Horse of the Rockies

The Horse of the Rockies must meet the following requirements:

The height at the withers should not be lower than 142 cm and at the same time not higher than 160 cm. This is important, since in the vast majority of other breeds there is no upper height limit.

The chest should be wide, the shoulder blade should be at a 45 degree angle.

Eyes should be large, ears - beautiful shape.

The Horse of the Rocky Mountains possesses in addition to a step and a lynx a four-stroke gait. The average speed of this gaur is from 7 to 20 miles per hour. This gait is innate and does not require special training.

Horse of the Rockies must be docile.

Very few facts from the history of the horses of the Rockies are known. The birthplace of this breed is not really the Rocky Mountains, but the Appalachians. The founder of the breed is a stallion who lived at the end of the 19th century and came to the east of Kentucky from somewhere over the Rocky Mountains. The origin of this stallion remains unknown. His descendant was the stallion of the tan suit Old Tobe (Old Tobe), born in 1927 on a farm, where services related to mountain tourism in the National Bridge National Park were provided.

Old Toub was distinguished by his stamina, good legs, docile temperament (he could be trusted even with a beginner) and comfy gaming for the rider. He lived to 37 years old, transferring his qualities to offspring. The genealogies of the vast majority of modern horses of the Rocky Mountains date back to the Old Toub. His descendants quickly became popular among farmers in Kentucky. These horses were used not only for riding, but also for agricultural work. The name of the breed - the Horse of the Rockies - stuck with them with the light hand of Sam Tuttle, the owner of Old Toub.

It is noteworthy that Kentucky is located on the border of the distribution zones of two types of horses - Spanish from the south and English from the north. Therefore, the Horse of the Rockies outwardly represents a cross between these two groups of horses.

The Studbook of the Rocky Mountain Horse appeared rather late - only in 1986. It is led by the Rocky Mountain Horse Association (RMHA).

The Horse of the Rockies has several offspring — Mountain Pleasure Horse, Kentucky Mountain Horse, etc. These horses are descended from the Horse of the Rockies but have different studbooks and requirements. Outwardly, these offspring differ little. According to the rules, only a horse can be recorded in the Studbook of the Rockies, in which both parents are recorded in the same studbook. At the same time, the rules of the Kentucky studbook allow entry into it of horses that have ancestors of other breeds. It also happens that the same horse can be recorded at once in two or three studbooks.

The following genetic markers are characteristic of the horses of the Rockies:

• D-deké (characteristic of many horses of Spanish origin, as well as for some of the top breeds of the USA);
• GPI-F (characteristic of the "allure" breeds of North America, related to the horses of the Rocky Mountains - perhaps this marker belonged to their common ancestor; this gene is also found in horses of Spanish origin, as well as heavy-stressed breeds);
• transferrin Tf (Fr3) É (this marker is also present in Spanish breeds).

Also in the horses of the Rockies, the ASD gene is often found, linked to the silvery gene and in the homozygous state causing deviations in the development of eye structures. Therefore, the horses of the stripes of the silvery group are recommended to cross with non-silver horses.

One of the features of this breed is a gait called slow gait - amble. It is possible that this gait is inherited from the Narragansett amblers.

It is noteworthy that, unlike such breeds as the American horse and Tennessee, the horses of the Rocky Mountains do not need special training for the development of this gait - it is present in many of them from birth, and it is not customary to correct it. Therefore, the course of the horses of the Rocky Mountains is not high, but flat, with a large capture of space. It is this gavel more convenient for many hours of walking on rough terrain and for the horse, and for the rider.

• Rocky mountain horse association
• European Rocky Mountain Horse Club