Mountain
Horses are wonderful horses to ride and
handle due to their wonderful personalities
and smooth gaits.
The average Mountain Horse can be registered
with two breeds and two registries.
The breeds are Rocky Mountain and Mountain
Pleasure.
The registries are American Gaited Mountain
and Kentucky Mountain.
Below is a summary of each:
Around the turn of the century, a young
horse soon to be called the Rocky Mountain
Horse appeared in eastern Kentucky that gave
rise to a line of horses prized by North
American and European owners. On the farm of
Sam Tuttle in Spout Springs Kentucky, there
stood a stallion named "Old Tobe". This sure
footed, gentle horse carried young, old, and
inexperienced riders over the rugged
mountain trails of Natural Bridge State Park
where Sam held the concession for horse-back
riding. Even though Old Tobe was a breeding
stallion, he carried riders without
faltering. He fathered many fine horses up
until the age of 37, and many of the present
Rocky Mountain Horses carry his bloodline.
The basic characteristics of the breed are a
medium sized horse of gentle temperament
with an easy-ambling four-beat gait. This
gait made it the horse of choice on the
farms and rugged foothills of the
Appalachian Mountains. It was a horse for
all seasons. It could pull the plows in the
small fields, work cattle, be ridden
bareback, or be hitched up to a buggy.
Because of its rugged upbringing it
tolerated the winters in Kentucky with a
minimum of shelter. Naturally, outcrossing
with local horses did occur, but the basic
characteristics of a strong genetic line
have continued.
In the summer of 1986, as a way of
preserving the breed, a number of people got
together to form the Rocky Mountain Horse
Association (RMHA) as a non-profit
corporation in the state of Kentucky. The
association established a breed registry and
formed a panel of examiners to provide
vigorous supervision to the growth and
development of the breed.
The established characteristics of the
breed are:
| |
1. The horse must be of
medium height from 14.2 to 16
hands. It must have a wide chest
sloping 45 degrees on the
shoulder with bold eyes and well
shaped ears. The breed is
best-known for a unique
coloration of a chocolate-brown
body color and flaxen mane and
tail, created by the silver
dapple gene. However, other
colors are equally common, and
prized, as well.
2. The horse must have a
natural ambling four-beat gait
(single foot or rack) with no
evidence of pacing. When the
horse moves you can count four
distinct hoof beats which
produce a cadence of equal
rhythm, just like a walk: left
hind, left fore, right hind,
right fore. Each individual
horse has its own speed and
natural way of going, traveling
7 to 20 miles per hour. This is
a naturally occurring gait,
present from birth that does not
require any training aids or
action devices.
3. The horse must be of
good temperament and must be
easy to manage.
4. All Rocky Mountain
Horses have a solid body color.
Facial markings are acceptable
so long as they are not
excessive. There may not be any
white above the knee or hock.
5. The breed is best
known for its gentleness, often
being compared to the Golden
Retriever dog as a means of
describing their unusual
enjoyment of human company. It
is an easy keeper and a
wonderful riding horse with a
strong heart and lots of
endurance. Today the Rocky
Mountain Horse is being used as
a pleasure horse, for trail
riding, in the show ring and for
endurance riding. (Courtesy of
the Rocky Mountain Horse
Association). |
The Mountain
Pleasure horse has been in the hills of
Eastern Kentucky for over 160 years. They
have always been prized for their excellent
personalities and smooth single-foot gaits.
The Mountain Pleasure Horse is the
foundation of several breeds, the American
Saddlebred, Tennessee Walking Horse, and the
Rocky Mountain Horse. The Rocky Mountain
Horse was founded from the crossing of Tobe
to Mountain Pleasure stock, among others. In
order for a horse to be registered Mountain
Pleasure, both parents must also be
registered with the breed, as a result, not
all horses that are registered Rocky
Mountain are able to be registered Mountain
Pleasure (Courtesy of the Mountain Pleasure
Horse Association).
The Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse is a
registry that consists of several gaited
breeds, including the Rocky Mountain Horse
and Mountain Pleasure Horse.
The American Gaited Mountain Horse was
formed to promote and encompass all of the
Mountain Horse registries. Standards within
the American Gaited Mountain Horse were set
based on each of the breeds/registries. A
set of papers is issued that includes the
history of the horse in question, along with
the registration numbers from the Rocky
Mountain, Kentucky Mountain, and Mountain
Pleasure (Courtesy of the American Gaited
Mountain Horse). |
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