Origin of Mountain Horses
The rolling farms of the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky are renown for their beauty and elegance as well as for the fine Thoroughbred horses that have been bred and raised there for generations. While the Bluegrass region has been producing fine horses for the "sport of kings", farther to the east in the foothills and mountains of Eastern Kentucky other breeders have been developing and nurturing horses that are as special in their own right as their royal cousins from the Bluegrass. These "mountain horses" were bred to be versatile and gentle but above all else to be fine saddle horses. Most of the breeders were small farmers who could not afford to own a horse just for riding purposes. These animals were used as light harness horses that could plow the forty-five degree slopes of Eastern Kentucky as readily as they could proudly carry their owners to Mt. Sterling on Court Day with a smooth four beat gait. The measure of a good mountain horse fifty years ago was whether it could be ridden 95 miles in a day.
For years these mountain horses or country saddle horses were distinct from the "Tennessee Horses" or the "Saddlebred Horses" although genetic testing has demonstrated that all of these breeds descended from the same easy riding stock found in Eastern Kentucky at the time of the Civil War. A little over a decade ago some Kentucky horsemen and women became concerned that this treasure might be soon be lost. To preserve this rich heritage the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was founded in 1986 and the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association and the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association were formed in 1989. All three of these registries strive to promote and preserve the characteristics of the mountain horse. The registrations often overlap with some horses being registered in two or even all three of the organizations even though the three registries are different.