I think you could substitute Saddlebred and have just as honest of a post. However, the ones that have flatter trots and really good canters are typically worth more as Morgan/ASB hunter prospects than the average person is going to want to pay for a non-warmblood dressage prospect.
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I think there are a few obstacles to Morgan popularity:
- Availability. They simply dont exist in the number of TBs and QHs so it is harder to just run across the one for you.
- Size. Many people want taller horses even if they dont really need them. The HUS and WP type QHs have generally gotten taller. While I see more larger Morgans now, most still tend to be smaller (A famous Morgan breeder used to live near me and in her entire herd, I doubt that more than a couple topped 15 h and most were under 14.2)
- Saddleseat. This style dominated the breed (and still does to a lesser extent) and it is not popular with many pleasure riders or riders of other disciplines. A horse trained in this way tends to be intimidating to many trained in other styles, and, unfortunately, a fair number of poor trainers fry the horse’s minds in the name of training.
- Morgan Personality. I love it! But it is quite different from a stock horse. Not everyone wants to deal with the busy brain, the anticipation and the forwardness.
- The Baroque style. This is becoming less of an issue in dressage perhaps thanks to seeing more Freisians and Andys in the ring. But for some people, and certainly for some disciplines the rounder action is not what they want. While they are often tidy and good jumpers, most of the time they do not look and move like show hunters.
I now have my second purebred Morgan. He is a different type from the first. That one was a taller, (15.2+) lankier style with a more reaching stride. Current boy is more Baroque with a chunky body, arched neck and rounder way of going. My instructor calls him a collect-o-matic and tells me he is talented for going up the levels in dressage and “I dont mean for a Morgan!” He has a good hind leg (sometimes a challenge in Morgans) and three very good gaits. Unfortunately neither of my boys read the Morgan handbook on soundness and they have both had their challenges!
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I started my dressage life on a Morgan - and have had a couple of awesome Morgans (and a Morgan/Friesian cross, who was really my heart horse of a lifetime). I think the biggest reasons (already mentioned about) are size and cost. And a lot of them are HOT. My two were both hot boys. The 2nd was SUPER talented - everyone thought he was an Arab/WB cross - fancy trot, awesome canter, collection and extension were easy for him. But only 15 hands (fine for me, but not for a lot of people), and super sensitive and hot. AND he developed cataracts and his career ended way too early.
At least in CA, they are way more $$$ then an Arab cross or Appendix QH of similar quality. So that limits their popularity.
And as already mentioned - they are brainiacs - which turns some people off. I like a smart horse (exvet, I’m still loving my Welsh Cob cross - another brainiac). And after they infused a bunch of saddleseat Saddlebreds into the breed, a lot of them are way too hot for the average rider. And generally the old style, old lines don’t have the gaits for Dressage.
I wish we DID see more of them in dressage, they are fun horses in so many ways.
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I think it’s important to note that the Morgan stud book closed around 1947 or so. So my Morgan, born in 1964, still had a Saddlebred on his papers, but I can’t imagine that any modern Morgan has legitimate Saddlebreds on their papers. Here is the key word - legitimate! Until blood typing came along, wow, were there shennanigans with Morgan breeding. Not only mystery Saddlebreds in the mix but I have also heard from a reliable source that Standardbreds were also part of the goings on. In some ways this is not exactly horrible as all of these breeds are somewhat related to each other, but sure not pure Morgan breeding as one would commonly understand it!
All this is a long preamble to my amazement that people consider Morgans hot. They were always the MOST level headed of horses when I was around them in the 60s and 70s. Even the saddle type ones were easy. I had first hand experience with one of the greats in Morgan breeding and he was a hell of a show horse but not crazy in any way. So all I can figure is that the shennanigans that are well documented added a lot of hotness somewhere along the way.
I still absolutely love them. We went to the Gold Cup a few years ago and were blown away with how beautiful they are. I guess if I were looking again I’d start by going to a big show and chatting a lot of people up to find what I wanted.
our kid’s English Pleasure horse who never was English Pleasure won the Western Championship at Gold Cup
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she was a good horse
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I showed a Lippit stallion in lower level dressage that I loved. He had energy to burn, but was never spooky or stupid. Although I was training him for dressage, his owner convinced me to take him to Vermont for a big show there. She had equipment for western, driving, dressage, hunt seat and saddle seat. I showed him in everything except driving and western. My friend came along and she showed him in driving and western. We had a blast and I think the horse did too.
