Several years ago I wrote an article about a Fell Pony breeder and I remember her commenting that they wanted to have a number of mares so when they started their breeding program the foals would be raised in a herd of Fell Ponies. Okay I’m going to be honest I thought that was a ridiculous statement. I mean really. I thought what does she think - it would be like the Disney movie the Ugliest Dachshund where the Great Dane was raised with Dachshunds and thought he was one. Well I may stand corrected now.
My sister purchased a Rocky Mountain filly back in 2006. The filly was a weanling when we brought her home. She was, of course, the only Rocky in the barn, but we didn’t think anything of that. What did it matter that her stablemates were three Arabians, a half Arabian and a Paso Fino. The herd would teach her lessons and she find her place in the herd.
At two years of age she was your typical two year old horse - challenging authority and sometimes finding herself being put her place by the other horses. She hadn’t really perfected her gait at that young age, but we were told it might take a while. Everything was going along fine, or so we thought.
I guess it was in Spring of her third year that I noticed, while she was gaiting very nicely, that every once in a while when she trotted in the pasture her trot had some suspension to it. One day I commented she looked kind of like an Arabian out there, but didn't give it much more thought.
At four I really started her ground training. She was a little slow to mature, mentally, so I wanted to give her some time. While lunging her one day I again noticed her gait at the extended trot. I thought maybe it was me and I shouldn’t ask for an extended trot since she was a gaited horse.
So I talked to some Rocky owners and did some research. Rocky Mountain horses don’t get a lot of suspension when they trot. Words like amble, pace or even rack were used, but not floating or suspension. No problem, I thought, I won’t ask for an extended trot. Don’t get me wrong she can gait like a Rocky Mountain Horse and it’s a lovely gait.
Then one day ,late this fall she was turned loose in the pasture and at first I didn’t pay much attention to her, as I was cleaning stalls or something, but then I caught a glimpse of her trotting across the pasture. There it was again that floating suspended gait and her tail was up, too, more like an Arabian. The thing that really stopped me in my tracks with the wheelbarrow was when she arched her neck and raised her tail as she reached over to the paddock fence to talk to one of the other horses. She looked like an Arabian.
I knew she had picked up some habits from both the Paso Fino and the Arabs. She would often mimic the Paso Fino’s behavior. I had a friend tell me they are sponges, but I didn't think much about it.
Well during a clinic I was holding this fall I used the mare to demonstrate some training exercises. When we turned her loose in the arena, because everyone wanted to see her move , there it was again, that Arabian trot. Everyone commented about that gait. Oh, she didn’t do it in hand or being lunged, but at liberty she did.
A few weeks after that clinic I was judging a fun show that some Rocky Mountain horses were attending. I watched those horses in the barn being handled and, being the judge, I watched them in the ring under saddle. It was crystal clear to me that we had raised a Rocky Mountain Horse who thinks she’s an Arab/Paso Fino.
I guess it is a case of the Ugliest Dachshund ( not that the mare is ugly) and she should have been raised with Rockies, but in my own defense the first few months of her life she was with Arabians and Friesians.
Oh, well she’s a good horse and I just won’t take her around other Rockies so she won’t get laughed at. Besides she might make a great dressage horse.
Several years ago I wrote an article about a Fell Pony breeder and I remember her commenting that they wanted to have a number of mares so when they started their breeding program the foals would be raised in a herd of Fell Ponies. Okay I’m going to be honest I thought that was a ridiculous statement. I mean really. I thought what does she think - it would be like the Disney movie the Ugliest Dachshund where the Great Dane was raised with Dachshunds and thought he was one. Well I may stand corrected now.
My sister purchased a Rocky Mountain filly back in 2006. The filly was a weanling when we brought her home. She was, of course, the only Rocky in the barn, but we didn’t think anything of that. What did it matter that her stablemates were three Arabians, a half Arabian and a Paso Fino. The herd would teach her lessons and she find her place in the herd.
At two years of age she was your typical two year old horse - challenging authority and sometimes finding herself being put her place by the other horses. She hadn’t really perfected her gait at that young age, but we were told it might take a while. Everything was going along fine, or so we thought.
I guess it was in Spring of her third year that I noticed, while she was gaiting very nicely, that every once in a while when she trotted in the pasture her trot had some suspension to it. One day I commented she looked kind of like an Arabian out there, but didn't give it much more thought.
At four I really started her ground training. She was a little slow to mature, mentally, so I wanted to give her some time. While lunging her one day I again noticed her gait at the extended trot. I thought maybe it was me and I shouldn’t ask for an extended trot since she was a gaited horse.
So I talked to some Rocky owners and did some research. Rocky Mountain horses don’t get a lot of suspension when they trot. Words like amble, pace or even rack were used, but not floating or suspension. No problem, I thought, I won’t ask for an extended trot. Don’t get me wrong she can gait like a Rocky Mountain Horse and it’s a lovely gait.
Then one day ,late this fall she was turned loose in the pasture and at first I didn’t pay much attention to her, as I was cleaning stalls or something, but then I caught a glimpse of her trotting across the pasture. There it was again that floating suspended gait and her tail was up, too, more like an Arabian. The thing that really stopped me in my tracks with the wheelbarrow was when she arched her neck and raised her tail as she reached over to the paddock fence to talk to one of the other horses. She looked like an Arabian.
I knew she had picked up some habits from both the Paso Fino and the Arabs. She would often mimic the Paso Fino’s behavior. I had a friend tell me they are sponges, but I didn't think much about it.
Well during a clinic I was holding this fall I used the mare to demonstrate some training exercises. When we turned her loose in the arena, because everyone wanted to see her move , there it was again, that Arabian trot. Everyone commented about that gait. Oh, she didn’t do it in hand or being lunged, but at liberty she did.
A few weeks after that clinic I was judging a fun show that some Rocky Mountain horses were attending. I watched those horses in the barn being handled and, being the judge, I watched them in the ring under saddle. It was crystal clear to me that we had raised a Rocky Mountain Horse who thinks she’s an Arab/Paso Fino.
I guess it is a case of the Ugliest Dachshund ( not that the mare is ugly) and she should have been raised with Rockies, but in my own defense the first few months of her life she was with Arabians and Friesians.
Oh, well she’s a good horse and I just won’t take her around other Rockies so she won’t get laughed at. Besides she might make a great dressage horse.
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