We are not really horse folks at all.
We have, however, held some fanciful, romantic notions about one day owning a horse or two to work with in the fields or to use as an alternative form of transportation. I think the children have often entertained a fantasy in the back of their minds of having a fine horse for scenic trail rides through the mountains and peaceful trots along country lanes.
But, we really know nothing about horses.
There are many other things to learn and do which are higher on our priority list. There is no way (so we thought) that the end of 2011 would see us owning a horse. That was probably the farthest thing from any of our minds. Maybe we would get back into hogs again, or goats. Perhaps even a milk cow could be imagined. Horse? No way.
But then, it happened. From out of the blue. On November 24th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Mr. Watts, our neighbor from over the mountain, pulled into our yard. Matthew had done some back-hoe work for him earlier this summer, but other than that we really have never had a chance to get to know the Watts very well. Jackson proceeded to ask Matthew if he would want a horse. If Matthew could catch her, then he could keep her! Matt ran down to the river garden, where the rest of us were, and asked what we thought.
After talking with Mr. Watts and discovering that he just could not take care of her, and that she kept getting away from him, and that there were people complaining about her being in their yards... well, I said OK. We would see what we could do.
About a half hour later Matthew came walking from down the road leading a white horse to Pure Water Hollow! She was dirty and had burrs in her coat. Her mane and tail were each matted and tangled. Her name was Gracie, but at that moment she looked anything but gracefull! Erica and I quickly went to town to get some feed and tack. She seemed hungry and the rope Matt was using was almost choking the poor horse!
The children got her up to the barn and when we got back home with some feed and supplies they fed and brushed her. In the days to come, Christina would have to cut off major parts of Gracie's long tail and mane to get the tangles and mess cleared up. Most of the dirt brushed out of her coat and soon she looked like a very pretty horse.
From the beginning we thought it unusual for this pretty, white horse to have such beautiful blue eyes! We have since found that the word for her is "cremello", and such horses are highy sought after in some circles.
In the ensuing weeks I discovered a bit of Gracie's history. She originally came from a horse farm in Magoffin County and was owned by a lawyer and a teacher whom I work with. Small world! According to him, Gracie is a full-bred, pedigreed, Kentucky Mountain Pleasure Horse! He said they actually paid probably too much for the stud fee to get the Goldfinger bloodline and he still owns Gracie's mother, a beautiful palimino Kentucky Mountain Pleasure Horse. He has told me that he would give me Gracie's papers if he can find them. He also said that Gracie had been broken and ridden some before she left them, which was about 5 years ago. She is about 6 years old now, and she has apparently not been ridden much at all during the past 5 years.
So, since I found out what kind of horse Gracie is, it was time to learn more. I had never heard of a "Kentucky Mountain Pleasure Horse" before! It turns out that Gracie is the perfect horse for Pure Water Hollow. If I had to pick a breed, I don't think I could have chosen a better one!
This is what the official Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association has to say about this breed of horse:
An Authentic Kentucky Tradition:
For over 200 years, the saddle horse has lived in the hills and valleys of many parts of Kentucky. Originally bred by the mountain people for the demanding needs of farm life, the horse which had been secluded for many years became noticed and domesticated in the late 1980’s.
Over the last 20 some years these horses have become a highly sought after “pleasure horse” in all of Kentucky as well as around the world, for their easy going temperament, intelligence, versatility, willingness, and most notably, a smooth, natural 4-beat gait.
Many members of long-time Kentucky families remember well the stories of the many extraordinary feats that were told about these horses by their grandfathers and great grandfathers around the dinner table.
There is much on the web about this breed of horse. Here is what one website had to write about them:
The Mountain Pleasure Horse came out of the mountains in and around Kentucky. These beautiful animals with an incredible natural gait are a joy to ride and watch move across the fields.
The beauty of the Mountain Pleasure Horse is the disposition and gait. Who has time, today, to ride a horse every day? The Mountain Pleasure Horse is waiting, with its natural gait and willing disposition, whether you ride once a week or once a month.
