elizabeth's story
- By Elizabeth Provence
As a horse lover with an arthritic back I had always wanted to own a horse with a smooth comfortable gait. After purchasing our first Mountain Pleasure mare I immediately feel in love with the breeds amazing temperate. I started reading articles and talking to breeders from Kentucky and I was fascinated by the unique history of this rare breed. We now are the proud owners of 5 mares and 3 yearlings. We board our mares at a stable but the 3 yearlings we keep on an acre of our property.
Mountain Pleasure Horses are extremely friendly and truly love people. Never before have I seen horses stop eating to and rush over to be petted. Our 5 year old mare Cherie, who was our first foal, has been nicknamed the “Official Barn Greeter” Whenever anyone approaches the barn she sticks her head out the stall and knickers drawing people to come over and visit. We are frequently told just how friendly and sweet our horses are. By nature these horses have a wonderful friendly and calm disposition. Because of this I felt very comfortable being able to give my 3 year old grand daughter her first horseback ride. They have a willing to please attitude as they transition into new and unfamiliar things very smoothly. Our vet loves their calm attitude and commented that he wished the whole barn could be full of horses like ours.
Just because they horses are so calm does not in any make them dull. They naturally have a very playful and explorative spirit. Having the yearlings in our field has been a fun and entertaining experience. They are always so interested in what you are doing it is very hard to accomplish anything without a horse nosing in begging for attention. We have a small John Deer tractor that my husband and I use to clean and maintain the field. The first time we used the tractor I thought they would spook but instead they were absolutely fascinated by the tractor. It looks liked the piped piper as all 3 horses follow the tractor around the field. It’s the funniest thing watching three young horses all gathering around sniffing and exploring the tractor. Then my husband shouts “Silly horses don’t eat my tractor!” as he attempts to chase them off. They are always making us laugh. One day as I was filling the water bucket and suddenly Scamp, a young gelding, grabbed the water hose. He shook it wildly in his mouth spraying the other two horses and getting me pretty soaked in the process.
As playful as young boys can be, ours are also very calm and sweet gentlemen. All three horses share a grain bin. When I walk into the field carrying their dinner it is always so impressive the way the horses respect my space instead of being pushy and fighting with each other. It is so nice to have two calm little gentlemen. One day I looked out the window and saw Lexi and Rockie lying together resting in the field. I grabbed the camera and walked into their fields. They keep calming laying down and allowed me to walk up and pet both of them. Our yearlings have such wonderful personalities I know they are all going to be a wonderful pleasure to ride.
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