allergic to horses. However, the grandson’s interest lie elsewhere, so Opal is being made available for a new owner. She is going to make some lucky person a wonderful trail partner for many years to come.
If you think Opal might be a good choice for you or yours, please come by and see her. Photos just don’t do her justice. She is a sweetheart and her curly coat is just wonderful! Makes you want to hug her all the time!
Opal is offered for sale in Salem, Utah at $10,500. Please contact me by text, email, or phone call to schedule a viewing and/or test ride.
UPDATE 09/21/2023: The owner has reduced the price to $8,500, in hopes we might find a local buyer. If we do not find a local buyer, she will be offered for sale on an online horse auction site, but we hope to avoid that complication.
Please revisit this post again, as I will be adding photos and a link to a video soon.
I recently took Opal into the Manti-La Sal National Forest for an overnight pack trip (August 2023). I rode Opal under saddle and packed my 3 year old colt. Opal handled the trip excellently, showing herself to be strong and solid on the trail. She is careful, steady, and not prone to spooking. She handles well among other horses and acts much more mature than her young age on the trail. Below are some photos:
UPDATE 09/27/2023: Video link on my YouTube channel, Western Trail Rider:
Grey Penny Lover is a registered Missouri Fox Trotter maiden mare, four years old (foal date 04/24/2019). She is well-bred, very pretty, has excellent MFT conformation, strong hooves, and is healthy and sound in every respect. She stands a measured 14.3-1/2 hands tall and has about a year left to grow, so 15-15.1 hands will likely be her mature height (her sire stands 16.2HH). Penny Lover is an appropriate name for this young lady, as she will meet you at the gate every time. She is quiet, gentle, and loves people.
Penny has received 30 days of basic professional training. She has excellent ground manners and is calm under saddle. She ties well and will not pull-back or paw the trailer. She loads and unloads easily and will come out of the trailer forward or backwards without issue. She hauls very well. Penny is good with her hooves and allows cleaning and trimming without problem. She has not yet been shod, but I expect she will behave well for the farrier. I have noted no bad habits from this pretty mare.
On the trail, Penny is calm and attentive. She is not skittish, nor prone to panic. She faces her fears well and is pleasant to ride. While she has had professional training, it was from an establishment specializing in Quarter Horses, so she hasn’t had training regarding her gaits. At this point, Penny is a little “pacey”, but the ride is not unpleasant. She is naturally gaited, tends to lateral, showing a flat-walk, rack, and a nice canter, however, even naturally gaited horses need some gait training to establish their gaits and bring things into focus for them. I am currently providing trail and gait training to Penny for the owner until she is sold. She is learning to move her hind and fore quarters and to side-pass with leg and heel cues and her gaits are coming along well. Penny loves to move out on the trail, ears always forward. No peddling his young lady.
Penny would be an appropriate horse for any rider with basic horse experience. She may be seen in Salem, Utah. Please text or leave a voicemail for more information and to set an appointment for a test ride. $8,500.
UPDATE June 3, 2023: I recently shoed Penny for the first time. She was a little resistant on her hind feet, but not too bad. She’ll be fine the next time. I was very pleased.
With those new shoes on, I took her out for a 16-mile trail ride yesterday (June 2, 2023) down in the San Rafael Swell area. While on the trail I did a little trail training to see how she handles difficult obstacles on the trail and I was very pleased with her. She is very courageous, yet cautious, just the way I like horses to be. She handled everything I tested her with, negotiating large rocks, steep ascents and descents, thick brush, and even some cliff-hanging trails.
Her gaits are coming along very well and she is even showing a Fox Trot now, but prefers a rack. She is very smooth and covers ground quickly. Likes to lead, but follows in line very nicely, as well.
I love this young lady more every time I ride her. She’s going to be a gem for whoever takes her home.
