The Morgan Horse

America's First and Oldest Breed

It all began in 1789, the same year George Washington became the first President of the United States, when a bay colt was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The colt's exact ancestry is unknown, although many theories about his pedigree have been proposed over the years. Reported to be of predominantly Thoroughbred and Arabian ancestry, this animal was (in what is known in genetic terms) a sport or mutation; he possessed the ability to transmit to his offspring characteristics unique to himself, and many generations later the same basic characteristics predominate. This colt grew up to single-handedly found the first American breed of horse -- the Morgan.

When this colt was still quite young, or so the story goes, a schoolmaster from Vermont walked all the way to West Springfield to claim a debt owed him by the colt's owner. But the colt's owner didn't have nay money to give to the school teacher, and instead offered him two horses - one a strapping, ruggedly built animal, and the other the bay colt. The poor schoolmaster had no choice but to accept the offer or return to Vermont empty-handed.

So the schoolmaster, who was known as Justin Morgan, led his two horses all the way back to his Randolph, Vermont home. His plan was to sell the two horses, and in fact he had no trouble selling the larger, mature horse. But nobody wanted the bay colt. They felt sure he was simply too small and delicate to handle working in the rugged terrain of the Green Mountains. Justin resigned himself to keeping Figure, the name he gave the colt.

Indeed, Figure was a bit smaller than the popular draft horses of that time, and he was quite different in other ways as well. His finely chiseled head, with its large, expressive, wideset eyes and small, alert ears gave him an intelligent look. His crested neck, rising out of well-angled shoulders, resulted in Figure's proud, upheaded appearance. Figure also had a wide, deep chest; short, strong back and loin; powerfully muscled hindquarters and clean-boned, straight legs. It was these latter traits, coupled with his remarkable stamina, that enabled Figure to work in the hilly Vermont countryside just as well as his larger counterparts.

And he did! Stories abound concerning Figure's legendary feats of strength and stamina. But what truly amazed the Vermonters was not Figure's capacity for work, it was his ability to outdo all other horses in any endeavor. Figure proved again and again that he could out-trot, out-run, and out-pull any horse he was matched against.

Even more remarkable, though, was Figure's amazing ability to produce sons and daughters in his likeness. No matter what type of mare he was bred to, Figure's foals all inherited his unique look and superb athletic ability. And these sons and daughters, in turn, stamped his image on their foals. As was frequently the case in those days, Figure came to be known by his owner's name, and thus Figure's offspring were called "Morgan" horses. A breed was born!

Through the years the history on the Morgan breed has been interwoven with the development of the United States. The fame of these versatile and adaptable horses spread as the country grew, and the Morgan played an integral role in this growth.

For example, the Morgan was very popular as a cavalry mount. Legend has it that the Commanche, the lone survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn, was a Morgan. Civil War hero General Phil Sheridan rode a black Morgan named Rienzi on his famous 20 mile dash to rally his troops. And the Vermont Cavalry, more commonly called the Green Mountain Boys, was of course mounted on Morgans.

As pioneers streamed westward across the US, their trusted Morgans traveled with them. The Morgan's ability to thrive on a limited amount of feed was a boon to settlers attempting to scratch out an existence on their new farms. Many cowboys preferred Morgan horses because of their heartiness, stamina, and "cow sense." And Morgans were among the horses used for the Pony Express.

But through the 1800s, Morgans were perhaps best known as the premier trotting horses in America. Prior to the advent of the Standardbred, Morgans were the preferred horses for trotting races.

It is not surprising, considering the Morgan's popular and unique abilities, that Morgan horses contributed to the foundation of several other American breeds. Among these are the Quarter Horse, American Saddlebred, Standardbred and Tennessee Walking Horse. To this day, each of these breeds retains certain characteristics inherited from the Morgan horse.

In fact, the Morgan horse proved so durable and popular that even the US Government developed an interest in the breed. The United States Morgan Horse Farm, which was dedicated to preserving and developing the Morgan horse, was established in Weybridge, Vermont in 1907. The government maintained this farm until 1949 at which time many of the Morgans and the farm itself were given to the University of Vermont.

More recently, the Morgan was awarded a very special honor when the US bicentennial Commission designated the breed as the "Bicentennial Horse" in 1976. The year 1981 saw two impressive milestones in the history of the Morgan horse. First, they were part of the former President Ronald Reagan's inaugural parade, at his special request. Second, competing in a national Challenge of the Breeds, a Morgan gelding and his owner captured the title of Most Versatile Breed. To accomplish this, the Morgan had to out-perform five other breeds in a wide variety of events. With this victory, the Morgan's heralded versatility was proved just as surely as Figure established this reputation over 200 years ago.

The Morgan is a spirited and courageous horse, but easily handled and intelligent; very powerful, well proportioned in all respects, and possess great stamina. The walk is long, straight and elastic; the trot very free, straight, well-balanced and collected; the canter is smooth and easy, straight and in balance.

The head is medium-sized, clean-cut and tapers from jaw to muzzle. The profile is straight or just slightly dished; the muzzle, fine and of medium size; the eyes, large and bright. The mane and forelock are full and the hair is soft and silky; the tail, long and flowing. The neck is well crested and of medium length; the withers, clearly defined, but slightly higher than the point of the hip; the shoulders, sloped well from the withers are of particular strength. The cannon bones are short and limbs slender, but there is plenty of bone and the joints are well formed.

Morgan colors are bay, black, brown and chestnut. There are no greys or part-colors. The Morgan stands between 14.1 to 15.2 hands high.

Look for an update on this article.

More information on the Morgan horse can be obtained from: The American Morgan Horse Association, PO Box 1, Westmoreland, NY 13490
Or, visit:

Published June 1996 in NorthWest Breyer Horse Club Newsletter. (ma)
© 1996-2019 NW Breyer Horse Club & Refiner of Gold Creations
Equinealities in place since 1997, Section in place 2001, Updated 1/27/2019
Mule Team