The RMHA is a non-profit association that was created by Rea and David Swan in the hopes of establishing the "Rocky Mountain Horse" as a certifiable equine breed. The name Rocky Mountain Horse is a bit of a misnomer since it actually refers to a type of horse that was historically preferred, bred, and maintained in the foothills of Appalachia and Kentucky. The modern Rocky Mountain Horse descends from a stallion named Old Tobe (or Tobe), which Sam Tuttle of Spout Springs Kentucky owned and bred in the mid-20th Century. As the oral tradition goes, Old Tobe was the offspring of a sire that Tuttle's uncle had received in trade from a family that was trying to make their way back to Virginia after they went bust "out west" in the 1890s. The versatile descendants of the foundation sire had a four beat gait and it could "pull plows in the small fields, work cattle, be ridden bareback by four children...[and] they even performed well hitched to the buggy [on] Sunday morning to go to church." Tuttle continued to breed his stock for these traits and luckily, for the sake of the breed, his efforts did not go unnoticed. In 1981, Rae Swan began to understand that her future dreams included the preservation of a breed of horse that was nearly crossbred out of existence and, for the most part, forgotten by those who lived outside of eastern Kentucky.

From 1981 to 1985 Swan began reaching out to the surrounding areas' breeders and owners to confirm breed characteristics and survey the remaining "pure" Rocky Mountain Horses. After roughly 100,000 miles of car travel in Kentucky and Ohio, Swan had discovered that the breed was definitely on the brink of elimination. She was shocked and concerned by the fact that only 60 or so "pure" and less than 100 "mostly" Rocky Mountain Horses were identified. In May 1986, the Swans and approximately 37 other people (who accounted for 66 horses) organized the first Rocky Mountain Horse Association meeting. Their first task was to establish the breed characteristics, which include a size of 14.2-16 hands, an even temperament, a smooth four beat gait, and the preferred, but not exclusive, chocolate body and flaxen mane and tail. Their next, and perhaps most important, task was to create a registry that would ensure the breed would live on beyond the lives of the foundation stock that Swan had identified. As Swan and others began to stabilize and grow the breed's populations it became apparent that the Rocky Mountain Horse was "not a "new" breed but rather the continuation of an old one." By 1992, the RMHA registry grew exponentially from its original 45 registered horses to an astonishing 1,300. After nearly 10 years of painstaking effort Swan accurately concluded that "this horse, so close to being lost at one time is now on a steady and healthy road to successful growth and preservation." (2011-008-b.5-f.9)

The RSRMHC traces the early years of the organization, and to a lesser extent, the early 2000s, when the association underwent a variety of changes in size and reach. Overall, the collection can be understood best as the life's work of the Swans. The RMHA overcame many internal and external challenges during its early years; however, due to the Swans' diligence and the resulting association's reach and popularity, a breed of Appalachian horse that was once considered to be on the brink of collapse is now preserved and popular in not only the U.S. but also the international equine community.