【组图】Fred the Fantastic 时间：2017-03-09 10:17:01来源：马术漫旅
原标题：Fred the Fantastic
Hi Everybody!! Are you having a great week? Mine’s been fantastic and you’ll never guess why!! I met a Rocky Mountain Horse!! How cool is that?? They’re a breed from America from the state of Kentucky. A few of them are on a tour of Japan and I got to meet one!!!! His name’s Tobe Junior because he was named for the foundation sire of all Rocky Mountain Horses who was called Old Tobe! Actually Old Tobe's dad was the first Rocky Mountain horse and he was even fro the Rocky Mountains but he moved and his name wasn’t recorded which is kind of sad. His son was called Old Tobe and he and five of his sons are the foundation sires of all Rocky Mountain Horses! How cool is that? Tobe says he’s a magnificent specimen and the very best example of his breed. I wasn’t sure what “magnificent specimen” meant and Esmeralda rolled her eyes when he said that but he does look pretty stunning. He’s got a silver dappled coat with a flaxen coloured mane. A lot of Rocky Mountain Horses have a gene called the silver dapple gene which acts on a black coat to produce that really really cool coat. Pucchi said he thought Tobe looked like a chocolate cupcake with silver sprinkles but I don’t think he liked Tobe very much.
Tobe said Rocky Mountain Horses, who other than their very first sire are actually from the Appalachian Mountains (doesn’t that sound like something from a movie? I still bet they are less cool than the Nihon Alps), are prized for their hardiness and their endurance in bad mountain weather, especially in mountain winters. Esmeralda said they were supposed to be known for their good nature as well but Tobe just snorted and said he was magnificent and good natured, all at the same time. It is a pretty important skill, being able to work and be ridden in mountains and hard weather. Horses don’t get altitude sickness like people do (we rock!) but we can exhibit some signs if physical stress when we first move to high altitudes and can tire more easily for the first few weeks. Like people though, we can acclimatise really well. Some people even train their horses at high altitudes for things like eventing because they produce more red blood cells and have increased endurance and stamina. Horses (and ponies!) are so cool!!!
Rocky Mountain Horses also all have a naturally occurring singlefoot ambling gait. That’s one of the middle or intermediate four beat gaits that is faster than a walk but slower than a gallop. Rocky Mountain Horses don’t have to be taught it because they know it naturally which seems kind of unfair. A four beat gait can give a smoother riding experience than its two beat equivalent, the trot, because one foot is always on the ground so the horses weight doesn’t shift or jolt around as much. Esmeralda said that because of their gait, their disposition and their temperament, the breed is often sought out for riders with disabilities, beginners or the elderly but Tobe said that they also excel at working cattle and endurance riding. I like helping people learn, I think that’s the greatest thing a pony can ever do and when they finally learn to ride, it’s the greatest feeling in the world!! It would be pretty cool to help riders with disabilities as well. I’m sure they let ponies do that. Maybe I could be a therapy pony? Therapy Pony. Therapony? Hmmmm….
