The regeneration of the Morgan horse by Rommel George M. (George McCullough) 1876-1945

Author:Rommel, George M. (George McCullough), 1876-1945
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Morgan horse -- Breeding
Publisher: Washington : Government Printing Office
Published: 1910-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

A further quotation from Linsley on the size of Morgans fifty years ago is both important and interesting. 0

The average height of Morgan horses may be stated at from 14 to 15i hands. There are a few that will fall below 14 hands, but the number is very small, and there are also some that will exceed 15£ hands, but it is by no means common, and in such cases it will generally be found that the animal has but a small amount of Morgan blood. Their weight may be stated to range from 900 to 1,100 pounds, the usual weight being about 1,000; any great deviation from this weight should induce the suspicion of a large infusion of other blood, although exceptions may and doubtless do occur, in the case of animals that can show a good pedigree; still they must be considered as the exception to the rule, and not the rule itself.

BEST METHODS TO REVIVE THE BREED.

In view of the widespread belief that the Morgan breed should be revived and made once more an important factor in the horse industry, it is not surprising that opinions differ as to the best methods to adopt for this purpose. There is little if any question that the revival of the breed can be accomplished; enough material of the type, fixed by inheritance, is available for this. The question seems to be whether an exact revival of the ancient Justin Morgan type should be attempted, or whether we should take the best of the ancient type, improve it, and make it conform as closely as possible to modern requirements.

SHOULD THE JUSTIN MORGAN TYPE BE ADOPTED ?

Let us consider again the qualities which made Justin Morgan and his sons famous. A further reference to Linsley shows that the qualities of Justin Morgan which he regarded as worth preserving are largely the qualities that make the Morgan valuable to-day, and the faults which the horse had would be regarded as faults to-day when found in Morgans. "His compactness of form, his high and generous spirit, combined with the most perfect tractability; his bony, sinewy limbs, his lofty style, and easy but vigorous action'' 6 are all points of value. Every one of these is admitted by horsemen as fundamental, with the possible exception of the action, on which there is a difference of opinion, some breeders wanting the highest and most brilliant action possible and others simply "easy but vigorous action." Justin Morgan's prepotency as a sire was an asset of the highest value; that also is universally regarded as fundamental in a sire.

The qualities generalized above are, in the writer's opinion, the qualities of Justin Morgan which should be perpetuated in the modern Morgan, with the single exception that the writer confesses to a desire for higher and more brilliant natural action than had the original

a Linsley, D.C. Morgan Horses. New York, 1857. Pp. 70, 71. & Ibid., p. 146. [Cir. 103]

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