History

Eastern Kentucky is known for its gaited breeds, created through a mixture of Spanish horses from the southern United States and English horses from the North. American Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walking Horses and Missouri Fox Trotters also originated in the same general geographic area, from the same mixing of Spanish and English blood. Rocky Mountain Horses have a similar history to the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse, and together are sometimes called "Mountain Pleasure Horses". The Rocky Mountain Horse originated in eastern Kentucky from a foundation stallion brought to the Appalachian Mountains from the Rocky Mountains around 1890. Brought to the area as a colt, oral histories state that the "Rocky Mountain Horse", as he was known, possessed the preferred chocolate color and flaxen mane and tail found in the breed today, as well as the single-foot gait. He was used to breed local saddle mares, and due to the small area in which he was bred, a local strain of horse originated.

This foundation stallion produced a descendent, named Old Tobe, who became the more modern father of the Rocky Mountain Horse breed. Old Tobe was owned by a resident of Spout Springs, Kentucky named Sam Tuttle. For most of the 20th century, Tuttle was a prominent breeder of Rocky Mountain Horses, and helped to keep the strain alive during the Great Depression and World War II. After World War II, despite declining horse populations in the US, Tuttle kept his herd, and continued to use Old Tobe as a breeding stallion. Tuttle held the Natural Bridge State Park concession for horseback riding, and used Old Tobe for trail rides in the park and for siring additional trail horses, the latter until the stallion was 34 years old. Old Tobe died at the age of 37. The presence of the single-foot gait makes it possible that the breed is in part descended from the Narragansett Pacer, a breed known for passing its gaited ability on to other American breeds.

In 1986, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was created to increase population numbers and promote the breed; there were only 26 horses in the first batch of registrations. Since then, the association has, over the life of the registry, registered over 17,000 horses as of 2009, and the breed has spread to 47 states and 11 countries. In order to be accepted by the registry, a foal's parentage must be verified via DNA testing. Horses must also, after reaching 23 months of age, be inspected to ensure that they meet the physical characteristic and gait requirements of the registry. The Rocky Mountain Horse is listed at "Watch" status by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, meaning that the estimated global population of the breed is fewer than 10,000, with fewer than 2,500 registrations annually in the US.

The breed was originally developed for general use on the farms of the Appalachian foothills, where it was found pulling plows and buggies, working cattle and being ridden by both adults and children. Today, it is still used for working cattle, as well as endurance riding and pleasure riding.[13] The breed's gait and disposition make it sought out by elderly and disabled riders. Each September, the Kentucky Horse Park hosts the International Rocky Mountain Horse Show.