The Mountain Pleasure Horse

History Of The Mountain Pleasure Horse

For more than 160 years, Eastern Kentuckians have enjoyed their homegrown product, the Mountain Pleasure Horse. Generation after generation of Kentuckians have stories to tell of their easy gaited, hard working, good disposition, reliable Mountain Pleasure Horses.

For years called "Mountain Horses" or "Country Saddle" horses, the Mountain Pleasure Horse is 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 more recently Rocky Mountain Horses. Long before these other gaited breeds were in existence, a particular type of horse was being bred on the steep hillsides to work the fields and "ride the best". The Mountain Pleasure Horse quietly existed in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky where the Breeders maintained the old-time horse, by selecting for their basic criteria-- GAIT and DISPOSITION

The general conformation of the Mountain Pleasure Horse is described in the bylaws of the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association as follows:

1. The height of the horse will be no less than 58 inches (14.2 hands) at the withers.
2. The horse should have medium sized bones, with medium feet in proportion to the body.
3. The horse should have a wide and deep chest.
4. The fore and hind legs should be free of noticeable deformity.
5. The shoulders should be sloping, ideally with an angle of 45 degrees.
6. The horse should have bold eyes and well shaped ears, with a face which is neither dished nor protruding.
7. The head should be medium sized, in proportion to the body, with medium sized jaws.
8. The neck should be gracefully arched, medium in length and set in at an angle to allow a natural carriage with a break at the poll.
9. Any solid body color is acceptable, however spotted Mountain Pleasure Horses are not encouraged by the association for breeding or showing.

To be eligible for registration, the horse must meet registration rules concerning conformation as follows:

1. Any body color is acceptable, however, spotted Mountain Pleasure Horses are not encouraged by the association for breeding or showing. Standard recognized colors of the Mountain Pleasure Horse include, but are not limited to, bay, black, chestnut/sorrel, roan, gray cremello, buckskin, palomino, and chocolate.
2. Horses must be at least 14.2 hands (58 inches) tall at the withers prior to inspection and being permanently registered.
3. Horses must demonstrate the recognized gait under saddle. The recognized gait is defined as follows:
   An evenly spaced, four beat lateral gait with moderate forward speed and extension, without exaggerated knee or hock action. The gait should be smooth, supple, cadenced and animated with the horse collected and balanced and exhibiting symmetry in flexion and extension.
4. Horses must exhibit good disposition.
5. Horses must exhibit a reasonable amount of "eye appeal".

Gait The Mountain Pleasure Horse's distinctive, easy-riding gait allows the surefooted horse to cover alot of ground with minimum effort for both horse and rider. The gait is an evenly spaced, four beat lateral gait with moderate forward speed and extension, without exaggerated knee and hock action. The horse moves out with a gait in which one can count four distinct hoofbeats that produce a cadence of near equal rhythm. The gait is natural. It is bred into these horses through generations of proper breeding. No action devices, aids or harsh training methods are necessary or allowed by the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association.

Disposition The disposition and trainability of the Mountain Pleasure Horse may be the most appreciated characteristic for novice horse owners. They are a very intelligent horse that loves attention. Veteran trainers of other breeds are amazed at how fast they learn. It is not uncommon to see 2 and 3 year olds effectively competing with older horses at area horse shows or on challenging trail rides. Once the Mountain Please Horse has been trained, they remember their lessons well. Who has the time, today, to ride a horse every day? The Mountain Pleasure Horse is waiting, with its natural gait and willing disposition, whether you ride once a week or once a month.

The Mountain Pleasure Horse Association Explains
"What is the Difference?"

Our goal is first to preserve the bloodlines of the Mountain Pleasure Horse, then to build the population of Mountain Pleasure Horses. We issue registration papers not to sell these horses, but to certify they meet the stringent criteria of the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association (MPHA) and to encourage the breeding of Mountain Pleasure Horses.

Those are our goals and so we do not consider ourselves to be in "competition" with any other gaited horse breed. However, some of our horses are double registered with the Rocky Mountain Horse Association (RMHA), and many are double registered with the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association (KMSHA), so naturally, we are asked the difference between the Mountain Pleasure Horse and these other associations.

Rocky Mountain Difference
Quite simply, the Mountain Pleasure Horse breed existed some 100 years before the existence of the Rocky Mountain Horse. In fact, Kentucky governor Brereton Jones, in September of 1994 recognized in his official proclamation:

1. "The Horsemen of Eastern Kentucky developed a type of horse, known as the Mountain Pleasure Horse, to be smooth of gait, gentle of disposition, willing to work and sure-footed as necessary for mountain terrain; and
2. This Mountain Pleasure Horse has been carefully and closely bred for over 160 traceable years along the original Kentucky mountain bloodlines; and
3. Blood typing research by the University of Kentucky has shown the Mountain Pleasure Horse to be the parent stock of American gaited horse breeds," including the Rocky Mountain Horse and Tennessee Walking Horse.

On the other hand, some 40 to 45 years ago, Sam Tuttle tapped into the Mountain Horse Heritage, crossing the native Mountain Pleasure stock with Tobe, a stallion carrying an unusual chocolate color, and his descendants, spawning (eventually) the Rocky Mountain Horse Association breed registry.

The key difference between the two registries is genetic foundation. Fewer than 17 percent of the foundation horses of the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association carry any trace of the "Tobe" bloodline.

In the MHPA, color is not a criteria of quality. In the RMHA, the chocolate color is generally preferred. Besides the chocolate color there are, to those who study closely, various physical characteristics and slight variations in gait among horses descended from Tobe bloodlines that generally are not present in the Mountain Pleasure Horses.

The MPHA registration books are now closed and only offspring of a registered stallion and a registered mare can be submitted for registration. We have no provisions for "grade mares." The MPHA registration process requires that all horses submitted for permanent registration be videotaped demonstrating gait and the Board of Directors of the MPHA must approve each horse. The MPHA requires that all its horses be blood typed by the University of Kentucky for absolute identification of parentage before papers are issued.

Generally speaking, our horses tend to be a bit larger (taller), longer bodied and cover more ground with their gait than the horses from the Tobe/Tuttle bloodlines.

We are proud of the Mountain Pleasure Horse genetic heritage that helped produce the horses of the the Tobe/Tuttle bloodlines. We realize that some people may prefer the results and color of the Tobe/Tuttle influenced horse. But for those who want the old-fashioned smooth ride and wonderful disposition of over 150 years of Kentucky heritage, backed by the integrity of blood typing and stringent scrutiny by the MPHA breed registry, we offer the Mountain Pleasure Horse.

Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Difference
Horses registered in the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association are often referred to as Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses. Several gaited breeds of horses are included in the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association's registry, the Mountain Pleasure Horse being one of them. Whereas, the Mountain Pleasure Horse and the Rocky Mountain Horse are "breeds" of horses, the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse normally refers to the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association registry. As mentioned at the top of this page, many horses registered with the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association are also doubled registered with the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association.

The information and photographs in this article are kindly provided by the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association. For further information on this breed, please click here.