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Rocky Mountain Horses

19K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  Cacowgirl 
#1 ·
Hello,

Lately I grew very fond of this breed. I do admit it's mostly the unique coloring that got my attention in the first place, however the more I researched, the more I liked the breed.

Do you own a RM horse? How does that gait feel? How would you describe their temperaments? And cold anyone post pictures of them?

And last but not least, what causes that interesting coat coloring? The dark chocolate coat + light mane and tail?
 
#3 · (Edited)
I got my first RMH a little over a year ago, but I've been riding them a little over three years since my friends own them. The 'chocolate' coloring is silver dapple - and yes it is very pretty. The gene (Z) dilutes black pigment. A rocky that is homozygous for the silver dapple gene will ALWAYS produce a chocolate baby, no matter what the other horse's color is.

As far as the gait goes - it varies depending on the horse. My mare is consistent and silky smooth as far as her gait, but some Rockies have a bumpier gait and have a tendency to trot or pace. You have the show pleasures (who step high) or the trail pleasures (who step low). I like trail pleasure horses.

The temperament is like the gait, it depends on the horse. Most Rockies are known for their sweet attitude and their love of being around people, not to mention their willingness to learn. And for the most part rockies are easy to work with. Some say they break themselves. My mare apparently didn't get the memo... she has a little attitude all her own. :lol:

Here's some pics. The dark bay one with a snip is Shannon, my horse. I also have more pics of her in my stable. The others are my friends' horses. :)









 
#5 ·
Temperament is the same as any other breed. Put the wrong sire/dam together and you have a handful, put the right sire/dam together you will have your dream horse. The sad part is although the chocolate is the desired color that in itself is causing genetic problems in the breed. Read up on ASD, it is not a life threatening problem, but is a defect and as long as breeders are careful and honest I don't see it as a big problem.

The other thing we northerners are adding to the breed is the insulin resistance. These horses are used to eating lower quality hays and grasses and many of us are busily feeding them feeds and great quality hay. Because of this in my area especially many are keeping "fat" horses. I have seen some that no longer gait and end up needing a fat farm.

I have three of the most wonderful horses with great temperaments and before I purchased them I researched the bloodlines for that purpose. Our mare can have a bit of attitude, but still does not refuse what is asked. They are 5, 4 and 3 respectively and are seasoned trail horses at this young age and all enjoy going out on the trail. Plus they have the most fantastic hooves I have ever seen.
 
#6 ·
The sad part is although the chocolate is the desired color that in itself is causing genetic problems in the breed. Read up on ASD, it is not a life threatening problem, but is a defect and as long as breeders are careful and honest I don't see it as a big problem.

I have seen some that no longer gait and end up needing a fat farm.

Plus they have the most fantastic hooves I have ever seen.

LOL! I would heartily agree they tend to be "easy keepers". I am so glad you mentioned the ASD/Chocolate issue! The association itself is really bad about only promoting the "Chocolate Rocky" image. I recently got a horse breed book for Christmas and under the Rocky listing it says they ONLY come in chocolate.:roll: I agree, they are a beautiful color , but as with any animal when you breed for color only it is going to have a few side effects. However, as Macslady said all one needs to do is look into the bloodlines a bit and it's not problem:)
My boy is RMH/Morgan, but I board on a breeding farm with his sire and many siblings, they really are a wonderful breed. Very versatile, his sire(Storm Traveler) was actually in the Craig Cameron Extreme Cowboy competition and placed. A nice medium sized breed, very strong, very loving and kind hearted. I have started several myself under saddle and they all seem to just settle right into it with no problems.(Except for mine of course, I think his foundation Morgan mama gave him more than just a big booty:p)

I agree about the gait, but really any gaited breed is going to have some variation in smoothness depending on each horse and their conformation/training/natural ability. IME the Rockys with less action tend to be smoother, but there are exceptions to that rule.
 
