In 1992 Annette Gerhardt, a hobbyist horse historian and researcher, wrote an article entitled "Mystery of the Narragansett Pacer'.The Narragansett Pacer was in evidence in the US as early as 1676, and is regarded as the base upon which all easy gaited horses in America rests. The Pacer was generally thought to have become extinct in the late 1700's, but based on her research Ms. Gerhardt theorized that they were not extinct but continued to exist. She had concluded that the Pacer had spread westward with the migration of people across that continent, and had become isolated in the mountainous areas of the Appalachians. Independent sources indicated that the description of the Narragansett Pacer is:
"...small: the average height of the Rhode Island horse in 1769 was 14.1 hands, 'not very handsome, but good', plain in their form and low in their carriage. They were fleet, hardy and docile, surefooted, but not beautiful. 1830 edition of the Edinburgh Encyclopedia: Head clean,the neck long, hocks a little crooked, color generally thought not always, bright sorrel, very spirited and carry both head and tail high where the ground requires it, they have a fine, easy single-footed trot...they fatigue neither themselves nor their rider. They pace naturally, with such swiftness and for so long a continuance as must appear almost incredible to those who have not experienced it..."
Ms. Gerhardt concluded that several Narragansett Pacers were alive and well in her backyard. In particular, the small heavy-bodied short-backed ground-skimming, very smooth and often very strongly gaited horses found within the Mountain Horse breeds and registries are the living embodiment of the description of the Narragansett Pacer. That the breed had not become extinct provoked a storm of controversy among horse historians. But over the 13 years since the publication of that article, Ms. Gerhardt's assertion has come to be widely accepted as being correct, with such experts as Dr. Deb Bennett concurring with it.
Now we know the answer to the question- What is a Mountain Horse? Ground skimming, short-coupled, short, small! Right ?
Well, not exactly.
Taller, Longer-Legged, Longer necked, Flasher Gait ?
Several horse breeds were derived from the Narragansett Pacer-including among others the Tennessee Walking Horse, the Morgan Horse and a horse at first simply named the American horse. This horse was bred from the Narragansett Pacer in the late 1700's by out-crossing with local stock. Known at first as " The American Horse". The horse later became known as the " American Saddle Horse", which evolved in Kentucky and nearby states. From independent sources, the early American Saddle Horse's evolution and type is described:
Before they were all gone, Narragansett mares were crossed with Thoroughbreds, which the colonists began importing from England in the early 1700s. By 1776 during the American Revolution, a horse simply called the American horse had become a recognized type. It had the size and beauty of the Thoroughbred, but retained the ability to learn the easy riding gaits. These animals were used for riding, to pull the plow during the week, the carriage on Saturday night and for other work. They were prized for a pleasant temperament, eagerness, strength and stamina".
Until the late 1800's the American Saddle horse, from which the American Saddlebred derived, was described in looks, gait, temperament and use like the taller, longer legged, longer necked, flashier type mountain horse we see in the mountain breeds today. In the early 20th century, however, there was a split in how the American Saddle Horses were bred because of a show rule change. In the late 1800's the American Saddle Horse was required to be shown at a trot as well as at the easy gaits. As a result, breeders introduced more Thoroughbred stock into the program and created the American Saddlebred, which now carries a much stronger trotting gene component.
The American Saddlebred Association makes the claim that officers on both sides of the Civil War rode Saddlebreds. But that is not exactly true. What they actually rode was the precursor to the American Saddlebred-a type of Mountain Horse-the taller, longer legged, longer necked, flashier horse with more lift in the front and hock action in the rear. That original American Horse or American Saddle Horse still exists today because it continued to be bred in it's original form in the Mountains. That horse became the foundation stock for one "type" of Mountain Horse.
This explains even more than Sam Tuttle's use of one stallion in his breeding program why the Mountain Horses today are most closely related to the American Saddlebred, as Dr. Gus Cothran contends. The relationship of the Mountain Horses to the American Saddlebred is in fact precisely the same as the relationship of the Arab to the Thoroughbred: in both cases, the latter is descended from the former. Further confirming that the Mountain Horses included a strong American Saddlebred component is Sam Tuttle's use of the horse know as "Old Bob" in his breeding program. Old Bob is said to have been Chester Dare Peavine, a registered American Saddle Horse stallion. His son King Tut sired Cheek's Rocky, sire of One Classy Fellow and Holbrook's Rocky among many others. Old Bob is the sire of Honey, who is the dam of Tobe.
So, NOW ,we know the answer to the Question-What is A Mountain Horse? Taller, Longer Legged, Longer Necked, Flasher Gait ! Right ?
Well, not exactly..
Conclusion
Long has the Association and it's membership been divided over the answer to the question-What is a mountain horse? But, according to this very well thought out research and theory that Annette Gerhardt asserts, there are two kinds of Mountain Horse. No wonder we are confused! According to Ms. Gerhardt, this is the explanation of "why there are two somewhat distinct types of horses in the Mountain Horses. One is the old base stock of the short backed, heavy bodied, heavy built to work butt, broad v-shaped chest, relatively shorter neck then the other kind without as high a head carriage, low ground skimming front end, relatively quiet hock action, and almost always under 14-3 H Narragansett Pacer. The other is the American Saddle Horse as it existed in the late 1800's just before the show rule change and the introduction of more hock action.It is also the explanation of why the argument over "type" continues -both arguments makes sense. These Mountain Horses certainly pre-date the RMHA founding in 1986-one was developed in the 1600's and the other developed in the 1700's,and they are both included in the breed. That may be why the Rocky Mountain Horse Association's bylaws clearly indicated a range of acceptable conformation and a range of acceptable gait motion with its terminology of "minimal" that is otherwise left undefined there. The Association's bylaws also clearly define the purpose of the organization as preserving and protecting the breed. But which type do we preserve-which type do we protect?
Or, do we quite simply preserve and protect both?
