BREEDING MORGAN HORSES AT THE U. S. 

 MORGAN HORSE FARM. 



H. H. Reese, Animal Husbandman, Animal Husbandry Division, Burton of Animal 



Industry. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. Page. 



Foundation of the breed 3 i Distribution of breeding stock 13 



Early progenitors 3 j Summary of sales 17 



Diffusion of Morgan blood 4 j Endurance of the breed 17 



Movement to conserve best blood 5 ! Five 1 umbar vertebra? 19 



Origin of U.S. Morgan Horse Farm 5 Uses for Morgan horses 20 



Breeding stock purchased Morgans as saddle horses 20 



Noted ancestors of U. S. Morgan horses r> Demand for Morgan horses 21 



Morgan Horse Farm prize winners 11 



T 



FOUNDATION OF THE BREED. 



HE Morgan breed of horses was established by a single stallion 

 whose potency was so great that he left many descendants that 



looked and acted like him even after his blood had been much 

 diluted. This stallion was Justin Morgan. During his early life he 

 was the property of a school-teacher by that name, who lived near 

 Randolph, Vt. Justin Morgan was foaled about 1793 and died in 1821. 

 According to the meager records available, Justin Morgan was a 

 small but powerful and quick horse, standing considerably under 15 

 hands. It is said that he could outwalk, outrun, or outpull any of the 

 horses in his section of the countiy. Very little is definitely known 

 of his ancestry. One investigator collected evidence showing that he 

 was sired by the Thoroughbred stallion True Briton, also called 

 Beautiful Bay, a horse that traced in direct male line to Byerly 

 Turk, and had many other traces of Arabian blood. Another inves- 

 tigator contends that he was sired by a Dutch horse, which in turn 

 came from Arabian stock. Which of these theories is correct is not 

 important to-day. The presence of only five lumbar vertebra 1 in 

 many Morgans (discussed later) supports both theories of Arabian 

 foundation. 



EARLY PROGENITORS. 



Practically all the present-day Morgans trace to three of Justin 

 Morgan's sons, namely, Sherman Morgan 5 1 J Woodbury Morgan 7, 

 and Bulrush Morgan 6. Sherman Morgan became known especially 

 through his son, Black Hawk 20. The Billy Root 9 strain, as well as 

 other good families, also comes from him. Woodbury Morgan is 

 best known through Green Mountain Morgan 42, or, as he was called. 

 Hale's Green Mountain Morgan. This stallion won the highest 

 premiums at the State fans of Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky in 1 853, 

 and the first premium at the Vermont State Fair in 1854, as well as 





1 Numbers appearing after names of horses are their registration numbers in the American Morgan 



ilors.- Register. 