#8 ·
LMBO! I guess you're right! Devils Food, German Chocolate....it could go on forever! lol

Just a few pics of Jack and the Rockys at the farm, dang it I wish I had pics of his sire on here....where are they....



dadJack1209 012 by Jen LaRocque, on Flickr
Jack likes kitties


Jack 6/10 by Jen LaRocque, on Flickr


5-15 011 by Jen LaRocque, on Flickr
My shmexy boy,:p


Stalker 6/10 by Jen LaRocque, on Flickr
Legend's Knight Stalker, 3 yr old smoky black


First Dude 12 hrs old by Jen LaRocque, on Flickr
Legend's First Dude, 12 hours old


4thof08 004 by Jen LaRocque, on Flickr
Legend's King Tut, 5 year old dark chocolate after a bath
 
#9 · (Edited)
RMH's are an offshoot of the Kentucky Mountain Horse.
http://www.rmhorse.com/history.html The foundation sire was a KMH, who was so mild and popular that they made a breed from him. Their comfortable gait is called an "amble". It IS comfortable but can be a little "rocky" (pardon the pun) if the RMH hasn't been strengthened through collection exercises.
I don't know much about the colors, but KMH's have a great number of what I would call "liver chestnut". The build is large barrelled, shorter legged than, for instance, a TWH. They have large hooves, which I ALWAYS appreciate, for weight-bearing, and their nose is thicker than the same sized QH. They grow very long manes and tails. I kinda think that they look like the "My Little Ponies" of the horse world.
These horses absolutely LOVE to amble FAST for long distances. If you trail ride with KMH or RMH owners on a horse that trots to keep up, you will get quite a workout.
They are generally easy going and friendly, and pretty easy keepers. I know that my KMHSA mare has a back that begs to be ridden bareback. Although there are shows for them, most owners get them for pleasure riding. I am sure that if you shop around, you'll find one suitable for your purposes. =D
 
#16 ·
RMH's are an offshoot of the Kentucky Mountain Horse.
I'm sorry but this is completly incorrect...The Rocky Mountain Horse Association was founded in 1986, which was before Jr. Robinson started the KMSHA in 1989. The KMSHA started basically on the standards that the RMHA wouldnt allow a horse under 14.2 to be certified, several of the old horses were not this tall, Smith's Ginger an excellent producer in the RMHA wasn't even 14hh...so no the RMHA is not an offshoot of KMSHA, they came first, nothing against KMSHA all our horses are Double Reg. RMHA/KMSHA and I show KMSHA but the fact of the matter is RMHA came first, they are the BREED, KMSHA is just an association registry, same as AGMH/UMH.

Nate
 
#10 ·
Just to show the difference, which really isn't that much, here is another site, and quote:
"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 KMHSHA registry, the Mountain Pleasure Horse became one of them....the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse normally refers to the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association registry."
The Mountain Pleasure Horse - Horse breed, Horse breeding, types and breeds from Equiworld.
I think it's just a little bit of purist fiddle-faddle. They're all very nice pleasure horses, IMHO.
They like to use inventive names which often don't refer to the sire or dam. My mare's registered name is "Warren's Cindy," bc a Mr. Warren bred her dam.
My gelding's registered name is "Long Arm of the Law." No relationship to either parent, but since DH is an attorney, WE find this amusing. His stable name is "Sweet Cuppin' Cakes."
 
#11 ·
Well, I'd be hard put to say which is an off-shoot of which,lol. I know the KMSH registry started in 89 and the RMH started in 86. I believe the mare books are still open and accepting horses of other bloodlines in KMSH while RMH closed the grade books in 07, but that definitely isn't necessarily a bad thing, genetic diversity is good. Really, if you go to both association web sites and read the origins they're virtually identical. I'd be very curious to find out why there are so many Mountain Horse registries since they are all pretty much the same horse and so many horses are registered with all at the same time.
 
#13 ·
I am happy the RMH closed the books to grade horses. The KMSHA is getting too many 15.3 to 16 hand horses. Rockies and Kentucky mountains were bred to be smaller in order to travel the hills and fit under tree branches. I am also seeing some grade mares allowed into their registry that are used for broodmares and don't gait a lick. I don't find much desirable in that.
 
