The Horse that they did not not know what to do with

[clanter]

As some know my daughter’s very promising young horse broke a leg which was so bad that he was euthanized in the field.

Her trainer who was heart broken about Socks…he offered her a horse to work with knowing her loss.

So daughter was Given this pasture five year old Morgan who never grew so there was no interest in taking this runt on into training for the Big-time

Lexie (her farm name) came to live here at her new home on Jan 31st. She had never been trained other than haltering/leading and very little else since after all she was runt. She had been just turned out in the brood mare band.

She is of very good breeding that showed great promise, but she since she was smaller there was not a place for her in the training program

Daughter basically put her into a crash course to learn everything in a few months rather than the years we are used to devoting to develop a horse. (this horse had never ever been saddled)

Lexie who Can Have An Opinion about some of this, but she has come along well after she agreed to Daughter’s training (Daughter is very good at developing a horse so does not let her get away with anything.)

This last month they have been working on the intro/training level dressage which has been trying since the temperatures have been over 100F since early June…but they did work.

So the horse that had not much interested in her was taken to her first dressage competition, she had never ever been to any show She had four class. The hope was that she would at least stay in the ring so she could earn the right to compete at the Morgan Nationals this fall (she already had the horse provisionally entered awaiting the results of this show to qualify Lexie for the Morgan Nationals)

Her first class… Intro Test B she scored 68.625% winning it…then she won her second class Intro Test A scoring 70% , and the next day her third and her fourth taking firsts again

And she got her temporary PONY CARD …measured at 145.5 cm with front shoes
She can not get her permanent card for another two years (age 8) (side note needed here. A Pony Card is not needed for Morgan competitions as regardless of the horse’s stature all Morgans are considered to be Horses within the breed…we wanted Lexie to be documented )

arrival her at the end of January

the reason Lexie had been entered into this years Morgan Nationals was because daughter is pick up her new “horse” there… Fig who will be six months old at the time will be having his first trip off the ranch is being shipped in from North Dakota to be picked up there, so since he is There he’s entered into the halter class …which should be very interesting as Socks was a yearling before he went to Nationals becoming an old hand at by two. (Fig and Socks are half brothers out of the same mare)

[Ghazzu]

Marvelous!

[Bluey]

WOW!

No words.

[Fiesta01]

Congratulations to all! Love your stories. Thanks for sharing.

[clanter]

Daughter is very proud of her little horse. One of her primary goals is not to embarrass her trainer, their relationship is more like Head Trainer and she being an assistant as she does fill in at the stables when he is gone doing seminars.

Second Goal was for her to stay in the ring… (from our years of showing the Morgans daughter is known by the staff who run entries of the Nationals, Peggy told her “Oh knowing you, you will get Lexie qualified so I will go ahead and enter her provisionally” so getting her to stay in the ring was a major goal …Fig, did not need to qualify for his class

We have had several small Morgans so kind of like them as they may be smaller but they can compete against the big guys without being intimidated

[clanter]

@Fiesta01

Love your stories. Thanks for sharing.

just reporting as this has been all her doings (and special thanks to Garn Walker and his wife who gave her this five year old horse…who had no name, so daughter got to name her)

[luvmyhackney]

That’s fantastic!!! So happy for your daughter and you. I know you are beaming with pride while sharing there marvelous story.

[moonlitoaksranch]

What a great story! Great job!

Is she 14.2? That’s not so little. Morgans used to be small and mighty. How tall was Figure? Why would no one want a Morgan that size?

[DiamondJubilee]

What a great story!! Love this <3

[clanter]

@moonlitoaksranch

Is she 14.2?

just a hair over 14.1 with shoes, Her parentage would have suggested she would be much closer to 16h as all were at least 16h.

the tend over the last several decades, just as here where rider desire that 16h plus horse so has been the judging of Morgans

To us, these measurements mean little as our less than 14.2 horses do not appear to be Small.

Morgans used to be small and mighty

These photos shows Foxie (the bay) next to Mulligan (the buckskin). Foxie was 14.1+, Mulligan 15.2

Foxie carried a high percentage of Lippitt Morgan blood lines, her papers in four generations went back just at one hundred years

[moonlitoaksranch]

My favorite Morgan I knew as a kid was a shorter black mare with old UVM lines. She was in the 14s, but she looked big. She was a great dressage horse, too.

I like shorter horses. My Mustang is 13.3 without shoes.

[cayuse]

I grew up around Morgans and prefer the smaller ones that can only be found in my memory. Clanter, you got my perfect Morgan!

[swmorse]

Congratulations to your daughter. The ‘baby’ looks like a good girl.

[Ghazzu]

Ths size craze hit both Morgans and Arabians awhile back.
It’s a shame, because both breeds tend to be comparatively short-backed and round barreled, and are capable of carrying adults.

Too often, the increase in height leads to longer cannon bones.

[walktrot]

The University of Vermont (UVM) maintains a herd of the tradttional Morgans. They breed and sell horses.

[moonlitoaksranch]

Arabians, too? That’s too bad. They’ve been on the smaller side for so long. I wouldn’t mess with that.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Yes, Arabians too.

A few decades ago I asked a newbie Arabian breeder what he was breeding for. His answer “What everybody else is breeding for, a 16 hand or higher “classically” conformed Arabian,” and he bragged about how leggy his stallion was.

I was trying (and failing) to breed Davenport Arabians. I KNOW what the Desert Arabian lines of long ago looked like. My Davenports had horse sized everything–except below the knees and hock those cannon bones were SHORT and strong. My horses were over 14 hands high, if they had had normal TB length cannon bones they would have been a LOT taller.

I have absolutely no interest in owning, breeding, or even riding a 16 hand Arabian horse. With those longer (and weaker) legs combined with the short back there is so much more likelihood of the horse forging at every step of the walk and trot, just like my 15.2 Anglo-Arab did–every single step click, click, click.

Or the horse could measure higher because of loooong upright pasterns which can be very weak and easily injured, especially for distance riding or jumping.

The pity is that these particular taller horses get bred on and the leg weakness gets passed down generation after generation.

I want my riding horses to be from 13.3 hands (with a well sprung barrel) up to 15 hands high, with the Arabians around 14 hands high. Great horses and if trained right they can be superior riding horses.

[quietann]

That is very cool, and she’s so pretty! I am somewhat tempted to go to OKC this year as a spectator, but I am not sure whether my good friend is going or not. Her trainer is being treated for cancer, but my friend has a couple of really great horses, including a filly who will be a main ring EP/Pleasure Driving horse for sure. The filly is with a different trainer.

[Ghazzu]

@Jackie_Cochran

I was trying (and failing) to breed Davenport Arabians. I KNOW what the Desert Arabian lines of long ago looked like. My Davenports had horse sized everything–except below the knees and hock those cannon bones were SHORT and strong. My horses were over 14 hands high, if they had had normal TB length cannon bones they would have been a LOT taller.

You have Davenports?
So do I!

[shiloh]

@clanter - congratulations to your daughter and her new companion. Little Lexie Powerhouse is very cute - that head just screams Morgan. When ever I think Morgan I think little but mighty. Your daughter is very lucky and very talented.