after the USDA ended the breeding program in 1951 the farm was given to the Un of Vermont
Col. Joseph Battell, commissioned the Weybridge barn to be built by architect Clinton Smith for a sum of $10,000. Battell housed a collection of the era’s finest Morgans. His passion for the breed was vital to the preservation of the type as his research helped establish the first Morgan Horse Registry, without which the integrity of the breed may have been lost.
Battell left his farm to the U.S. government in 1907 to be used as a remount station for cavalry mounts. Under the oversight of the Department of Agriculture, the Government-bred Morgan horses were on this Weybridge property for 44 years.
The Weybridge Morgan herd was auctioned to several Land Grant Universities, including University of Connecticut and the University of Vermont. In 1951 the Weybridge property was offered to the University of Vermont, which continues to own it today.
I can attest to the value of the bay Morgans for cavalry mounts as our bays could disappear into the shadows of a tree line with their natural camouflage
“had is they think they need to help you with everything around the ranch/farm …and often believe they have a better way of doing the task than you do.”
OMG. I want this on a T-shirt. But, then my Morgan will have to inspect it and see if it is worthy. Then he will have to inspect me to see if I have put in on correctly. Then he will have to inspect whether it is appropriate for the weather. He is not hot (well, last horse was an Arab, and I wouldn’t say she was hot either) but he is very snorty and “looky” – if there is nothing there. If there is something there, like a pack of cyclists, a motorcycle, a half-decayed car in the middle of the woods, etc., then he acts as if the scary object does not exist and just chugs on by. He has a work ethic that would put a Puritan to shame, and will not be distracted from his job by something as trivial as a haunted car in the middle of no-where.
Also, in the interests of total objectivity and rational thinking, I bought him because he has a beautiful head and adorable fat little ears. So there.
He is 18, had been sitting in a field for years and only pulled out for summer camp for a few weeks every summer. He reportedly showed when younger, but no one remembered when or at what. He is 14.2, bay with thick brown/black mane and tail, tiny white star, drafty type. He has since revealed himself to have had some good training at some point in his life, and he loves very basic dressage. He was $2500.
A friend of mine trains Morgans for a guy that uses them in civil war reenactments. They pull cannons and ride through just about everything.
They are down in NC and every once in a while he will sell one. I’m so tempted when I see them posted. They are the 14 hand thick built bay Morgans with super minds.
they will look taller because most are short because of their cannon bones being short… we had one Lippitt mare that was shown in a lot of open shows… she was actually a pony so we would loan her to friends of our kids to show… when entered in a pony only classes she was often challenged and had to be measured…14.1 … then the people would step back and look at her again then measure her again and again …14.1
She appeared to be at least 15 plus … she was “short” because of her cannon bones
her nearly twin half sister was just 13.3 only because of her short cannon bones otherwise she was the size of a much larger horse
Short Cannon Bone
Cannon is relatively short from fetlock to knee as compared to knee to elbow. This conformation is desirable in any performance horse. A short cannon bone improves the ease and power of the force generated by the muscles of a long forearm or gaskin. Enables an efficient pull of the tendons across the back of the knee or point of hock to move the limb forward and back. Also reduces the weight of the lower leg so less muscular effort is needed to move the limb, which contributes to speed, stamina, soundness, and jumping ability.
In 2017 I attended a large annual Morgan Horse Sale & Auction. This was an Amish event and the older started horses went for what I thought was above market pricing for Morgans. Maybe I misunderstood the real value of the breed. I recall that most yearlings went between $1,500 and $3,000. Two year olds a couple of thousand more. They were all chestnut, bay, or black. Anything else was not what the people wanted.
Morgans are awesome! I boarded at a Morgan barn for a couple of years and rode a lot of them. They’re very intelligent horses, not hot, but they have lots of energy and they look at everything. Usually easy keepers, sound and low maintenance too. If you like horses with opinions and a “go” button, I’d highly recommend them—but if you want a deadhead, probably not the right horse for you. If I didn’t have have an Arab, I’d definitely have a Morgan!
The Amish, in general, don’t want “color” although some are starting to breed in flashy white markings. The 2017 auctions had a bit better pricing than prior years.
As for colorfuls, yes, I do own a Palomino Morgan. She was very low 5 figures in 2008, just before the crash, but this was a trained, almost 10 year old, very pretty mare. She’s been atypical for a Morgan in that she’s not been terribly sound. Her personality is … complicated, but she’s actually turned out to be a safe ride. I’ve chugged along with her for 10 years through all kinds of ups and downs, but she probably wasn’t the best choice for me as a first horse. (I did not buy her for her color, though.)
I do think the “colorfuls” get a little bit of a price boost, but more when they are babies, or when they are mature and well-trained, or when they are well-bred. Not to say that the horse OP is talking about isn’t these things (other than mature, and not a baby). But it’s just the way of the horse world – foals are cute, which helps them sell, but unstarted 1/2/3 year olds are a big question mark, and not what a typical buyer is looking for. IF the horse in OP has a nice personality and good ground manners, and perhaps a start ground driving and/or wearing tack, that would help.