They provide enjoyment to seniors who want a reliable mount, disabled who want a smooth gaited mount and people of all ages who enjoy the responsive mount of a Mountain Pleasure Horse, no matter how frequently or infrequently they ride.
The Mountain Pleasure Horse’s distinctive, easy riding gait is difficult to describe, but once you’ve experienced it, you’ll settle for no other. The horse does not trot. He is a naturally gaited horse that absorbs the bounce of a gait in his ankles, rather than passing that bounce along to the backside of the rider.
The breed’s definition of this gait is “an evenly spaced, four beat lateral gait with moderate forward speed and extension, without exaggerated knee and hock action.”
The gait is natural. It is bred into these horses and one of the joys of breeders of Mountain Pleasure Horses is to see a young foal “hitting a lick” as it keeps up with its mother’s longer strides.
As a rider gets to know his or her Mountain Pleasure Horse, they will find the horse can be ridden at varying speeds while maintaining the same smooth, comfortable gait, and there’s nothing quite like the “nickel,dime - nickel,dime” sound of the Mountain Pleasure Horse ticking off his gait down a blacktop road.
Of course there are many more sites that say similar things. I didn't have to look very far to discover what a potential gem we have with Gracie. I'll share one more, an excerpt from the Wikipedia article:
The Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse has been developed as an all-around utility horse, used mainly for riding. People today use the Kentucky Mountain horse for both English and western riding. This horse is good for use in the show ring or just out on the trail.
These saddle horses were originally bred by the mountain people of the hills and valleys of eastern Kentucky for the demanding needs of farm life. It was an obscure breed until it became noticed in the late 1980s. Since then, these horse have become highly sought after as pleasure horses in Kentucky and the rest of the world. They are highly prized for their easy-going temperament, intelligence, versatility, willingness, and especially their smooth and natural 4-beat gait.
Well, today, after owning Gracie for exactly one month, I finally took some pictures and am posting about her. Today is also Christmas Eve, so I want to say "Merry Christmas to all!" Gracie does look like she would be a great Christmas horse, pulling a one horse open sleigh! Of course this Christmas is not even close to a white one. We were 50 degrees today and should be in the 50s again tomorrow! I am thankful for the nice weather this year, and it allowed for some nice pictures of Gracie!
Here she is watching our arrival with great expectency:
Christina has been doing a lot with taking care of Gracie. It has been mostly she who has gone up each morning at 8:00am and again in the afternoon at 3:00pm to walk, feed, water, brush, and clean out her stall.
Timothy has visited Gracie a few times. He seems to really love her! It is perhaps fitting that Timothy was the first one of us to actually sit on Gracie's back. We have not really tried until today, and she did not seem to mind Timothy being on her at all!
Simon was going to try to give it a go. If Gracie would have stood still long enough, perhaps Simon would have been able to get on. Maybe next time?
After Christina walked her, it was then Matthew's turn.
And here she is back in the barn after a nice afternoon of visiting with her new family.
Gracie is a pretty horse and perhaps a very valuable horse and she has all kinds of potential. Our dilema going into 2012 though, is ...
We did not intend to own a horse at this time.
We are not really horse folks at all.
We really know nothing about horses.
There are many other things to learn and do which are higher on our priority list than owning a horse.
So we have many decisions to make going forward. Many thoughts and emotions need to be evaluated. Not to mention the cost that needs to be counted up if we continue down this path. I may share some of these ideas and plans as they get formulated in the days to come. I really do not know what the future may hold.
All I know for sure right now, is that we own a nice Kentucky Mountain Pleasure Horse!
And here is the flier the extension office produced to advertise for it.
This is the side facing the fire house.
Here's Simon, Timothy and Dolly before everything began in front of a TeePee up on the hill next to where they were cooking the sweet potatoes and soup beans. 
