Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1907-10-11
THE AMERICAN HORSE
THE MORGAN TYPE.


toned so frequently of late that it is
evidently considered of great value. 1t
refers, of course, to the old fashioned
Morgan horses, but chiefly to the original
Justin Morgan, his sons and grandsons,
and their immediate descendants.
A novice is liable to get the idea that
the great excellence of the Morgan
family of horses was due to their con-
formation, shape or proportions, and that
by reproducing close image of the old
time Morgan, that is, an animal shaped
after the same pattern, or run in the same
mold so to speak, as will be accomplished
that is desired. Practical horsemen.
especially such of the old guard as have
had experience with the od-time Nor
gans, know better, however.
The conformation of the old time Nor
gan was really only one of the factors
that made the family famous, and was
perhaps the least important of all the
many factors which, combined, made
him the most noble, most useful and
most valuable animal of the equine
species to the farmers, the business men
and the professional men of the day and
location in which the Morgan flourished
There may have been other horses that
filled the same exact measurements
weighed the same number of pounds and
ounces, were of the same color, carried
their heads and tails the same as the
original Justin Morgan and yet were
as unlike him as to the valuable qualities
which he possessed and transmitted, as
diamond, or iron pyrites to pure gold
dust.
1t was the immense amount of nerve
force which he possessed, rather than his
conformation, that enabled the original
Justin Morgan, founder of the Morgan
family, to output, out-walk, out-trot
where he was kept.
1t was the quality of his brain rather
than the size and shape of his head, or
the length or depth of his body, that
caused Justin Morgan to cheerfully obey
the commands of his riders or drivers,
whether they were stalwart men, invalid
women or half-grown children. 1t was
the physical and mental qualities of this
wonderful horse, rather than his size,
shape, style and pose, that made his
stock so immensely valuable.
When horsemen speak of the Morgan
type they have in mind the qualities,
both physical and mental, which Justin
Morgan possessed and transmitted, quite
as much as the size and shape of the
horse, and probably far more than those
1t is impossible to predict with absolute
certainty what qualities any untried
animal will stamp upon his offspring.
AS rule, however, it is most likely to
be those qualities for which the family
is noted of which the stallion in question
is a member, especially if he be inbred
to that family.
Morgan blood as it exists today must
necessarily be greatly diluted, yet the
influence of atavism is such that some
animal which. according to mathemati-
cal reckoning has inherited only one one.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. part of that
blood may possess the marked character
istics which distinguished the genuine
Morgan, more strongly than does the
average of those which have inherited,
according to mathematical calculations,
one-eighth of the original Morgan blood.
Selections of stock should be governed
by the strength of the Morgan character
istlcs shown rather than by the apparent
mathematical percentage of the Morgan
blood possessed.
To restore the Morgan type. including
the aracteristics, so that it may be
transmitted with a fair degree of GER
tainty and uniformity will require many
years of patient, persistent effort and
experiment, saving only the choicest and
rejecting all animals for breeding pur-
poses that do not approximate the Nor
gan standard in characteristics, no mat
ter how strongly the animals may be
bred in Morgan blood.-American Horse
Breeder.