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TOBE was the primary Rocky Mountain stallion used in Sam Tuttle’s breeding program. In the 1950s, many people were selling their stallions, and the horse population in general was rapidly declining due to tractors and farm machinery available. Even so, breeders remembered TOBE, and he was always in demand for stud service. People brought their mares to TOBE from several different states, and he was as famous in Estill County as
MAN O’ WAR was in Lexington, Kentucky.
Everyone who rode TOBE fell in love with him. His offspring were always in demand, and Sam never had any trouble selling all the Rocky Mountain Horses he could produce.
In the early 1960s, Sam Tuttle managed the trail riding concession at the Natural Bridge State Park in Powell County, Kentucky. He had as many as fifty horses there, including TOBE. This stallion was often seen tied to the hitching post alongside all the mares. He became quite well known in the ten or so years he was ridden there.
Besides breeding, TOBE was used as a trail horse. He carried Sam, and sometimes the trail guides who worked for Sam, with sure-footed ease over mountainous terrain for many years. Although Sam would allow other people to ride TOBE occasionally, it was always a ride closely supervised. He loved to show off his beloved stallion, but also kept a close eye on him. Everyone who rode TOBE enjoyed his gentle temperament and comfortable ambling gait. It amazed people to think the well-mannered horse they were riding was indeed a breeding stallion.
TOBE was used for breeding until July of his thirty-fourth year, and he passed on his gait, disposition, and other great qualities to his offspring. It has been said that TOBE’s progeny followed in his perfectly-timed footsteps. TOBE fathered many fine horses before his death at the ripe old age of thirty-seven. One outstanding trait passed on to his get was longevity, as many of his offspring were still breeding into their late twenties and early thirties. (The Rocky Mountain Horse Association. [www.rmhorse.com])
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