UPDATE June 6, 2023: I uploaded the following video to YouTube this evening:
CURRENT STATUS (08/19/2021): Missy is for sale. She is current on Coggins and vaccinations. I intended to ride her through the Grand Canyon in May, but was forced to cancel the ride, due to circumstances beyond my control. I have continued to ride Missy and reinforce her training. She is a wonderful trail horse and ready for a new owner. I have updated the information in the writeup below.
I have been working with a mare that is very special to me.
Missy was a brood mare for the first 10 years of her life. She was sold to my friend, Derek Habel, in June 2017. It went something like this:
Derek: Hey Tony, want to go for a pack trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness?
Me: Sure! When?
Derek: Monday (This conversation was on Wednesday).
After we had the horses loaded and were in the truck and heading down the highway toward Montana we had a little more conversation, like this:
Derek: Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. We’re going to stop in Blackfoot, Idaho to pick up a couple horses. They’re not broke. Do you think you can break them to pack for us on this trip? We don’t have any pack horses.
Me: You WHAT?!
As it turned out, one of the horses was lame, so we didn’t take it, but the paint mare looked good. Luckily, she was halter broke. It took me about 45 minutes of working with her to get her to lead and to load into the trailer. That evening we stopped in East Helena, at the home of Derek’s parents. Derek and I took a few minutes to see if we could get a pack saddle in place on the mare. Here’s the video we shot of the exercise.
The next day, we got up in the morning and headed to our trailhead for the Bob Marshall Wilderness. While camped there at the trailhead, I worked with this girl for about two hours and was able to get her to wear a pack saddle. I was also able to trim up her hooves a little. She was quite calm, but very cautious. Later in the day, we loaded her with a light pack and took her for a short trail ride, to get her used to being led behind a horse while wearing a pack. She did well, with minimal trouble. The following morning we headed down the trail with her in tow with a full-sized pack.
The pack trip was very difficult for the the little mare, which garnered her a place in my heart. Her courage, in spite of the difficulties, endeared her to me. I began to call her Missy and it stuck. She was not shod and the difficult terrain, combined with her not being used to carrying a pack, took its toll on her. Her hooves were so bruised and sore after the first day that we simply left her in camp. After several days, she was able to move around and we kept hoof boots on her as much as possible. By the time we headed out of “The Bob”, my own saddle horse had lost three shoes and both horses were very tender. We decided I should start early and hit the trail with my horse and Missy, while the rest of the group broke camp, so I could go slow and spare the two sore horses. We figured the group would pass me along the way, but we would be that much closer to the trailhead. That’s how it worked out. I rode the ten miles in company of my saddle horse, J Golden, and Missy. They were great company and great listeners. I talked to them sang to them, asked them questions, and they seemed to enjoy the ride out as much as I did. It was a pleasant day.
After getting Missy back home, I took her to my place, where I planned on letting her rest and recover, before starting her under riding saddle. As it turned out, I let her rest for nearly a month, before starting her. Her hooves were so sore she just wasn’t capable of handling much training work. We did quite a bit of ground training in soft sand during this period.
After about a month, I finally put a saddle on her and let her move around the arena without any control. She was still pretty tender, so bucking or any other kind of foolishness was far from her mind. I took it very easy on her and limited my session to about a half-hour each. Sadly, our training was interrupted by events beyond my control.
During 2018, Derek took Missy on another trip into the Bob Marshall as a pack horse. She was shod this time and did well. However, she showed she knows how to buck a couple times, when she tried to unload her pack. Derek even put her under riding saddle one time. He didn’t get bucked off, but it wasn’t very productive.
During August 2019, I took Missy on a horse pack trip into the Jim Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming for a week as a pack horse. As I said before, I have a soft spot in my heart for this girl, due to her courage in handling the difficulties of her first pack trip with me. On this trip I took special care to make sure she was handled and packed properly. She was a pleasure during the entire trip, never once giving me a problem.
Missy paired up with my Tennessee Walker, Apollo, with which she matched up well in size and gait. I would let them loose to graze together and never worried about them. They always stayed together and would return to camp when I whistled for them (Apollo is trained to do so).
