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Meet
the Rocky Mountain Horse!
The Rocky Mountain horses are medium-sized,
with gentle temperament and an easy ambling four-beat gait. This gait made
it the horse of choice on the farms and the rugged foothills of the Appalachians.
It is a horse for all seasons. It can pull the plows in the small fields,
work cattle, be ridden bareback by four children to the fishing hole, or
to town comfortably on Saturday. They even perform well hitched to the
buggy. Fancy barns and stalls are not necessary. Because of its cold-blooded
nature, they tolerate the winters in Kentucky with a minimum of shelter.
Naturally, out crossing with local horses has occurred, but the basic characteristics
of a strong genetic line have continued. The breed is best known
for gentleness. It is an easy keeper and a wonderful riding horse with
a strong heart and endurance. Today the Rocky Mountain Horse® is being
used as a pleasure horse, for trail, and competitive or endurance riding.
As show horses, the breed is rapidly gaining in popularity because of its
beauty and unique way of moving in the ring. They are sure-footed
on rough ground and, because of their gait, they require a minimum of effort
by both horse and rider so that together they can cover a greater distance
with less tiring.
In the summer of 1986, those who were interested
in the breed got together to form the Rocky Mountain Horse Association®.
The purpose of this association is to maintain the breed, to increase the
number of horses in the breed and expand the area which has knowledge of
this fine horse. The association has established a registry which has shown
steady and well-regulated growth in the number of horses registered.
The established characteristics for the breed are:
