History of High Bred Farms, Inc.
High Bred Farms, Inc. was established in 1996 with the primary goal of preserving the rare, highly desirable diagonally gaited horse now registered as the Appalachian Singlefoot. Theodore I. J. Smith, Ph.D., President is a scientist involved in research on animal reproduction. Kathrine S. Swanson, V. President holds a BS degree in Business Management and has left a corporate management position to provide full time management, breeding and training at HBF, Inc. She has over 30 years in equine activities. Prior to establishing High Bred Farms, Inc., Kathy owned an AQHA mare that had an extremely smooth jog. In an effort to find a suitable horse for Ted, we searched for a horse with a wonderful temperament, extremely smooth gait, and a size proportional to the rider. We looked at a number of gaited horses and found that most of them were lacking in one or more of the attributes desired. Finally, we contacted Dr. J. G. Betts in Horseshoe, N.C. as he was listed as a Commissioner and Examiner for several gaited horse registries. After an extensive meeting and many subsequent meetings, we knew the horse we were looking for was within reach - the Appalachian Singlefoot.
We purchased a young mare and were very impressed with her performance and characteristics. Consequently, we decided to initiate a breeding program so that others would also be able to experience this extremely smooth gait. We have continued to purchase and raise top quality breeding stock to preserve this nearly extinct diagonal gait. High Bred Farms, Inc. is a member of the Appalachian Singlefoot Horse Breed Association, Inc., an association dedicated to preserving and protecting these wonderful horses.