My morgan has so much try and is so smart!
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A Morgan Horse is the perfect horse!
American Saddlebreds have some of the same root stock as Morgans and Standies. I like to think that they combine all of that, and they have a bunch of TB in them, as well.
I saw Waseekaâs Nocturne and his iconic son, In Command, show when I was a kid. I could be convinced that IN Command was half ASB. 
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I worked at Covent Garden Farm in upstate NY in my youth for a short time, and LOVED those horses. I am looking at Morgans, too, just most arenât in my budget and specs. But if I found a Banner Warlord descendant, I might have to make that work;) I honestly donât even know if he was THAT good, but I LOVED him as a âperson.â
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I saw them both too in 1969. Nocturne was typy and an all around great horse. I even got to sit on him! In Command was definitely more refined and of course the rumor was that Millerâs Adele wasnât really his dam, etc etc. No way to prove that back in the day. Later events and things that people have told me about breeding shenanigans that they witnessed personally keep me from rejecting those rumors out of hand. But⊠In Command definitely looked more Morgan than Saddlebred. He was however not as typy as a Lippitt, for example. I kinda freak out these days when I see people advertising horses that have 5 or 6 crosses to him though. Thatâs a little intense for me, even though I dearly love him.
You can look through the archive of Morgan photos that AMHA maintains and see a ton of variation, even in the oldies. https://www.morganhorse.com/about-morgan/photo-archive/
My Morgan, horse of a lifetime, foaled in 1964, still had Saddlebreds on his papers, so purity clearly was not a concern at the time.
Regardless, they are great horses.
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If you look at the side conformation shot of In Command in that folder, it is hard to deny the ASB. The face shots are very much like his Daddy.
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Itâs weird. When I saw him as a 4 year old, his neck was not that extreme. If you look at the picture with John Lydon riding him - thatâs more of what I remember. It might even be from the 1969 Morgan Nationals, which I attended with his people. I was kind of shocked when I saw that picture of him as an older horse quite a few years later because it really didnât look like the horse I remembered. No matter what, he was a beautiful beautiful horse.
And if he was 1/2 Saddlebred - well, clearly there were a lot of people in the Morgan world who were caught red handed when DNA testing came along. So it wouldnât surprise me a bit if he was. Considering that an old timer like John Lydon probably worked with a lot of horses who had a lot of Saddlebred close up both before and after the stud book was closed - they probably considered it a minor sin to do some creative breeding.
Sorry for the tangent OP - itâs fascinating to look back at starry eyed 17 year old me and the grizzled cynic I am now LOL! But I still love me a good Morgan, good Saddlebred, and good Arab!
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In Command was absolutely one of a kind- a stunning breed changing horse. After him, the park horses in harness and under saddle were never the same again. A part of me hates that, because they became ASB wanna-bes, right down to the cut tails. I liked the Morgans like Nocturne.
Those are both beautiful boys! I love Preferred Poizenâs face.
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The harness horse lines are going to have an advantage at lower levels because they have the flashy trot naturally. But they can be harder to collect for higher levels. A decent Iberian cross will likely take you further than an equivalent Friesian cross, from my observation of both types.
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He looked just like his Daddy, RWGC Preferred Property. It wasnât hard to see that face in the morning. He had quite a sense of humor, and could actually be quite devious, planning his practical jokes. He was the only one who thought that they were really funny, though!
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I have gotten so much from this thread, and honestly love the tangents! I hope others that canât afford or donât want a warmblood get ideas on all the fun other options they can enjoy and succeed with! Trust me, Iâd love a Morgan but I havenât seen many in the age range I need (already own senior horses!) in my budget. I debated going to the Buckeye Sale this weekend, but auction isnât good for me, and they donât go cheap there! But I did drool over the catalog;)
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Last time I was horse hunting I would have gladly bought a Morgan if I could have found one! Kinda tricky when they are only registering about 800 horses a year. I think you have to use the same strategy as with ASBs - know somebody who would have a likely prospect or just get lucky. Maybe go to Grand Nationals and hang out with the dressage people? Networking seems to be the way to go. But, my current guy, whom I dearly love, was born and raised right in my barn and so no hunting involved. He was a saddle seat drop out but perfect for what I wanted. Glad to get lucky for once!
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I got lucky finding my Morgan. I wasnt even looking for a horse for me. I was part-leasing and the BO was looking for a school horse. So I started looking on the internet and happened across an ad with video of a super cute Morgan. Not at all what she was looking for. Not what I thought I needed - too green! And he was two states away. I remarked on him to her and she saw the ad and said âget him!â Several trips (and investigating other horses for sale) and I could no longer resist and he came home to me.
Turned out he had traveled through several states and owners after starting out as an âoopsâ baby (now DNA verified). We are schooling Second Level now!
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i had a Morgan stallion who, 5 gens back, had a saddlebred ancestor: Upwey Ben King 1939.
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wellâŠhow about a photo 
O, both of my favorites combined into one! (Morgan Horse & palomino!)
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Were I looking for a Morgan, Iâd of course call the UVM Morgan farm (been there many a time) but also consider Newmont Morgans in Bradford, VT. I saw a lovely 2019 filly there not that long ago and they may have others.
I know Anthonyâs Acres is breeding from Lippitt lines, but I have to say the temperaments are good but the conformation is not what Iâd want for a dressage horse.
I too wasnât even looking when I saw my morgan gelding pop up in my facebook feed. I had been in contact with his breeder in the past as she lives in state and I liked what she was producing. I have no problem and actually prefer buying those that are unstarted. This guy had just been gelded at 3 and put on the market that day. I contacted her that day and went to look at him a couple of weeks later (we had challenges coordinating our schedules). I purchased him for a song the next day. Iâm a vet so PPE had more or less already been done
The reason this guy popped up in my feed though was because I had been in contact with the breeder. I really admired her program and just sort of kept in touch. This is the same way I ended up with those welsh cobs I did not breed. In fact the only times I went on a horse search in earnest were hunting for suitable mounts for my kids. All the rest came through very trusted breeders/friends who kept me posted on what they had or what was coming. The rest I bred. Developing a network of breeders whose programs you feel develop suitable individuals I think can help anyone find that gem. You never know when they have another owner reach out to them in the need to rehome especially some of what they bred. Iâve helped other breeders find suitable homes (often at better pricing because the need for a 5-star home was more important) for many of thereâs that had been sold but found themselves with their owners reaching back out to the breeder due to unexpected lifestyle changes.
Sh!t happens often at no fault of the horse. These individuals if registered and purchased direct from the breeder often end up back in the breedersâ pipelines to be rehomed. So even if a young unstarted âbreedâ isnât what youâre looking for, contacting reputable breeders and establishing a rapport can often eventually pay off. Lately Iâve seen more than one morgan mare and welsh cob mare be put on the market after theyâve finished their broodmare career, decision made not to re-breed, and often thereâs been basic undersaddle training put in place. Admittedly most of those Iâve seen in the last 2 weeks have been in Canada.
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