The Trotter

It is one of the most popular horse breeds in the world, its history is directly linked to the development and success of trotting races. The term Trotter includes different breeds of horses from different countries.

Origin

It comes from selective breeding carried out in different countries. The history of these horses goes back to the first trotting races in the 17th century in northern countries, particularly in Denmark and Holland. They then developed in other countries with the internationalization of this sport discipline.

Among the Trotters, we find some famous breeds such as the French Trotter (1.60 m to 1.70 m at the withers), the only one in the world to be able to run both in harness and mounted, or the American Trotter characterized by strong legs, powerful shoulders and hindquarters. There are also Italian, Russian, Finnish and Swedish trotters.

Despite the diversity of breeds, trotters have some common characteristics: they are hardy, solid-looking, tough with a height of around 1.60 m at the withers and much less elegant than a galloper for example.

Roles

Racehorses are mainly used in trotting races, whether in harness trotting, a very popular discipline in which the driver settles into a sulky, or in mounted trotting, a not very widespread sport which is practiced mainly in France and Scandinavian countries, where the jockey gets into the saddle.

He generally has a fairly long competitive career (about 8 years), with at least ten races per year.

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