Kentucky’s connection to the horse world usually conjures images of Thoroughbreds at the racetrack. But there’s another Kentucky horse story that’s perhaps not as elegant but just as influential: the workhorses of the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

Lush pasture was scarce, so these sure-footed work horses were called upon to plow hillside farms and travel long distances over rugged terrain to deliver mail, library books and healthcare to rural families.

The Horse That Built Kentucky, a half-hour documentary by Chad Cogdill of Eastern Kentucky University,explores the many ways that this cultural history produced the mountain horse—and how these horses, in turn, influenced a region.

The Horse That Built Kentucky airs on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 10:30/9:30 pm on KET and on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 10:30/9:30 pm on KET2.

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