 This foundation stallion produced a <unk> , named Old Tobe , who became the more modern father of the Rocky Mountain Horse breed . Old Tobe was owned by a resident of <unk> Springs , Kentucky named Sam Tuttle . For most of the 20th century , Tuttle was a prominent breeder of Rocky Mountain Horses , and helped to keep the strain alive during the Great Depression and World War II . After World War II , despite declining horse populations in the US , Tuttle kept his herd , and continued to use Old Tobe as a breeding stallion . Tuttle held the Natural Bridge State Park concession for horseback riding , and used Old Tobe for trail rides in the park and for <unk> additional trail horses , the latter until the stallion was 34 years old . Old Tobe died at the age of 37 . The presence of the single @-@ foot gait makes it possible that the breed is in part descended from the Narragansett Pacer , a breed known for passing its gaited ability on to other American breeds . 
