# Moyle horse - Rare "Horned" Breed



## Jubilee

Hey Everyone, 

I found this breed of horse online today while searching for different rare breeds of horses. This horse must be very rare because I could find next to nothing about it. But I know it's a real breed because it is listed in the table of contents in a couple books about American horse breeds (pulled that off Amazon).

It's called the Moyle horse and, supposedly some of them have small "Horns" on their heads. I can't find very much information about them but I'm intreged and I want to learn more. Below is all the information I've found about them so far.



> Rex Moyle developed the Moyle as a light riding horse in Idaho during the mid-20th century from mustangs brought from Utah. They are usually bay or brown and often have frontal bosses or horns. They are rare.
> Breeds of Livestock - Horse Breeds





> Moyle Horses are one of the queerest animals around. The horse is famous for its bossed forehead, which looks like a horn. The two other breeds of ‘horned horses’ are the Datong breed, found in China and the Carthusian, found in Spain. Other than these three breeds, there are not many breeds which can boast of these little horns. The lineage and ancestry of the Moyle is shrouded in mystery and nothing is clearly known about it so far.
> The Moyle was brought to the United States of America by Rex Moyle, after whom they are named. How he came across these rare horses or what was his inspiration in bringing them from Utah to Idaho. According to some studies, it is said that the Moyle owns its existence to the Spanish Carthusian horses. Whatever was the reason for bringing these horses to America might have been; it was soon discovered that these animals had amazing endurance and could outrun most breeds. Soon these horses gained a lot of acclaim in the equestrian arena. The unbelievable strength displayed by these horned horses is attributed to many reasons, but most of it remains mere speculations, as not much is known about this rare breed, till date. The Moyle horses are said to have an unusually large rib cage and many of its visceral organs are also said to be larger than its other equestrian counterparts. Also the widely spaced shoulders and the muscular forelegs, which are much more widely placed than other horses, gives the Moyle amazing speed and agility. The acclaim of this breed lies mainly on the race tracks, and endurance feats. They can jump to great heights and hence are much acclaimed in the arena of obstacle races. The Moyle, though famous is rather rare, and its dwindling population has further added to its mystery and enigma. The horse is very intelligent, a little willful, and otherwise a very amicable animal.
> 
> 
> Moyle for sale, Moyle Classifieds, Free Horses


Here are the only pictures of Moyle horses I've been able to find. If you look closely you can see little bumps on their heads that I guess are suposed to be the horns, but it's really hard to tell. 



















I'm interested in finding out more about them. Has anyone else ever heard of them before?

Jubilee


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## english_rider144

I guess this is where unicorns were made from =)


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## Jubilee

Actually I wouldn't be surprised. There was one other place I read about the Moyle horse (I couldn't copy and paste it though because it was in a book preview that was trying to sell a book) that said that some Cathusians and some Asian breeds of horses also get those "horns" It's likely that the legend of Uncorns did come form them. But their horns don't get very long. 


Jubilee


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## bumble

wow, that is incredible. i've never heard of any such thing before. i'd like to see more pictures, and if i find any i'll be sure to post them.


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## Jubilee

I just found another small snippet of information about Moyle horses.



