Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-06-01
VERMONT HORSES.

Vermont, in common with New Hamp-
shire, has been much celebrated for its
excellent horses -distinguished for the
quality of activity, great strength in
proportion to size, ability to live and
labor on comparatively little food, with
remarkable hardness and endurance. We
shall not attempt minute history of
the Vermont horse-this would be fruit
less. He is undoubtedly mixture of
several breeds. The first settlers. who
were principally from Massachusetts.
Connecticut and Rhode Island, carried
with them such as they had. Connecti-
cut and Rhode Island were in pos
session of valuable horses at period
as far back as the commencement of the
American Revolution. The horse called
Ranger-afterwards known in Virginia
as Lindsay's Arabian, and said to have
been an Arab. presented by the emperor
OF Morocco to the commander of a Brit
ish frigate, and by the latter subsequent
ly given to the captain of an American
vessel, was brought to Connecticut and
became the sire of numerous and very
superior progeny. General Washing
tons celebrated Grey charger was said
to have been gotten by this horse. The
Narragansetts of r. |. $50 called from
being bred in the vicinity of Narragan-
sett Bay were famous at as early day
as the horses of Conn. What those
Narrapans l-pnu, -, 1.
been. said they sprung from an imported
English Hunter
1t is reasonable to suppose that the
early emigrants to Vermont took with
them mares of these stocks: and from
the contiguity of the State to the Prov
ince of Lower Canada there has ALWAYS
been greater or less infusion of the
blood of the Canadian French horse.
which came originally from Normandy.
The stock thus derived have been var
iously commingled and mixed also with
other blood introduced at different times.
The rugged features of the country. the
rigor of the climate, the mode of feeding.
and general management, have all tended
to produce hardy race as well as to
assimilate them in some degree to gen.
eral standard of points. But the great
est celebrity of the Vermont horses has
been unquestionably derived from
particular animal commonly known as
the "old Justin Morgan horse" This
horse is. we believe, universally admit
ted to have been the root of the famous
race. to which the name of Morgan has
been given, though there has been some
diverse accounts OF this origin. The
most authentic history yet obtained, and
which, so far as it goes, is undoubtedly
entitled to full belief, is given by son
of Justin Morgan, bearing his fathers
name and now living in Stockbridge.
Vt. (see Cultiyator, vol. tx, p. 800. Mr..
Morgan states that his father removed to
Randolph, VT. from Springfield, Mass.
that in the year 1895 he visited SPRING
field, and on his return to Randolph took
with him 1.-TWO year old colt, which
was the same that has since been known
all over New England as the Morgan
horse" Mr.. Morgan does not state any,
thing in regard to the blood of the colt,
but is confident his father obtained him
in the vicinity of Springfield. This
statement of Justin Morgan End, is con-
firmed by John Morgan of Lima, N. Y.
(Cultivator, vol. tx, p. ll0), who states
he was near neighbor of Justin Morgan,
ST., prior to his removal to VT, and re-
members the colt purchased by Justin
Morgan, which he states was got by
horse owned by Seely Norton of East
Hartford, Conn.,, called the "True Brit
ton" This horse was said to have been
stolen from Gen. De Lancey, commander
OF the refugee troops on l.. l. during the
Revolutionary war. The Delaney