World famous horse - Morgan horse
The Morgan horse was one of the earliest breeds of horses bred in the United States. The breed dates back to its ancestral ancestor Figurine and was later named after its most famous owner, Justin Morgan. Morgan horses played many roles in 19th-century American history — as a carriage and light carriage race , and as a general riding horse.
During the Civil War, both sides used morgan horses as cavalry horses. Morgan horses influenced other major American breeds, including the American Quett horse, the Tennessee walking horse, and the standard horse. In the 19th and 20th centuries, they were exported to other countries, including England. In England, a Morgan stallion also influenced the breeding of hackney horses.
In 1907, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the American Morgan Racecourse near Middleburg (Vermont) with the aim of sustaining and improving the Morgan horse breed; the farm was later transferred to the University of Vermont. The first variety registry was established in 1909, and since then many organizations have been established in the United States, Europe and Oceania. In 2005, there were an estimated 175,000 Morgan horses worldwide.
Morgan Horse
features
Compact, muscular but delicate, with an expressive head and an arched neck.
Country of origin
United States
Variety identification
The Morgan horse is a compact, delicate breed, usually date, black, or maroon, but coat colors are also diverse, including several variations of white spots. The breed is used in both English horseback riding and western horseback riding and is known for its versatility.
Morgan horses are state mammals of Vermont, massachusetts and Rhode Island. Popular children's writers such as Margaret Henry and Alan Feld described the breed in their books; Henry's Justin Morgan Had a Horse was later made into a Disney film.
Breed characteristics
A Morgan horse competes in equestrian competitions
Morgan horses have a formal breed standard, regardless of the riding style or pedigree of the individual horses. Morgan horses are compact and delicate, with strong legs; the head is expressive, straight or slightly raised, the forehead is wide; the eyes are large and prominent; the shoulders are prominent, the shoulders are loose; and the neck is upright and arched.
Horses have shorter backs, muscular hindquarters, and long and muscular hips. The tail is positioned higher and rises gracefully and straight. The Morgan horse appears to be a powerful horse, and the breed is considered to be a good breed to feed. The standard height range for this breed is 14.1 to 15.2 hand distances (57 to 62 inches; 145 to 157 cm), and some individuals will exceed this range.
The horse's gait, especially that of a trot, is "warm, bouncy, square and homemade", with its front and back legs balanced. A small number of Morgan horses will have a slow gait, that is, they can run a medium-speed gait that is different from trotting.
The American Equestrian Federation states: "Morgan horses are distinguished by their perseverance and vigor, personality and enthusiasm, and strong natural way of moving. The breed is known for its wit, courage and good character. Registered Morgan horses come in a variety of colors, although the most common are date, black, and maroon.
Less common colors include gray, sand, dark brown, silver spot, and milky white, such as golden yellow, deerskin brown, cremello, and perlino. In addition, three white spot patterns can be identified: white shift, edged oval white spots, and splash white spots. No Morgan horses were found to have a reddish-skinned white-spotted pattern.
A genetic disorder has been found in Morgan horse breeds, type 1 madurosaccharide storage myopathy, an autosomal dominant muscle disease that is mainly found in horse ranch and horse breeds, and it is caused by a missense mutation in the GYS1 gene.
More than a dozen breeds have been found to have alleles for the disease, and Morgan horses are one of them. However, the incidence of Morgan horses is low compared to herding and horse breeds. In one study's randomized tests, less than one percent of Morgan horses carried the disease's allele, which is one of the lowest percentage breeds in the study.
Two of the coat color genes found in Morgan's horse are also linked to genetic diseases. One is hereditary eye syndrome multiple congenital eye abnormalities referred to as MCOA), originally called preemptual dysplasia. MCOA is characterized by abnormal development of certain eye tissues, which can lead to vision loss, although usually to a lesser extent; the disease is not developed.
Genetic studies have shown that it is closely related to the silver spot gene. A small number of Morgan horses carry the silver spot allele, which causes cysts; if it is heterozygous, it does not cause obvious vision problems, but if it is homozygotes, it can cause vision problems. There is also the possibility of fatal leukoplakia syndrome, a fatal disease that occurs in pure zygote foals with marginal ovate leukoplakia genes.
Currently, one mare strain in the Morgan horse breed produces healthy heterozygous flanky ovate leukoplakia. The Morgan Horse Association of America advocates genetic testing to identify carriers of these genes and recommends that horse owners avoid mating between horses with edged ovate leukoplakia in heterozygotes.
