page_title: Mountain Pleasure Horse
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Mountain Pleasure Horse / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: English: Palomino Mountain Pleasure Horse stallion
context_page_description: The Mountain Pleasure Horse is a breed of gaited horse that was developed in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. This breed reflects the primitive Appalachian gaited horse type and genetic testing shows them to share ancestry with later breeds developed in the region, including the American Saddlebred, the Tennessee Walking Horse and the Rocky Mountain Horse. Some Mountain Pleasure Horse bloodlines are traceable for over 180 years.
  The Mountain Pleasure Horse Association was formed in 1989 with goals to preserve the bloodlines and encourage the breeding of Mountain Pleasure Horses. MPHA was the first mountain horse breed association to require blood-typing for the foundation stock and all subsequent horses presented for registration for absolute identification of parentage. In recent years, DNA testing has replaced blood-typing as proof of parentage.
context_section_description: Mountain Pleasure Horses are medium-sized, standing on average 14.2 to 15.2 hands (58 to 62 inches, 147 to 157 cm). Desired characteristics include balanced proportions with a physical structure conducive to the horse’s soundness and longevity. They should have a laid-back shoulder, ideally having an angle of 45 degrees, allowing the horse to move out in a reaching stride. Strong, correctly angled hind legs allow impulsion in all gaits and also to navigate rugged or steep terrain. An arched neck, attractive head and kind eye are preferred.  The breed is intended to be a gentle family horse with a calm temperament, sensibility and intelligence.
  The breed's intermediate speed gait is an evenly spaced, four beat lateral gait with moderate forward speed and extension without exaggerated knee and hock action. The racking gait of a Mountain Pleasure Horse is very smooth and is the product of generations of careful breeding.  Mountain Pleasure Horse foals are known to demonstrate their innate ability to perform this gait within hours of birth.
caption: A Mountain Pleasure Horse stallion.
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