During September 2019, Derek and I again undertook a moose hunt in Wrangell-St Elias National Park in southeastern Alaska. This year Missy went with us as a pack horse. I consider this hunt trip to be a post-graduate course for trail horses. It is an extremely difficult pack trip for both man and horse. Despite getting several rub sores from her packs, Missy finished the trip in good shape. It was a difficult trip for her, as for all the horses, and she lost quite a bit of weight, but she remained sound and reliable. In the photo below, Missy is the last in the string.
Missy has now been recuperating for the past six weeks, left to graze freely on the mountainside above Derek’s place in Diamond Fork. She could still use another fifty pounds or so, but she’s looking much better. While I was looking her over this afternoon (being November 15, 2019), she came over to me and seemed to want to be scratched. I started scratching her chest, neck, and back and she obviously liked it. She even began to scratch my shoulder with her teeth, as some horses will do when scratching each other. I haltered her and took her to my trailer to give her a good brushing with a curry comb. She truly enjoyed that. When Derek showed up, he suggested I start working on her again to break her to ride. I was happy to do so. As I said before, she has a special place in my heart.
So, today (November 15, 2019) I started Missy’s saddle training again.
I had no idea what to expect from her, so after saddling her, we walked the horses down in to the grassy pasture where our training trail begins. There I mounted and sat on her a few minutes to see what she would do. She was calm and just wanted to eat the tall grass. After unsuccessfully trying to get her to move forward for a few minutes, I had Derek take her lead rope and lead her for awhile. After about a half mile or so, I was able to take over and ride her freely. She learns quickly and by the time we were finished with the ride, she was understanding forward motion, backing, turn right, turn left, and stop. I was very pleased. It was a very productive ride.
I will work with Missy during the next couple of months and get her settled as a saddle horse. I have no doubt she will be an excellent trail horse, as she has been packed into some of the most extreme country I have ever ridden. She’s a natural. Once I feel she’s ready, Missy will be offered for sale on this website.
Missy is 13 years old (2007 birth year) and stands 15-3 hands with a medium build. Missy is trim and fit. She is a sweetheart of a horse. She is sound in every respect and has very nice color and conformation and excellent hooves. She trailers well and will load easily and unload both forward and backing out. She ties well and stands for the farrier, although she still needs a work in this area with her rear hooves. I will post photos of her papers when I advertise her for sale.
I will post about her progress. Stay tuned.
Anyone interested in purchasing Missy may contact me by email at tony.henrie@westerntrailrider.com.
UPDATE 05/17/2020:
I have now enjoyed about 10 rides on Missy. She has progressed very well and very quickly. She successfully negotiated some pretty rigorous trail training down near Moab, Utah this past week. I was quite proud of her. She is responding very well to the bosal and learning her leg and foot cues. She walks out very well and even did well leading my young colt, who was in training as a pack horse. She still needs work on her gait, to get it sorted out, but she has a nice comfortable gait.
Yesterday I rode Missy with our local Back County Horsemen Association group on a group ride at Monk Hollow in Diamond Fork Canyon, near Spanish Fork, Utah. She was excellent with the other horses and showed no fear nor aggressiveness. No kicking or biting. She gave little resistance when leaving the other horses when I wanted to bushwhack a little. She was easy to coax to try obstacles that were somewhat daunting to other horses and to approach and walk around objects that caused her concern.
Missy still shies at moving motorized OHV vehicles and moving bicycles. We will need to work on that in the future. I have found little else that even makes her roll her eyes.
Missy has done so well with the bosal, that I plan to transition her to the bit next week.
She’s going to be an excellent trail horse, and she is absolutely stunning in appearance. Long, slim legs, trim body, built like a Ferrari!
UPDATE AUGUST 20, 2020:
I had to lay off Missy’s training for awhile. Too many other horses with more urgent needs. I’ve been able to get back to her training in the past several weeks and have been riding her regularly, if not daily, so here’s today’s update information.
