The Canadian-Morgan Connection

[Susan Neal]

Just ran across a fun article online by author Terry McNamee about the Canadian-Morgan connection (http://horses.suite101.com/article.cfm/morgan_horses_and_the_canadi...)
and thought we should be partnering with morgan folks at their shows, and not just the Freisian folks. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Also, on www.equinesite.com I came across the listing for the American Cheval Canadien Association out of Maine. Couldn't find a website though. Does anyone know more about this association?

[Laurel Okorofsky]

Go for it Susan. Nothing better than good science to support people hunches! I live just south of you in NY, Ulster County.

[Jeanne Clark]

To add to the genetic/historic discussion: Anyone in the Morgan world who denies the possibility of any Canadian-Morgan breed connection simply does not know their own history. Figure, who later came to be known by his original owner's name "Justin Morgan", did indeed have to come from somewhere. There is some debate as to whether his sire was True Britain (a British horse, possibly of thoroughbred type) or a stallion standing in the area known simply as "the Dutch horse" (possibly of Freisian type?) but many historians acknowledge that his dam, called the "Wildaire mare" was most likely a canadian mare. Justin Morgan (the man) lived for a period in far northern Vermont, and his parents lived in Quebec, and he visited back and forth frequently. Many horses passed back and forth over the border, and many Canadian horses made their way south into New England. The three most prominent sons of Justin Morgan, Woodbury, Bulrush and Sherman were crossed on all types of mares, including numerous Canadians. Sharing their own sire's prepotency, a " morgan type" was soon established. I also think I read somewhere that at least two of those three - and I forget which two - most likely had Canadian dams. So there exists the possibility that the very foundations of the Morgan breed could have been as much as almost 3/4 Canadian. Interesting, n'est ce pas? And in case you're wondering, I have owned a Morgan in the past, have studied the history of that breed (though not formally --- I've simply read everything I could get my hands on, from the time I was a kid), and currently own both a Morgan and a Canadian, and dearly love both breeds. Although Morgan people take great pride (and rightly so) that the Morgan is the first truly American breed, instrumental in the creation of many other American breeds, I for one, believe that those early Morgans, in genetic terms, were largely Canadians that grew up "south of the border". It will be very interesting to see the final results from the Texas A&M studies!

[Susan Neal]

I agree. I just finished re-reading Jeanne Mellin's "The Morgan Horse" (haven't read it since I was a kid) and was not surprised by all the references to Canadian ancestors. And there was certainly a lot of horse-trading across the borders going on then. I think in another of Jeanne's books she mentions that even Benedict Arnold was a horse trader way back who often brought Canadian horses and cattle into the New England area. I'm sure such controversies will rage for years within many different breed associations. I, for one, like the Canadian history behind my morgan. (And I think my current Canadian must be aware of it too, because he constantly drives my little morgan around the pasture and definitely is top-dog. LOL)

[Debbie Ogden]

A good friend of mine is a Morgan Horse breeder of classic-type horses and she can recite the entire Morgan horse lineage by heart. She heartily agrees that somehow MOrgans and Canadians were interbred or are very closely related. I hope everyone saw the article about the guy going to Texas A&M on horseback from Quebec with 50 hair samples of Canadian Horses. THe registration papers for my horse state that he is 87% pure and I understand that this genetcic study is only looking for samples from nearly pure horses. People should consider submitting samples. The more samples the more data.

[Susan Neal]

The study sounds very interesting. However, when I tried searching the A&M website I could not find anything about this particular genetic study, only about a program that can create a genetic profile of your horse to safeguard against theft. (If the horse gets stolen, you can prove it is yours based on the profile you have.) Does anyone know of a website or link where we can learn more about this study or who to contact to submit hair samples?

[Karl Shelin]

Their blog indicates they're bringing samples to a Dr. Gus Cothran, Director of Equine Genetics Research at Texas A&M. As I understand he's supervising a genetic inventory of all equine breeds.