The Morgan is thought to be the USA's first documented horse breed. Tracing back to Figure, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility.
Breed characteristics
The Morgan is compact and refined in build, with strong limbs, an expressive face, large eyes, well-defined withers, and a crested neck. There are two types of Morgan: the old-style Morgan and the park-horse type. The old-style is stout and powerful, and is most like the foundation sire of the breed. The park-horse type, often linebred to introduced Saddlebred blood, is flashier, elegant, and refined with a showy, high-stepping gait. Both types have a good nature, are energetic and have excellent stamina.
Morgans come in a variety of colors although they are most commonly bay, black, brown, and chestnut. Gray, palomino, cremello, perlino, smoky cream, silver dapple, sabino, frame overo, dun, and buckskin are also seen. There are two known frame overos and two known dark headed roans, as well. The breed is small for a horse, ranging from 14-15.2 hh. This size makes some Morgans a pony, so many children enjoy the breed as well, and can show them in pony classes.
Breed history
Morgans trace back to one foundation sire named Figure. The stallion was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts in 1789. The small, dark colt has unknown parentage, some experts believing he was sired by the English Thoroughbred True Briton, other believing he had a Canadian Horse, Welsh Cob, Friesian, or Norfolk Trotter in his blood. When he was a yearling, Figure was given to Justin Morgan, a schoolteacher, as a payment for a debt. He was lent out to farms for ploughing and logging. When he matured, the small stallion—he was just over 14 hh—was found to be very talented, outrunning the fastest Thoroughbreds in match races, pulling heavier loads than huge draft horses, and trotting faster than most harness racers.
His reputation spread among New England, and mares were brough to breed. By then, Figure was known by his owner's name. The stallion had a great ability to stamp his get, passing on his great abilities to his offspring.
The breed's trotting ability made it a favorite for harness racing in the 1840s. They were then used in the Civil War as cavalry mounts, including Sheridan's Rienzi and Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrel. The only survivor (from the US Army) of The Battle of Little Bighorn was the Morgan Comanche. The breed was later used in the Pony Express. The first volume of the Morgan Horse Register was opened in 1894. Since then, more than 132,000 animals have been registered. The stud book was closed in 1948 in an effort to preserve the breed.
The Morgan has influenced several other breeds, including the Standardbred, Tennessee Walker, American Quarter Horse, and the American Saddlebred. Nearly 90% of Saddlebred horses today have Morgan blood.
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