The number of registered horses now exceeds 6,000. We have dedicated our ranch to showcase the Mountain Horse. Our horses are registered Rocky Mountain and may also be registered Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse Association and Mountain Pleasure. At Stride Right Farms we raise what we consider the most gentle, personable horses. And just maybe the most beautiful, but you can be the judge.
From Trail to Show...
The Breed: The Mountain Horse is a rare breed that originated about a century ago in Kentucky. A young horse of Spanish ancestry was bred to Kentucky saddle horses to produce this breed. The breed is considered one of the finest naturally occurring breeds; the Rocky Mountain Horse is on the American Livestock Conservancy's endangered list. In 1986, only 36 horses were considered pure enough for consideration in the registry.
The Philosophy:
Our breeding philosophy emphasizes on size, disposition, gait, and conformation. We look for breeding stock to range in sizes from 14.3 to 15.3 hands and have a docile, calm temperament. All of our stock has a strong four-beat gait, without paciness. An even gait, the horse has the trot and pace genes in balance, being naturally square. They can travel from 7 to 20 miles per hour.
Our aims are to preserve and enhance the qualities of temperament, gait and beauty. The attributes that have made the Mountain Horse so popular and the most desirable of the Gaited breeds.
But beyond their beauty we discovered intelligence, calmness, and versatility. All that being said, it is that puppy-dog, in your pocket personality that stole our hearts. We can only imagine how many others are looking for their dream horse, not knowing that it is a Mountain Horse.
Because we are a small breeding farm, our horses receive a tremendous amount of love and attention. Each of them is a part of our family. Our foals are imprinted at birth and worked with daily. Going into the pasture is more like being with a litter of puppies rather than in a herd of horses. We offer for purchase six to eight foals each year. When we get away from the ranch, we are out with our horses trail riding in the Cascade Mountains.
Stride Right Farms started with a dream to breed and raise a horse with a quiet temperament, personable, but most importantly, a smooth ride. After experiencing several other breeds, our search took us to the Gaited horse breeds and eventually the Mountain Horse. We admit it, we are a sucker for a beautiful horse, and initially we were attracted by their beauty.
Stride Right Farms is a premier northwest equine facility offering full-service boarding, training and lessons. The facility includes both indoor arena and round pen. We offer boarding, training, and sales for the Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse and Rocky Mountain Horses. We are located in Issaquah, Washington, which is just a stones throw away from Bellevue, Redmond, Renton, and Maple Valley. We currently have two stallions standing.