I had a nice training session on Missy today. She’s coming along nicely. She’s still pretty skittish, particularly about anything around her flanks and hind quarters while we’re moving. I’m still working on getting her accustomed to a crupper and things banging around in saddle bags. However, her gait is coming along nicely and she is responding well to her leg and heel cues. Her side-pass is still tentative, but she is now learning to allow me to open and shut gates from the saddle. She moves her fore and hind quarters well now and neck reins almost like power steering. She’s very light on the bit.
I gave her a light hoof trim this morning, just to round over her toes and knock her heels down a tad. She is very good with her front hooves, but still gives a little resistance with her back hooves. We’ll work on that.
Missy is now in a corral alone with no other horses nearby, so she is learning to look to me for companionship and leadership. She meets me at the corral gate each morning and seems to want to be around me. This is making a big difference in our training sessions. She now pays attention to me and what I’m asking her to do, rather than watching for her other stable mates and because of this, she is progressing well with each session. I still think it’s going to be a couple more weeks before she will be ready for another rider.
I sure like this mare. She’s a sweetheart and a real beauty!
UPDATE August 27, 2020
I had a very enjoyable training session with Missy yesterday. I have been working with her daily and she is progressing well each day. She is responding well to her cues in the arena and is very light on the bit. Her gaits are improving as well. She has a very nice flat walk and run-walk (she tends to lateral, so she does not show a true fox trot). We have not yet worked on her canter, but when she steps into it I find it very smooth. I want to get her run-walk ironed out well, before working on the canter, so as not to disturb the run-walk. Missy’s side-pass is coming along well now and she reliably allows me to open and shut gates.
Out on the trail, however, we encountered a little trouble. Missy is still quite skittish. She is especially reactive to anything that touches her flanks, which surprises me, as she has been used extensively as a pack horse. I started working on that yesterday, allowing my feet to slide back into her flank area and touching her with my boots and spurs. By the end of the ride, she was tolerating my touches well, without reacting. She needs more work in this area. I may put a pack back on her to see if that gets her past this issue.
I will put together a video of her working in the arena and on the trail soon.
UPDATE 08/28/2020:
Today I started riding Missy without spurs. She has been doing so well with her cues that I decided it was time to start getting her used to recognizing the same cues without the spurs. It took her a few minutes to understand that even without the little poke of the spur, I was asking the same things. Once that was clear to her, she executed her cues with good precision. I was very pleased.
We also introduced a couple of new things. I am teaching Missy to park-out, which is to say that she is learning to stretch out her front feet in front of her to lower the height of her back when I mount. It will take many repetitions before she “gets it,” but she is willing. I also started teaching her to ground-tie, which means I can dismount and drop her reins on the ground and walk away and she will stand fast, as if tied, until I return. She picked up on that right away and did very well.
I once read a story about a cowboy who claimed he once knew a fellow who left a horse in the shade of a tree ground-tied, while he went off scouting some country on foot. The hapless cowboy was attacked and killed by a bear. They found his remains the following year, along with the remains of the poor horse, which had remained ground-tied there under that tree until he starved to death!
Well, maybe that’s true and maybe it ain’t, but a horse that will ground-tie and not leave you stranded in the backcountry is one to be treasured.
UPDATE 09/19/2020:
Missy’s training has been coming along very well. I am pleased to announce that I think she’s ready for sale to an experienced rider/owner. She still exhibits some skittishness on the trail, but she is very willing and very sure-footed.
Missy has excellent conformation and is sound in every respect. She has a small bump on her back in the lumbar area from a minor injury, which is completely healed and does not pose a soundness issue. I have ridden her on numerous long rides and she does not exhibit any soreness.
Missy handles any kind of terrain and most obstacles with ease. She is very easy on the bit and responds very well to neck reining and leg cues. She backs, side-passes, moves her hind and fore quarters to heel cues, handles gates, and moves well. She crosses water, mud, wooden bridges, and steep ascents and descents well. She prefers to be in company of other horses, but will ride out alone. She is still a little skittish when she is alone, but is beginning to relax a little more with each ride.