My mom had a Morgan when she was a teenager back in the 70s. He was tough as nails, sound as could be, cocky but ridable, jumped 4’, and lived to 35. From the pics and video I saw of him he wasn’t what I would call fancy but certainly a useful for horse for someone of any discipline looking to play around at the lower levels.
I’d kill to have a horse like that right now for my poor husband who is stuck learning to ride on my 27 year old WB, a former 1.30 jumper :lol::lol:
I hadn’t heard about Standardbreds, but I read (on a Foundation breeder’s Facebook page) that Dutch Harness Horses and Hackney Horses were being bred into, and the get were being registered as pure Morgan Horses. And, of course, the Saddlebreds.
If you look at some of the big Morgan Horse auctions, run and attended by Amish, you will see some of these crosses for sale. And the Amish like ‘fast and flashy’, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of their purebreds weren’t what they were represented to be.
I have seen some gorgeous old-type looking Morgans for sale, but when I see their pedigrees, I cross them off my list. I have my own opinion on what “modern” Morgans/lines were breeding non-Morgans into them, even after the Book was closed. I won’t touch those horses, on principle. I have decided to either get a 100% Foundation Morgan (seem to be mostly Western Working bloodlines) or a Lippitt. So, I have made it even HARDER to find what I want.
The closest I have come to what I want is a 10 year old, Morgan stallion for “under $15,000.” I will, perhaps, show my new Morgan (when I get it), but I can’t justify spending that kind of money if I DON’T show. And the place I have boarded at has no facilities for stallions, and that stallion is Too Nice to geld.
sigh
I would love a Morgan, have looked twice (I mostly try to event, do some trail riding as well). But the few I found were way too small for me (I have a crazy long leg & while I can ride smaller horses, it makes it harder to get my leg on them - if I rode western, I would care about this way less). If I could have found one close to 16 h that was reasonably priced and wasn’t a “park” type, I would totally grab it. I don’t care how green things are, I can train them & I like smart horses so long as they are sensible. Sadly, these fairy creatures don’t seem to exist in my market.
Interesting thread. My first experience with a Morgan was in college. We had a HUGE one as a school horse. He was well over 16H and just solid solid solid…he looked much bigger than his height. He was put together really well. Had an up hill neck set that made him seem even bigger. He was a good jumper and had a good canter. I wouldn’t say he was a type to be upper level in anything (he could jump 3’6” just fine but wasn’t a 4’+ horse) but a rock solid lower level horse and one that could go in many directions. I was told he was a “Government bred” Morgan. I assume that means he came from lines bred to be Calvary horses. I think they are great generalist. I think they are just harder to find…and most breeders tend to breed the specialist and high performers. And honestly…unfortunately most riders are pushed to be specialists at early stages now…when instead…they should be pushed towards horses like a good Morgan and explore many disciplines.
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this why the breed is an outstanding choice for kids and general adult riders… it is not uncommon for a Morgan to excel in multiple disciplines. We got them primarily for our kids as we were cheap, not wanting to buy our kids a new horse when they decided to do something new other that what was the most interesting thing at that time… we just bough more tack where our fiends were selling horses to buy a new one that was trained specific the discipline And when I say the Morgans could do the new task they would often be the best at what was done, they really enjoyed the changes. As a note braking one to harness seems to be implanted in their DNA code as just a matter of fact event for the one we have had.
Also what has not been mentioned…they are easy feeders, at least all of the Morgans we have had require much less feed than the other breeds we have had… the TB mare we had required as much feed as three or four Morgans to maintain weight
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This is very true. I also rode Saddlebreds as a kid and found them to be mostly the taller, lankier version of a Morgan. Their reputation for being hot and stupid again comes mostly from the way they are trained into it. Pushed to be reactive and “bright” for the show ring. That said, I did meet a few that obviously had a screw loose, but you will see that in every breed.
I think if more people actually came out and said “I want a sport Morgan. Here is what I’m looking for.” to some of the breeders, you would start seeing more. But the people buying right now are the people who want the show Morgans, so the breeders are breeding the horses they know they can sell.