> *....JIM LARSH *was loved by everyone and a friend of Wendell Robie. Jim went to Australia in '69 and did the Tom Quilty on Ibn Zata in 17 hrs. and 33 minutes. As he got older he needed oxygen, so Karen Kroon took his Moyle horse ‘True Grit’ and trained it to carry the oxygen bottles so Jim could start the Tevis one more time. Unfortunately he did not finish the last ride. The Tom Quilty ride in ’07 was won by Christoph Schork in 16:30 (see EN, Dec 07).
> *BONNIE ROSE SEHLEMEYER* taught Karen Kroonto ride at the tender age of 13. Later Karen rode “Pretty Boy Moyle” in the 70’s. Bonnie Rose Sehlemeyer is an excellent event rider and was one of the founders of both USDF and MSCTA. She now races her 2 vintage Porsches and Jag in local events. She drives horses and hunts with Sue Kalamen, with whom she still has a close relationship. So what’s a Moyle horse?
> *MOYLE HORSES *Prior to the formation of MRER and during our early years, Rex and Margie Moyle of Idaho bred and rode some truly extra ordinary endurance horses which became known as the “Moyle” horses. The story of this family and their Moyle Horses is one of the great western adventures, with links to the LDS Church and long distance trips between St. Joseph Missouri and Salt Lake. Some of these horses had horns, but what this really meant was that the horses had small frontal bosses (extra bone) above their eyes that stood out ~ ¾ inches, and covered with hair. These horses are included in this history because they played such a major role in linking the older events of MRER to our current events.Some of the Moyle blood lines are still present in current Endurance horses. Matthew Mackay Smith, DVM knew the family well and rode a Moyle horse in the Tevis to 5th place in 1964 and wrote an article about them in the 1964 “The Chronicle of the Horse” documenting these marvelous and special horses of the west. A copy of this issue would be a treasure. At the first Virginia Dale ride hosted by Dave Nicholson, DVM. Matthew Mackay Smith, DVM was one of the first, if not the first, to have a heart monitor. Its electrodes were the size of your hand....


You can read the entire article in the following link but this is the only part the mentions Moyle horses:

http://www.mrer.bravepages.com/MRER_History.htm

Jubilee


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## Jubilee

Here is a little bit more.



> Moyle. The Moyle was developed in Idaho, by a rancher who traded one of his horses for a Mormon's horse, who had galloped for 28 miles for the Pony Express. The mare was in foal, and gave birth a month later to a filly. This line of horses is recognizable due to the appearance of the frontal bosses above their eyes. There are only two other horse breeds in the world known for having frontal bosses, a strain of Andalusians, and the Datong of China. The Moyle is a hard-working ranch horse. On the Moyle ranch, most cowboys ride only one horse, instead of a string of horses that most ranches have for their cowboys. Another characteristic is that most Moyles do not have chestnuts (the growth on the inside of the front legs.)


Horse Breeds - Questions, Answers, Fun Facts, Information

Jubilee


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## Jubilee

*Can Anyone Read German?*

Hey, can anyone read German? If so I found this link:

Pferderassen der Welt

Jubilee


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## Jubilee

Yeep! Look Look! There was actually an article about a Moyle horse in "Perfect Horse" Magazine. Goodness, I was starting to think the breed was extinct! I couldn't find anything new then 40 years about the breed.

Check it out here:
MyHorse.com - Time to Ride

It has some nice pictures too, but you can't see if he has any "horns" or not. It a pretty looking breed though, definitely resembles its Mustang ancestry. 

Sorry for all the double posting.

Jubilee


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## ilovestitch

I would love to see more pictures of this breed! How interesting, i have never heard of such a thing


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## Sara

Huh, that is very interesting, have never heard of that! I was digging around, trying to find more close up head shots. While it didn't find any, I did find some absolutely gorgeous Carthusian photos on flickr: Flickr: freya122's Photostream


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## WildHeartsCantBeBroken

How cool is that? At first I when I heard horns I was thinking horns like a devil haha. Then I read further on and saw you meant like a unicorn!


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## FGRanch

That is so cool!


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## Chocolate

That's wicked!


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## MovingOn

This is really interesting! I found this link:
Cryptozoology.com

And here are up close head shots:
Merlinhorn


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## jemmamalone

wow i hadnt heard of this either :0


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## coulton moyle

*moyle*

i am rex moyles grandson and can get pictures of these horses, if you want any, my email is [email protected] i take my dads last name


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## TralissaAndalusians

That's pretty awesome... Just told my boyfriend about this because we were just on the phone having a conversation about mythical creatures, which led to talking about Unicorns, lol which reminded me of this post...

I'm gonna have a poke around, and he will too, because now he's really interested, hehe.


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## RoCru

Wow, that's some pretty interesting stuff!


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## HeydayHunter

Wow... this is really cool!
It seems like the Moyle horse must have been a pretty good breed too.
I'm kinda surprised that they are so rare now if they were so famous at one time. I guess it's the way things work though.


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## HalfPass

Hey all...
What an interesting topic!
Thanks to all who posted links and pics...
HP


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