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:
- "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
- This Mountain Pleasure Horse has been carefully and closely bred for
over 160 traceable years along the original Kentucky mountain
bloodlines; and
- 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 "Tobe" bloodlines and those
combine Tobe with the native Mountain Pleasure bloodlines.
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.
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