It seems most people stumble upon a Morgan and then buy into the breed. I’d love for the AMHA to do more of a campaign centered around the breed as a whole. I get that the bread and butter at this point is the breed circuit, but the sport people are out there. The ranch and dressage divisions have really blossomed over the last years.
I’m going to put this out there knowing it will possibly spark debate: I think greatest hindrance to the breed being a cohesive self are the factions that only want 100% old-school bloodlines vs. the factions that are buying newer bloodlines. I think it’s silly. One is not better than the other and they each serve their purpose. I think to promote the breed and all it can do, everyone needs to come together. Again qualifying the statement with if a breeder is doing something nefarious, don’t support them…
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The DNA testing has cleaned up the “behind the barn” breedings for sure! Also allowed my horse’s former owner to get his registration in order after the Morgan Association verified his identity, parentage and last recorded owner.
There are some breeders of sport type Morgans (and they are producing some lovely horses) but it is not a large group and not a large market. Probably a larger source are those Morgan breeders who select for a good minded athletic horse and have produce going in many directions. My old Morgan was suited for dressage but he had a half sister who was successful in reining and a full brother doing CDE carriage driving. The small breeder was not selecting for the extreme motion for Park horses, but other than that was open to different disciplines for his horses. Others from his program were pleasure, competitive trail, and show horses in hunt seat or classic pleasure. But selling youngstock that “could go in several directions” is also not a recipe for top dollars.
I’ve never owned a Morgan, my sister and bil did back in the 70’s. They showed a lot in southern CA. I didn’t care for the personalities.
Beautiful horses but, they don’t have as many assets as other breeds plus the size limit.
We breed Morgans for sport, and have found a lot of people (even in the breed) do not realize how competitive Morgans are (regardless of size) in a variety of sports. To both promote Morgans as a sport horse, as well as provide information to other breeders to help improve the breed for the same purpose we started a website/Facebook page. It is still very new, but it makes the point.
The AQHA claims “The world’s most versatile horse” so obviously, it could be a selling point. As an outsider looking in, the Morgan does seem to be as versatile, or more so than the QH “The world’s most popular horse”.
that should be “The world’s most versatile horse Breed” …with 25% of the horses in the US being QHs (somewhere around 2.5 m head) surely there should be a few good at most anything
There are more QHs registered each year than the total number of Morgan (maybe 90,00 head total) … as a single horse a Morgan is more commonly used in multiple disciplines
I am glade the AQHA got that HYPP under control, we had a friend whose daughter was showing one of Impressive’s offsprings when it suddenly fell to the ground…they sold the horse immediately
I saw Impressive often as he was kept at ranch near Sanger/Pilot Point …my company took care of the access control into the ranch… his stall was huge… something like 20 by 30
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I take your point about “modern” Morgan lines, but I think you might consider the advice often given to horse buyers on COTH - look at the horse in front of you. IMHO, Morgans are like warmbloods in that they are a mixture of things, and don’t breed as true to their pedigree as Arabs, for example. So maybe you don’t like the pedigree per se, but the horse is great. Unless you are planning to breed, just buy the horse, eh? Don’t worry about the papers.
Can you tell I only own geldings?? 
This page sort of makes my point, best I could do on short notice!
https://www.pinterest.ca/windoverlilies/morgans/
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Interesting point. Morgans, in their myth of origin, the Justin Morgan Horse etc. breed true. So putting in the other blood and turning them into saddle-seat show horses has resulted in a breed with no consistency. Is this a chicken and egg situation? Judges - breeders - buyers - judges- breeders - buyers. Potential buyers looking for a consistent, versatile horse, the breed USP, can’t find them because judges at shows can’t see them and breeders can’t sell them becuase buyers want to win at shows under those judges. Rinse and repeat.
Keeping “type” is also an issue for the native British breeds even though the stud books are closed, the stock is inspected, there are various performance incentives and we Brits tend to assume every horse should be versatile. Good judges are very significant in sustaining a breed.
I like the resource for Sport Morgans posted by Gladheart.
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I love and admire Morgans, BUT - they are a jack of all trades, similar to Arabians - and the master of none. As far as the competitiveness of specific disciplines is concerned, Arabians are wonderful at endurance and maybe Morgans would be as well. They are wonderful family type horses or for lower level competition or their breed specific shows. But those who are looking for a specific discipline bred horse, they don’t compare.
