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"The Morgan horse is something, every other horse is something else" | ||
| General Care & Feeding | Equine Medical Care | |
Speed, strength and versatility set the Morgan 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 Morgan lovers old and new.
The source of the Morgan horse breed can be traced back to about 1790. A "smallish" dark bay by the name of Figure was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1795 the horse was given to a Vermont schoolmaster named Justin Morgan as partial payment of a debt. Figure became known as the Justin Morgan horse.
"Justin Morgan" was worked incredibly hard plowing, hauling and clearing woodland for the local settlers. Although the horse was relatively small (no more than 14h.), it never lost a race or hauling match. Consequently the horse was bred frequently and now all Morgan's can be traced back to Justin Morgan by way of one of his famous sons: Sherman, Woodbury, and Bullrush.
Morgan's are known for their easy keeping qualities and endurance. They were used by the Calvary in the Civil War and in the early 1900's there were endurance races who's goal was to prove that the Morgan was the best horse for Calvary purposes. Morgans contributed to the development of the American Saddlebred, The American Quarterhorse, and the Tennessee Walking Horse, and are in fact "The First True American Breed" .
Learn all about Justin Morgan and his horse "Figure" by picking up a copy of the classic "Justin Morgan Had A Horse".
As with any breed, careful consideration must be given before committing to horse ownership. This site offers guidance on general care of Morgan Horses, and features links to other useful resources for the prospective Morgan horse owner.
According the the AMHA Standard for Perfection;
The head should be expressive with broad forehead; large prominent eyes; with straight or slightly dished short face; firm fine lips; large nostrils and well-rounded jowls. The ears should be short and shapely, set rather wide apart and carried alertly. Mares may have a slightly longer ear.
The neck should come out on top of an extremely well-angulated shoulder with depth from top of withers to point of shoulder. It should be relatively fine in relation to sex. It should be slightly arched and should blend with the withers and back. The top line of the neck should be considerably longer than the bottom line.
The body should be compact with a short back, close coupling, broad loins, deep flank, well-sprung ribs, croup long and well muscled with tail attached high, carried gracefully and straight. A weak, low, or long back is a severe fault. The Morgan horse should not be higher at the croup than at the withers.
The structure of the rear legs is of extreme importance to the selection of a long-lasting equine athlete. Any sign of poor angulation of the hocks, sickle hocks or cow hocks must be considered a severe fault. Lack of proper flexion of the hock is cause for very close examination of the entire structure of the rear legs and should not be tolerated in breeding stock or show ring winners.
The height ranges from 14.1 to 15.2 hands, with some individuals under or over.
Other distinctive attributes of the Morgan horse are his presence and personality. These include:
The American Morgan Horse Association maintains a registry of all Morgan horses. An excellent publication "How to Buy a Morgan Horse" is available from their site. If you'd like to shop for a Morgan online, check out The NickerNet Morgan Horse Marketplace.
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