Anyone have experience of Rocky Moutain Horses

[Samantha Red]

My two friends and I went to see the only UK breeder of these horses on Friday and they ended up buying two foals and a riding mare between them! We were completely blown away by their beauty and gentleness. I would love to hear about other experiences of these horses. Are they all as gentle and sweet ? Do they settle well into new situations? Any photos would be appreciated too.

 

[Fancy605]

I''ve only been around them once on a visit to Kentucky International Horse Park, but I will say, they are BEAUTIFUL animals. I think they are one of the most beautiful breeds actually. They make excellent riding horses too with their beautiful, smooth, 4-beat gait. (Have you ever been on a Tennessee Walker? It''s probably similar, but I can''t say so from first hand experience). As far as I know, they are pretty easy keepers, and they are pretty even keel and gentle. I''ve heard them described with this analogy: Rocky Mountain Horse: Horse::Golden Retrievers: Dog.

The only thing is from what I understand, they come with a pretty hefty price tag compared to other breeds. Maybe that has changed over the years. I''ve always dreamed of owning one.

 

[iwannaprettyone]

I have had an experience with a rocky mountain horse, and like with any animal it really does depend. Bracken was a monster in the stall, I have no idea what the previous owners did with this horse but I have never seen ground manner so atrocious! He was however a dream to ride in an arena setting but out on the trail he was a nightmare.

As I said though, horses are amazing creatures and there temperament is fragile in the hands of those that know no better. I have ridden the most docile to the most extreme in lots of breeds and there really is no way of knowing by breed alone.

Think of it like dogs, many people think only Pitbulls bite- tell that to my father who was mauled by a lab as a child.

 

[Samantha Red]

Thanks both of you for the interesting replies. The hefty price tag is right as the yearlings were around $7000 a piece! The older mare has been trained using only natural horsemanship techniques and from what we saw was quiet and gentle. The foals will be brought on using the same techniques. I plan to have the first available foal from my friends mare in about 3 years and bring that on the same way.

They are incredible horses, beautiful to look at, hardy and sweet and gentle - almost too good to be true. Fingers crossed they continue this way

 

[dragonfly411]

We own a Rocky Mountain/quarter horse cross. He is a great horse! He is very inteligent though, tell them to make sure gates are secure. He learned to open his stall gate at our previous facility and would take off running down the road. He thought it was great fun. But we didn''t. LOL He has a VERY sweet personality, but he''s a prankster too. One day I went to let him in, and he walked to a sandy spot nearby, looked at me, took in that I was waiting with his door open, dropped down, rolled, got up, walked to where he was parallel with me, shook all the dirt off onto me, walked closer, looked at me, sneezed on me, and went into his stall. LOL. He''s a sweety though. He adapts well to new situations, hasn''t been hard with feed, or supplements. He is now on a low protein diet and aspirin in relation to arthritis caused by a fractured ankle. Otherwise we''ve never had ANY Health problems with him. No colic, no feet problems until the fracture (he of course was tender at that point), has done well on grass or on dirt with hay, and loves to be ridden. I wish you friends luck with theirs!!!

 

[Samantha Red]

Thanks so much Dragonfly, what a great character he sounds. The horses are coming to our yard on Monday and I cannot wait, I am so excited and they are not even my horses