Variety history
A Morgan horse with a rider in colonial costume in Kentucky Horse Park. Its costumes are modeled after Justin Morgan and Figure.
Justin Morgan
All Morgan horses can be traced back to a common ancestor, a stallion named Figure, born in 1789 in West Springfield (Massachusetts). In 1792, he was repaid as a debt to a man named Justin Morgan.
Later, the horse was called by the owner's name, and the "Justin Morgan Horse" evolved into the breed's name. Figure is thought to stand at a height of about 14 hands (56 inches; 142 cm) and weighs about 1,000 pounds (450 kg). It is known for its outstanding talent, its distinctive appearance, body shape, temperament and athleticism.
The exact pedigree of it is not known, despite the enormous efforts that have been made to do so. One historian suggests that its father may have been a thoroughbred known as Beautiful Bay, and that a book on this possibility would have "written 41 detective novels and applied for membership in the Liars' Club." In 1821, Figure was kicked by another horse and died of his wounds. He was buried in Tunbridge (Vermont)
Although Figure is widely used as a stallion, it has only six sons documented, three of which became the famous base blood bank of the Morgan horse breed. Woodbury was a maroon horse with a height of 14.3 hand distances (59 inches; 150 centimeters) and had been in a position of descent in New England for many years.
The Bulrush is a dark date-colored horse that is the same height as the Figure and is known for its endurance and speed in light car racing. The most famous is Sherman, another maroon stallion that is slightly shorter than Figurine.
Figure's son, Black Hawk, was born in 1833 and later became a base stallion of the Standard Horse, American Pommel Horse, and Tennessee Walker, and is known for his unbeaten run in light races. Born in 1849, Black Hawk's son Ethan Allen is another important pedigree bass horse in the history of the Morgan breed and is known for its speed in trotting races.
Variety development
Morgan Horse, 1887
In the 19th century, Morgan horses were considered to have practical abilities. Due to the speed and endurance of the horses, they are widely used in light car races and carriage pull races. They are also used for grazing, daily horseback riding and pulling light vehicles.
The breed was also used by miners during the California Gold Rush (1848–1855), and was also used by the army during and after the Civil War to ride and pull carts.
In the 1860s, the Morgan trotting stallion Sheffield F. Nap was exported to England, where its ability to trot influenced the breeding of hakney horses. During this period, it was possible that a large number of Morgan mares were brought west and integrated into the Texas herd, which influenced the development of the American Quit horse.
Morgan horses are also the ancestors of the Missouri foxtrot horse. By the 1870s, however, long-legged horses became popular, and Morgan horses were crossed with other breeds of horses. This led to the almost disappearance of the original type of Morgan horse, although some remained in remote areas.
Daniel Chipman Linsley, a native of Middleburg, Vermont, edited and published a book in 1857 on Morgan's Horses with Horses. Colonel Joseph Battle, also a native of Middleburg, published the first volume of the Morgan Horse Register in 1894, marking the official beginning of the breed registration.
In 1907, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the American Morgan Racecourse on land donated by Battle in Weybridge, Vermont, with the aim of sustaining and improving the Morgan horse breed. Breeding programs are designed to produce healthy, strong, well-behaved horses that excel in both saddle and harnesses. In 1951, Morgan Racecourse was transferred from the Department of Agriculture to Vermont Agricultural College
Military use
During the Civil War, both sides used morgan horses as mounts for cavalry. Originating from Morgan Horse includes Sheridan's Winchester, also known as Lane, who is a descendant of the Black Hawk. Stonewall Jackson's "Little Chestnut Hair" has been alternately described as the Morgan Horse or the American Pommel Horse, a breed heavily influenced by the Morgan horse.
Although Morgan horse enthusiasts say that the only surviving Macomanche of the Custer Regiment after the Battle of little Bighorn was either a Morgan horse or a mixture of Mustang and Morgan horses, records from the U.S. Army and other early sources do not support this claim.
Most accounts indicate that Comanche is either of "Wild Horse descent" or a mixture of "American" and "Spanish" descent. The University of Kansas Museum of Natural History displays Comanche's plush toys, but no description of their variety is given. All sources agree that The Comanche originated in the Oklahoma or Texas area, which makes it more likely that it has Wild horse ancestry.