#14 ·
The KMSHA is getting too many 15.3 to 16 hand horses. Rockies and Kentucky mountains were bred to be smaller in order to travel the hills and fit under tree branches. I am also seeing some grade mares allowed into their registry that are used for broodmares and don't gait a lick. I don't find much desirable in that.

That's a good point, if people really stuck to the breed standard when allowing grade mares in it wouldn't be as much of an issue but there are a lot of people that sneak things under the radar. The RMH association can be a huge pain to deal with but they do stick to their guns.

I smile every time I'm on a trail ride and all I have to do is lean down on Jack's neck to get under a fallen tree or branch and my boyfriend about gets brushed off of his 16hh+ QH/elephant:lol:. It's also nice that he takes out all of the spider webs,lol.
 
#17 · (Edited)
hccumminssmoke, I don't own stock in either, soooo I guess I don't really care!! TOTALLY LOL!!!
ALL I know is that the man I bought my mare from told me what breed she was, then rattled off famous breed names to me, to which I had never heard of any. (Now if he was talking TB's I would have recognized some famous names.) HE told me that the breed originated in the late 1700's in Colonial America.
I bought my gelding (big head...left) from a KMHSA breeder a few hours north of me, in Northern Illinois, near the Wisconsin border. They are small breeders who specialize in pleasure KMSHA horses. They also generally breed from one or two studs. I have been told by several KMHSA and RMH owners over the past few years that the breed numbers are low--so did "Warren's Cindy"'s, the owner of my 15'2hh mare--and I have discovered that some KMSHA breeders have bred TWH back in to increase the numbers, enlargen the gene pool and still keep the amble. I am sure that MY gelding, at 16'3hh, is an anomaly to the breed because he is much taller, MUCH leggier, and generally reminds ME of a TWH, since TWH's have Percheron way back in their pedigree. (Hence the height and bone structure.)
I guess we could also quibble about QH's. THEY were first bred in the Colonies but it wasn't until "Wimpy" in 1940 that somebody bothered to start a breed registry.
I think what happened was an increased interested in gaited pleasure horses over the last several decades in America. Many older riders (now 53yo), like me, have been riding for a long time and now want a more comfortable ride. Older gaited breeds are being rediscovered, and people want to know where they come from. Heck, I rode my KMHSA mare yesterday in my English saddle sans strirrups. She'll amble for MILES.
Doesn't matter much to me WHERE they originated. I'm just happy that they did. =D
BTW, IF the moderators don't mind, I'd like to post the website where we bought him--
Appleridge Mountain Horses by Bill & Deb Dietz
I would definitely buy from them again! If anybody is looking for a good trail riding horse, you might contact them. They have a blue roan mare for sale that doubled in price after they finished her--worth it, too. I saw her 2 years ago, and she was a real looker.
 
#18 ·
you seemed rather bold in your first statement that the RMH are an "offshoot" of the KMH, and now you say you really don't care, I was just simply stateing the facts because there are several potential buyers and owners that do not know the difference. Never hurts to correct false information with fact. As for your seller saying the were around in the 1700 colonies, i can say I've never heard that, the story seems to be tried and true on how the breed started and how it got to where it is today, and it always starts with Spout Springs in Estill County, KY.

Nate
 
#19 ·
I am not trying to be snotty in any way, and I didn't speak up when I saw the typo about RMHA being an offshoot of KMSHA. Thank you for clarifying that hccumminssmoke. I just needed someone who knows the correct history as I didn't know any date of organization for the different breeds.

I know the people Corporal speaks of and they are very nice people, in fact we have purchased from them and they are as honest as the day is long. There is nothing and I repeat nothing wrong with KMSHA. They are however similar to the CKC (Continental Kennel Club) in the US. If anyone is unfamiliar with Continental Kennel Club they are basically a dog registry that allows you to register your purebred dogs (pets) that the AKC (American Kennel Club) won't allow. They have games and fun for your dog to win points with, but they don't do confirmation to better the breed. My Chinese Crested powderpuff more resembled a Maltese. I found that out the hard way after I purchased her as a registered CKC dog. AKC wouldn't accept her as she didn't have a pedigree lineage.