OP and the owner of the colt should look at Morgan Showcase, Sharing Our Morgans, etc. on Facebook for ideas on pricing. And absolutely geld the little guy, unless he’s really special.
Oh – I did have a young Morgan for about 2 years, bought as a 10 day old and mostly boarded with her breeders. She was to be a replacement for the mare as a riding horse. She was a bay, mostly Brunk/western lines, had a really good brain, and was going to finish out tall (15.2 or so) but we just did not mesh personality wise. I ended up selling her back to her breeder for what I’d pay for her (low to mid 4 figures) and breeder had a buyer for her within a couple of months for a bit more than that. She was going to be one of those classic “family Morgans”, just not for me, unfortunately.
Unless this baby has exceptional breeding, movement, and disposition then I think the seller should be expecting well under $4,000 for an ungelded two year old. If there isn’t much interest she can always offer to geld and hold for a month if desired by the buyer. Personally, I wouldn’t look twice an an ungelded 2 year old and his color would be a major deterrent as I don’t find that color appealing. However, If they are breeding for color then perhaps they’ve had experience fetching much larger price tags for buyers who will pay for color regardless of quality.
I walk away for the weekend and y’all went nuts! :lol:
I meant to grab his registration papers before coming into the office this morning and then I got here and went, “d’oh!” totally forgot them… I will do that tomorrow, promise.
As to why he isn’t gelded since a few people asked. Originally she wanted a stallion prospect. At this point its just that she can’t afford it. There have been a string of very unfortunately life circumstances including death of the primary breadwinner in the household, surgery and illness and at this time the actual owner is struggling to even feed him. Let alone spring $200 for gelding. I’ve worked fairly extensively in my time in rescue, both horse and small animal, and basically offered to help knowing she would be in a very bad place very fast. I have already sold her other horse a few weeks ago. He went to a fabulous upscale barn and the new owner brought their trainer with to look and she was great too. I’m hoping for similar for this little guy.
He isn’t untouched, (some people mentioned things about him being unstarted) but he is barely two (I think his foaling date was late Jan) so he hasn’t been started under saddle. He has his basic ground work and all that jazz. I am not being paid to train him, and I have my own horses to care for, and a full time job, so you know, only so much time in the day! haha.
At least one person asked me why there were not photos, so…
I have to agree. My parents owned/operated a small Morgan breeding operation for many years and it is an extremely niche market. You will find some buyers who are interested in an unusual color, but the traditional Morgan show buyer isn’t (again generalizing) going to bite. For our few that didn’t quite come out as intended – funny thing about genetics, it doesn’t always go as planned – we found good homes with Pony Clubbers and 4-H kids; however, they were never sold intact. It was a rarity for my parents to keep a colt intact as geldings are much more marketable.
I haven’t been in the “Morgan world” for the last several years, but I’d reach out to the nearest Morgan-based barn and give them the run down and see what they say. It isn’t unusual for the big show barns to know of people searching for a different type of Morgan. Just another avenue to explore! Also, the Morgan sites mentioned before (Morgan Showcase, Sharing Carrots, AMHA etc…) are a good place to compare what the current market is doing in terms of sale prices. Best of luck!
Seeing the pics, please talk the owner into gelding him- he’s not stallion material.
That said, I have had several Morgans- have 3 right now. A good show record in the “in” disciplines or a very nice sport horse type- yes, you can get some nice money. I’m guessing your friend would end up with less than 2K for her horse in reality.
I own a Morgan mare and love her to pieces have always loved the breed. Paid 1200 for her as a green broke 6 year old and registered. That isn’t a 4k horse. There isn’t much about him that would have me interested in him for even 1000 especially if not gelded. If she is really that hard up she is better offloading him to a better situation. Have her take a good look at what Morgans are currently priced at on run of the mill sale sites like equinenow and she will realize that she will get nowhere near that much. Hopefully she realizes that sooner than later.
The market for Morgans is already small. The market for palomino morgans even smaller. The market for 2yos of any breed is very thin. The market for intact 2yos that probably can’t be boarded at most barns is vanishingly small.
anything you can do to solve any of these things (geld chief among them) will help him land softly. In the current state you may have no takers at any price. It may be worth pointing up the $200 yourself if you can.
I don’t think the youngster of this topic looks like stallion material to me, but 2 yos can get weedy looking and I’m no great judge of conformation on youngsters.
After seeing the pictures I think finding him a good home for free - $1,500 is a good deal. Personally, I wouldn’t look twice at him as a riding prospect. His structure really is counter productive for any type of real work. Of course, with a great mind he may be a great riding horse but he doesn’t scream prospect for anything. If she cannot afford $200 to geld him then placing him for free via connections may be the quickest way to get him off her feed bill.
