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 dispositioned, 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

General Conformation Requirements

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

The height of the horse will be no less than 58 inches (14.2 hands) at the withers.
The horse should have medium sized bones, with medium feet in proportion to the body.
The horse should have a wide and deep chest.
The fore and hind legs should be free of noticeable deformity.
The shoulders should be sloping, ideally with an angle of 45 degrees.
The horse should have bold eyes and well shaped ears, with a face which is neither dished nor protruding.
The head should be medium sized, in proportion to the body, with medium sized jaws.
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.
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:

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.
Horses must be at least 14.2 hands (58 inches) tall at the withers prior to inspection and being permanently registered.
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.
Horses must exhibit good disposition.
Horses must exhibit a reasonable amount of "eye appeal".

Membership

Would you like to become a member of the MPHA?

As a member of the Mountain Pleasure Horse Association you will receive reduced rates on your registration fees and the Mountain Pleasure Horse Newsletter. The newsletter contains news and information of the Association, it's horses and it's members, along with articles of horse care in general. If you have any news or stories of your experiences with Mountain Pleasure Horses that others would find interesting, we would love to hear from you (send your submissions to the MPHA address, Attention: Secretary.) Click here to download a membership form.

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Mountain Pleasure Horse Association
P.O. Box 670
Paris, Kentucky 40361
606-663-0036
email: mpha@mtn-pleasure-horse.org

Mountain Pleasure Horse Gaits and Disposition

Mountain Pleasure Horse Association

The Mountain Pleasure Horse

History Of The Mountain Pleasure Horse

Mountain Pleasure Horse Home Page

Mountain Pleasure Horse links

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