Missy’s ground manners are excellent and respectful. She will lead right behind the handler’s shoulder, will stop when he/she stops and will backup when the handler backs up. She is learning to ground-tie as well. She does not react to ropes tossed or spun around her head, body, or legs.
As Missy stands about 15-3 hands, I have been training her to park-out to make mounting easier. I have also been training her to ground-tie.
Missy still needs work on various things, which is why she requires an experienced rider/owner. She is not the horse for a beginner or for a timid rider/handler. Missy hesitates when loading into a trailer alone, but loads easily when another horse is in the trailer. I will continue to work with her on this. Missy is also quite “touchy” and skittish under certain circumstances. She is very sensitive about things touching her hindquarters and flanks while under saddle. She is having trouble accepting a crupper and gets reactionary when a rope is brought up under her tail, but she is doing better every day. I am continuing to work with her on this and she is beginning to relax. Having said this, she has never offered to buck. Even while trying to kick off her crupper, she has never tried to get me off her back. Even when she becomes excited, she responds well to the bit.
Missy is 13 (foal year 2007) years old, but she is only recently started and trained. I am the only person ever to ride her, so the new owner/rider will need to become familiar with my methods in order to be able to relate to her, while she becomes familiar with the new owner/rider’s methods. She is a quick learner, very intelligent and willing.
Missy always meets me at the gate and is quite affectionate. She is a sweetheart of a horse and has earned a place in my heart.
UPDATE 08/19/2021:
I intended to ride Missy through the Grand Canyon in May 2021, but on the way to the canyon I blew the engine in my truck, so the trip was cancelled. Still, that shows the confidence I have in this mare. She is now 14 years old. I have continued to ride and pack Missy regularly and to reinforce the training she has received. She executes all her heel and leg cues well and is easy on the bit. Missy now loads effortlessly into the trailer, alone or with other horses. I just throw the lead rope over her neck, show her to the door, and she loads herself. She is current on her Coggins and vaccinations and is sound in every respect. Missy is affectionate and easy to catch in a pasture or corral, normally coming to the gate.
I will be producing a video on her in the coming weeks and will post a link to it as soon as it’s ready. There are a couple short videos of her training on my facebook page, Western Trail Rider. I will be posting an advertisement for her on KSL Classifieds as well.
Her asking price will be $6,000 at Spanish Fork, Utah.
Please contact me by email to schedule a viewing and/or ride.
She is a blue-papered registered Missouri Fox Trotter mare, coming five years-old, registered name: Dunny’s Strawberry Delight. She was sired by the excellent stallion Dun Got It All (formerly owned by Alma DeMille). Her pedigree is excellent and she has beautiful conformation. She stands a very well-built 15.2 hands (approximate). Dusty is a rare red-dun with a thin blaze on her face. She has a very nice natural Fox Trot gait that needs just a little fine-tuning to be perfect. She moves out very nicely on the trail.
Dusty was bred and raised by an owner who subscribes to the “barefoot is better” doctrine, so Dusty has very healthy, strong, well-formed hooves. She has never worn shoes, but stands quietly for trimming. Her hooves have proven durable even on the roughest of trails. Dusty is sound in every respect and has received the best of care since birth.
Dusty loves attention and is very personable, but not pushy. She sometimes requires a little patience to catch her in the pasture, but she is not difficult. She loads and unloads very well and has been trailered throughout the State of Utah. She has been ridden on some of the roughest, toughest trails in the state. She is very solid and sure-footed. As with most Missouri Fox Trotters, Dusty has a calm demeanor and a good head. Being that she is young and full of spirit, Dusty is suitable for all levels of rider above the rank beginner. With a little coaching, even a beginner could handle her well.
The owner is quite particular about his horses and wants to ensure Dusty goes to a new owner who will use and care for her in the way she deserves. If you are looking for a beautiful, solid, reliable, safe trail horse, this may be the one.
Dusty is offered for sale at $6,500, located in Bountiful, Utah. For the owner’s contact information, please contact me by email at:
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