The Morgan Horse Discovery Page

<BODY> <H1 ALIGN=center><FONT COLOR="#730063" FACE="Franklin Gothic Book">Morgan Horse Discovery Page</FONT></H1> <TABLE ALIGN=center CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 WIDTH=100%> <TR> <TD NOWRAP WIDTH=30%><A HREF="morgancare.htm"><FONT COLOR=BLUE SIZE=+1><B><I>Morgan Horse Care & Feeding</I></B></FONT></A></TD> <TD NOWRAP WIDTH=40% BACKGROUND="images/gallop.gif"></TD> <TD NOWRAP WIDTH=30%><A HREF="medtable.htm"><FONT COLOR=BLUE SIZE=+1><B><I>Medical Care for the Morgan</I></B></FONT></A></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P><FONT FACE="Cooper Black" COLOR="#186321"><I>"The <B>Morgan</B> horse is something, every other horse is something else"</I> <SMALL>- author unknown </SMALL></FONT></P> <P><IMG SRC="images/versanim.gif" ALIGN=RIGHT WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=100 HSPACE=10 ALT="Morgan Horses ARE versatile!">Speed, strength and versatility set the<B> Morgan</B> horse apart from other breeds. Rarely will you find a single horse with the willingness and abilities for competitive riding, driving, jumping and enjoying a leisurely trail ride. The Morgan temperament is quite unique, and is the trait responsible for "hooking" many horse lovers old and new.</P> <P><BR CLEAR=RIGHT><IMG SRC="images/justinmorgan.jpg" WIDTH=170 HEIGHT=129 ALIGN=LEFT HSPACE=8 ALT="Morgan Horse #1, Figure, with owner Justin Morgan">The history of the morgan is legendary. Tracing its roots back to a single stud colt; <B> Figure </B>, morgans are in fact <I><B><FONT COLOR="#8C007B"> "The First True American Breed"</FONT>. </B></I>You can learn more about Justin Morgan (the<B> man</B> and his horse!) at the <A HREF="http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/morgan.html#history"><FONT COLOR=BLUE><I><BIG><NOBR>National Horse Museum!</NOBR></BIG></I></FONT></A></P> <P><BR>As with any breed, careful consideration must be given before committing to horse ownership. This site is designed to offer guidance on general care for horses, and features links to other useful information.</P> <P>The <A HREF="http://www.morganhorse.com" TARGET=BLANK><FONT COLOR=BLUE><I>American Morgan Horse Association</I></FONT></A> maintains a registry. </P> <P><A HREF="indexbg.htm" TARGET=_blank><FONT COLOR=BLUE>Morgan horses in background</FONT></A></P> <P><A HREF="MAILTO:rhorejsi@iserv.net?subject=Morgan Horse Discovery Page"><IMG SRC="images/mailbutton.gif" WIDTH=48 HEIGHT=48 ALIGN=LEFT ALT="E-mail Webmaster"></A> <FONT SIZE=-1>This site is designed and maintained by Rich Horejsi who currently enjoys breeding, training, showing (and loving!) horses with his partner at <FONT COLOR=#730063><B>Arroyo Horse Farm</B></FONT> in Santa Fe,New MExico, and welcomes your questions and comments.</FONT></P> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING=3 CELLSPACING=3> <TR> <TD ALIGN=LEFT><FONT COLOR="#730063"><B> You are visitor # <IMG SRC="/cgi-bin/www-count/Count.cgi?FT=1|chcolor=T|srgb=green|prgb=730063|comma=T|tr=Y|frgb=730063|df=rhorejsi" ALT="Counter" WIDTH=45 HEIGHT=20></B></FONT> </TD> <TD ALIGN=RIGHT><EMBED SRC="wingal.wav" ALIGN=LEFT CONTROLS="playbutton" WIDTH=25 HEIGHT=20><FONT COLOR="#B552AD"><B><I>Click<FONT COLOR="#730063"> PLAY</FONT> button at left to hear a <FONT COLOR="#7BC618"><BIG>"giddyup"!</BIG></FONT></I></B></FONT> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P>An interesting historical fact...(excerpted from the National Museum of Horses)<BR> During the Civil War Morgans were dependable cavalry mounts and artillery horses. Again, their easy-keeping qualities and ability to endure grueling condition allowed them to outlast other types of horses. Several units of cavalry in the Union army and one (known) of the Confederate army were mounted on the breed. United States General Philip Sheridan's famed charger Winchester (a.k.a. Rienzi), who was immortalized after the war, was a descendant of Black Hawk.</p> <p>Due to a trend in which taller horses were becoming more desirable with great speed at short distances, the popularity of the breed began a decline, which would not reverse itself for several years. Mares continued to be widely used by horse breeders, but were bred to taller stallions of different breeds. The purpose was to capture the enduring qualities of the this breed, but with increased size in the offspring. The result was a more marketable product for farmers selling to the city markets. </p> <p>Continuing modernization and development of new technologies, however, were affecting the equine market nationwide. Electrification of trolleys and continuing expansion of trains reduced the demand for harness breeds significantly. Larger farms and a corresponding increase in the size of agricultural machinery to do the work were creating a demand for larger, heavier draft horses.</p> </BODY>