The Rocky Mountain Horse and Kentucky Mountain Horse Breeds

The Rocky Mountain Horse and the Kentucky Mountain Horse share the same rich history in eastern Kentucky. Shown is a handsome member of the well-bred herd owned by Dave Stefanic of Classic Farm.

Breed evolution: The Rocky Mountain Horse and the Kentucky Mountain Horse share the same rich history and beginnings in the tranquil rolling hills of eastern Kentucky. According to legend, an anonymous traveler from the Rocky Mountains arrived in the area early last century. The traveler traded a handsome young colt for supplies. Bred to local horses, the colt's offspring were the beginning of the Rocky Mountain Horse breed.

The next milestone occurred 50 years later, when horseman Sam Tuttle's stallion, Tobe, and his five sons were recognized as foundation sires of the modern-day Rocky Mountain Horse. Strong-built, with a distinct, four-beat gait, the horses became essential to Appalachian farms.

The strength and versatility of these horses became part of local legend, but remained an eastern Kentucky secret until 1986, when the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was formed in Mount Olivet, Kentucky, to maintain and promote the breed.

The good life in Vermont: A lovely Rocky Mountain mare, Adam's Sara Jane, with her irresistible 2-day-old filly, CGF Triple Delight. They pair is owned by Cedar Grove Farm.

Then, in 1989, Robert Robinson Jr. formed the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association, based in Lexington, Kentucky, to document and preserve the ancestry and rich heritage of the Mountain Saddle Horse.

"Junior Robinson didn't fully buy into the Old Tobe theory," notes Dave Stefanic, today the owner of the for-profit KMSHA registry and of Classic Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. "He believed there was an existing herd of gaited horses in central Kentucky dating back to the 1890s, and that Old Tobe was just one of several foundation stallions of the Kentucky Mountain breed."

Stefanic also owns the KMSHA's subsidiary, the Spotted Mountain Horse Association, which registers Mountain Horses that sport too much white to meet the breed's solid-color standard.

Early Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses were small, so two size classifications were created: pony size, 11 to 13.3 hands high; and horse size, 14 hands and up. There's no predominant breed color, in contrast to the Rocky Mountain Horses, which are renowned for their striking chocolate coats accented by flaxen manes and tails. Many horses are registered with both the Rocky Mountain and Kentucky Mountain Horse organizations.

In 1988, the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association was founded, registering "the old-time gaited breed of horse that existed in Kentucky 160 years ago and from which selective breeders developed the Tennessee Walking Horses, American Saddlebred Horses, and the Rocky Mountain Horses." The MPHA is a closed registry, open only to horses with registered parents.