1 8 THE MORGAN HORSE 



"In the March number of the 'Albany Cultivator' for 1848,}. B. Burnett, 

 a ' thoroughbred' man, in an article in favor of thoroughbred horses, and 

 against the Morgans, with equal truth and candor says : 'It cannot be denied 

 that they possess great energy and courage, great strength and endurance, 

 great ambition and docility ; that they mature early and are easily kept ; 

 that they are pleasant drivers and always ready for business, and what is more 

 important sell at high prices'. 



" R. L. Allen, Esq., an accomplished gentleman in New York, and a 

 thorough horseman, having no interest then or since in Morgan stock, so far 

 as we can ascertain, thus speaks of "them in his 'American Agriculture.' 

 After pointing out their origin, he says : 



" ' The result has been the production of a family of roadsters of much 

 similarity of appearance and uniformity of character, unsurpassed by any 

 others for serviceable qualities. They are of medium size, from thirteen and 

 a half to fifteen hands high, with a well-formed head and neck, high 

 withers, deep chest, round body, short back, large quarters, broad, flat legs, 

 moderately small feet, long, wavy mane and tail, presenting altogether the 

 beau ideal of the road horse. 



" ' They are spirited and docile, hardy and easily kept. They have an 

 easy and rapid trot, and glide along with a good load without clatter or ap- 

 parent effort, at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour'. 



" Mr. Weissinger, formerly one of the editors of the 'Louisville (Kentucky) 

 Journal', that has for many years been a leading paper at the South, made a 

 tour through the Northern States in the summer of 1845. While in Vermont, 

 his taste for horses prompted him to examine carefully the Morgans. In a 

 letter to the ' Journal', after some remarks in relation to their origin, he says : 



" 'There is no doubt whatever of this that the breed of the Morgan horse 

 was, and is now, in the few instances where it can be found, far the best breed 

 of horses for general use that ever was in the United States probably the 

 best in the world ; and it is remarkable that this breed was, and is now, 

 known by many striking peculiarities, common to nearly every individual. 

 They have a full, heavy, wavy mane and tail, good head and neck, small, well- 

 shaped ears ; are broad between the eyes ; legs broad and short, with large 

 tendons, bodies rather thick set; but their most striking peculiarity is in their 

 carriage ; legs well under, trot quick, short and springy, the forelegs bending 

 remarkably, the very reverse of the slow, slouchy movement of the race-horse 

 in the trot. They are likewise exceedingly hardy and well tempered'. 



"In the 'American Farmers'Encyclopedia', edited by Gouverneur Emerson, 

 and published in Philadelphia, in 1844, is the following description of the 

 Morgan horse : 



" ' Perhaps the very finest breed of horses in the United States, when gen- 

 eral usefulness is taken into consideration, is what is commonly known in the 

 Northern and Eastern States as the Morgan horse. 



"'This breed is distinguished by its activity, united with strength and 

 hardiness. Its size is moderate, and though not often possessing the fleetness 

 which recommends it to the sportsman, it has speed enough to entitle it to 