I think this will put the KMSHA registry into perspective when I explain my registering a grade mare I had acquired. All I had to do was take pictures, pull some mane and tail hairs for DNA and wal-lah I had a registered Kentucky Mountain mare who didn't and never did gait a lick. But it sure sold her, even though I let the new owner know she didn't gait. But she was the right color - chocolate. I don't think that would happen in the RMHA. Yes, I know they would never have certified her to breed, but would that stop any backyard breeder??

I am not a breed snob, but I do appreciate the organizations that try to keep the special things that keep that breed apart from others.
 
#20 ·
I have two RMH mares, 5 and 6 years old. Both are silver dapples and about as beautiful as any horses can be. The older one is my wife's horse. My wife has only been on a horse, any horse, about 5 times. I got the Rockies because of their beauty and their reputation for being so good with people and so gentle and responsive. My wife's horse is all of that. She gets a little pissy when I ride her, but she is as gentle and caring as could be with my wife. She is a woman's horse all the way. There is no doubt about it.

The other one, the 5 year old is the prettier horse, which probably saved her life. I took her and my other TWH on a week long ride a few weeks ago. I had ridden her over a dozen times before but not for a couple of months before this ride. I saddled her up the second day of the ride and climbed up. She went to bucking like the best of saddle broncs at any rodeo. I went off after about the second buck. I cowboy'ed up and climbed back on. This time the observers said I stayed on for about 7 1/2 seconds :shock: not quite enough time to get a score. :-(

So much for a quiet and gentle temperament.

I know there were things I did wrong, so it wasn't all her fault and we've been working through all of the issues since that time. I'm still hoping she'll turn out to be a good horse, but, like all horse breeds, RMHs can have their dark side as well.

Every individual horse, regardless of the breed, has it's own personality and issues. And thus every horse needs to be dealt with as an individual. I feel that saying all horses of any breed are a certain way is making a huge mistake. But that's just me....
 
#21 ·
I've had my RMH/KMSH since Feb & I love her (she's the horse in my avatar). She is my first "gaited" horse, even though she does not gait properly...she is VERY pacey. I'm told this is probably because she is "big lick" TWH bred on the dam's side. We are working on the gaiting thing & honestly (to me) her other qualities more than compensate for her lack of a smooth gait. She is chocolate dapple with tons of flaxen mane and tail (hubby calls her my "Barbie horse") and is sensible and fearless on the trail. Considering she was a barely broke 10 year old broodmare when I got her, I'm very proud of how far she's come.
 
#23 ·
Hi everyone. I'm new here, so hope i'm doing this right :)

I have had my Rocky for about a year, and absolutely love everything about him. He is not a horse for a beginner (has a big engine), but is the bravest horse I have ever ridden (I have been riding for 30+ years). I am strictly a trail rider, and he takes great care of me, and has never refused anything. I did do research before I bought him (I really wanted the chocolate w/flaxen color...and was concerned with ASD). I took him to a optomologist and had him cleared before purchasing him. As far as easy keeper...agree! The other 3 horses on my property (QH's and Appys) get to eat much more than him...because he blows up, no matter how much riding we do.
 

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#29 ·
I just have to say that I have had a lot of hip issues and have had 3 surgeries on my hip and the Rockies ride like a dream! The ones I have ridden have had gait that was even smoother than a walk! I got my first Rocky about 2 months ago and he is 6 months old now. He is a VERY smart little fart. I have never dealt with a breed in general that is so smart, calm, gentle and people-loving. They are in general, a very trusting breed and would rather spend time with a person than other horses. I would never get another breed again. My colt is a Chocolate, and he is ASD free, which you can get, as long as you go through a responsible breeder, like the one I got him from. (The picture was from when I left our back door open and he came and found me in my room. lol)
 

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#31 ·
This is Rachel and she is the first Rocky Mountain Horse I have ever known. She is very friendly and seems to really enjoy attention...probably more than any of the other horses. When we are out working around the pasture or barn she wants to be right in the middle of things.:D
 

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