The above horse is owned by our friend John who purchased him from us seven years ago - from a phone call - when we still lived in Tennessee.  He needed a calm horse to hunt Falcons with.  See him with the Elk Head and used as a pack horse in some serious mountains. 

Please read his message as it depicts why you want to own a gaited horse! 

Melissa and Charlie,
I just wanted to drop you a note and say hello and let you know that Dan and I are doing well (I named him Mr. Dan, aka Lieutenant Dan, aka Tennessee Dan).  It has been quite a journey from literally not knowing how to saddle a him through all the adventures we have had.   
To recap:  As originally planned I ran bird dogs off of him and flew hawks and falcons all without a hitch and could fly a peregrine on to his bare back with no complaint.  In the summers I used him for work in the mountains of central Utah for three seasons, conducting wildlife radio telemetry work in a remote alpine area - where we lived and camped continuously for 4 months a season.  We encountered all kinds of wildlife at close quarters including bears and lions, and navigated scree slopes, extremely bad trails on steep slopes, and timbered ridges with congested dead fall - he ALWAYS took everything in stride... thought before acting and made jealous even the most experience cowboys on their best mounts.   After work Dan roamed at will around camp and often slept on the ground next to my tent at night.  He would join us for dinner and would revel at the chance to clean the camp cookware.   Later we moved to Wyoming/Idaho border near Jackson and my work became more office oriented, so I loaned Dan in a therapeutic horse program for troubled youth, then used him for hunting throughout the fall where he excelled as both a hunting mount and a pack horse once an elk was harvested.  And when I say excelled, I mean he got me out of some really tricky situations where an elk was down in some really steep terrain - it helps that he likes to steal a nibble of elk or bird meat and has been known to retrieve birds.
Anyway, to make a long story short I wanted to thank you for the great horse and to say that you really did find the perfect equine match for me.  I also wanted to say that I think the TWH/SSH is really overlooked by many who use horse as work animals in the mountains.  SO if you ever need a testimonial to this regard let me know.  Even if you look beyond the obvious advantages of a TWH/SSH as a trail mount due to their gait and narrow build making a comfortable mount (90% of work in the mountains is trail riding).....there is so much more to evaluate - qualities that probably received much more acclaim in the nineteenth century like....a distinctive temperament of sweetness and willingness, a tendency to have extremely sound, large feet and legs with really large bone structure making them just more durable, the speed they move out in a flat walk, SSH re known to have pretty darn good footing I am told.  When once lives with their horse in the woods month after month conducting a variety of tasks in difficult situations - these qualities become treasures.
So many in this region who are versed in the quarter horse, they see dan, hear he is a TWH and think that he probably a nice gentleman's mount for the cotton field and once we hit the mountains their muscled QH will blow us away... the opposite happens and then some! It is my opinion that the small footed, short legged, overly muscled quarter horse built for sheer athleticism and the short sprint is just no match for a THW/SSH as an all-around mount and everyday work horse. 
Sounds like you guys have a nice thing going in VA.  Hope all is well, Best, John

Welcome to Bailey’s Walking-After-Midnight Farm (formerly Bailey's Black Widow Farm). Farm is located at the top of the state of Virginia, in the heart of Virginia’s horse county. We pride ourselves on providing trustworthy gaited trail horses that are "Grandma Safe".

We have a superior selection of smooth, gentle, experienced Tennessee Walking Horses and Spotted Saddle Horses - please call me to learn more about the 15 horses currently available for sale here. We sell lot's of horses, all year long, so this web page is in constant transition - but I feel very confidant that I have the horse you want.

Any horse here for sale must be a proven trail horse. I bring horses out of Tennessee approx every 6 weeks and our selectioin is second to none.   None of the horses for sale here come from sale barns. They are family pets. My horses don't have much of a show ring background either so they are not nervous or wired up.  Several have been a family pet and shown by that family, but predominantly a trail riding horse, so if you'd also like to trail ride and compete in a show ring, it will be nice to know you are buying naturaly talented gaited horse that doesn't need soring or special devices to win in a show ring. 

These trail savvy gaited horses are THE ideal trail pleasure ride. Ride a horse that gives you permission to ride! We specialize in natural moving and smooth gaited trail horses with LOTS of experience on trails. Our Tennessee Walking Horses and Spotted Saddle horses double as horses we use here for our custom trail rides, birthday parties and riding lessons. Why not give them a job to do till they find their "forever home".

Besides the trot not thing, our horses are GORGEOUS - we specialize in quality gaited horses of unique color, with loving personalities. We have every color under the rainbow. You'll look great on the trail riding a well behaved Palomino, Buckskin, Blue Roan, or Tobiano (Spotted) beauty. Occasionally we carry Missouri Fox Trotters and Rocky Mountain horses for sale too.

If I don't have what you want, I can find it. We lived in Tennessee for 8 years and I find a sound sane smooth gaited horse better than most folks can.