Untitled Document

- Hey Mom, feel like talking?

Vill du diskutera något som rör Morgans – avelsarbetet, träningsmetoder, härstamningar, tävlingar, hästlivet eller något annat? Gör det här!
Har du frågor som behöver besvaras eller vill du svara på ett inlägg – skicka din text till mig, så lägger jag in den på sajten. Och naturligtvis kan du även skicka in en bild!
Bilden ska vara fri för publicering och tillstånd för publicering, samt fotografens namn, måste medfölja bilden. Glöm inte heller att skriva vad häst och människa på bilden heter. Håll god ton. Anonyma inlägg publiceras inte. Helén

Do you feel like talking to other Morgan-lovers, or do you perhaps feel the need to discuss something involvning Morgans: Breeding, training, bloodlines, importing or selling Morgans? Well then, you are very welcome to do it here.
Send me the text, and picture (free for publication), and I will publish it here. Helén.

11 juli 2007

Medlem i AMHA?

Hei,
Tok kontakt med AMHA som jeg er medlem i og tenkte at jeg skulle sikre meg et "prefix" for fremtidig bruk i tilfelle jeg skulle ha lyst til å skaffe meg noen føll. Det var helt OK, og heldigvis var de bokstavkombinasjonene som jeg hadde i tankene ledige. Men det koster den nette sum av 300$ for å registrere det på eget navn. Når man tenker på at det også koster ca. 10$ pr. dag for å benytte seg av det nye AMHA arkivet for å søke i databasen for å finne eiere, stamtavler, osv. syntes jeg det er få fordeler av å være medlem. Dette burde være inklusiv for medlemmer, samt en langt lavere pris for å registrere seg. Tror AMHA hadde hatt langt flere medlemmer hadde de lagt seg på en annen pris politikk. Vet om flere som ikke vil være medlem da de ikke ser noen fordeler med å være medlem.

Hilsen et litt frustrert medlem.

Øystein Geitz
Norge.

När morganhästen stal mitt hjärta

av Sara Alvrud

Har du någon gång känt att din häst inte riktigt passar dig?
Självklart älskar man sin häst, men ändå är det något som fattas.
Jag kände det så – men jag har upptäckt vad det var som saknades.

Jag har under ett flertal somrar, jobbat på en seminstation. Och varje år var det alltid någon, av de drygt hundra hästarna som kom och gick, som jag mindes mer än någon annan. Amalia var en av dem.

En dag när vi kom tillbaks till seminstationen, efter att ha varit iväg ett ärende, stod där två fuxar i hagen: Den ena var ganska ljus, typiskt vanlig fux med bläs. Den andra var en mycket mörk svettfux med stjärn.

Jag gillar inte fuxar, för det är ju en riktigt trist färg. Dessutom är alla fuxar dumma i huvudet och har ett häftigt humör; det vet man ju – men gissa om jag har fått äta upp de åsikterna många gånger!

Det ljusa fuxstoet visade sig heta Penny, hon var lite äldre och rutinerad. Hon visste vad hon ville få ut av livet livet – att äta och ha det bra. Att jag kom ut i hagen och klappade henne ibland var självklart uppskattat, men annars hon hade inget större behov av människor.

Amalia däremot älskade människor.

Så fort Amalia fick se en tvåbening i hagen kom hon springande och krävde total uppmärksamhet. Hon följde glatt med när man bad henne, och hon visade fullt förtroende. Det var dock bara jag som fäste mig vid de här två hästarna. Ingen annan på gården tycktes förstå vad det var jag såg hos dem.

Varje gång de skulle hämtas för att bli undersökta, var jag snabbast ut. Amalia var bara fyra år, och jag gissar att hon aldrig hade sett en seminspilta förut. Många av de unga stona tycker att det är oerhört läskigt att gå in i trånga utrymmen, och att dessutom bli utsatt för rektalisering därinne kan självklart få vilket sto som helst att backa undan. Men inte Amalia. Hon gick glatt in varje gång; strunt samma att det var knappt med plats och att veterinären sysslade med konstiga saker där bak - man fick ju godis!

Likadant var det när vi gick mellan stallet och hagarna. Det kom bilar, motorcyklar och stora lastbilar, hösilageplast blåste omkring och hundar skällde. Jaha, sa Amalia, vad festligt, men skulle vi inte kunna fortsätta gå nu?

Jag har träffat betydligt äldre halvblod som reagerat mycket mer. Amalia och Penny var inga jättestora, maffiga och brötiga halvblod: De var i precis lagom storlek, vackra, stolta och samarbetsvilliga. De var Morganhästar.

När sommaren led mot sitt slut åkte de hem. Penny bodde långt upp i landet och Amalia någonstans vid Sjöbo. Under vintern funderade jag ibland på hur de mådde och slutligen hittade jag Svenska Morganhästföreningens hemsida där jag efterlyste båda två och fick då kontakt med deras ägare, som båda brinner för rasen.

Det är snart tre år sedan jag första gången träffade en Morgan och jag har sedan dess fått förmånen att möta fler Morgans. Jag har spenderat många timmar framför datorn för att ta reda på så mycket som möjligt. Många bilder har passerat min mail och flera kontakter har knutits.

Jag hade det på känn för två år sedan, men nu är jag säker: Jag har hittat min ras.
Morganhästen var det jag saknade.

Pictured: Top - Sara Alvrud and David, riding at Tullesbo. Bottom - Amalia at the semenstation, photo by Sara.

2005-11-24 Published with permission:

Mike Gobig
AMHA President
Shelburne, VT

Hello Mike,

Back in July at the New England Show you asked me what I believed the lack of interest in the Morgan breed or the AMHA in general to be. I have thought about this at length and have come to these conclusions.

1) Loss of AMHA membership ---could--- be caused by the high cost of membership. Belonging to the AMHA has no great advantage to many individuals who do not breed or show but would like to be a part of the Morgan community. All they get for the cost of membership is a chance to vote once a year and the Network.

2) The individual’s discouragement about THE LOSS OF TYPE in the breed and AMHA’s INDIFFERENCE toward this loss. I base my opinion on 50 years of experience of what I see in the ring, in TMH and other publications and hear from those to whom I speak personally, and on the internet. The Morgan breed is a --TYPE-- of equine as well as a Registry. Perhaps we should look at how little attention the AMHA has been paying to the quality of the breed. The framers of the AMHA didn’t provide ---just--- a Registry but ---also--- a Standard from which to PRESERVE the traditional Morgan type. The loss of type is basically the fault of the AMHA as it has totally ignored the “war for type” and consequently the AMHA has had to fight some very expensive court battles because there are too many individual ideas as to what Morgan “type” really is. THERE IS NO CLEAR SINGLE MENTAL CONCEPT OF TYPE AVAILABLE TO EVERY PERSON IN THE BREED.

The Morgan is a very specific type of individual, completely different ---from-- all other breeds. I believe that a great may people are looking for just ---that--- type of horse which clearly distinguishes it from other breeds. That is, the great long laid back shoulder, strong hip and deep body as shown on the AMHA Anatomical Chart. The laid back shoulder, a breed trademark, gives the wonderful neck and crest which is almost totally extinct in the breed today. No less important is the powerful rear quarter, obtainable only through great length of the hip. The deep body is only available with short legs, as the correct body/leg proportion is what makes a ‘deep’ body. Even the head is important as it is the badge of type that many people can relate to. The short ear and face, and with width between well let down eyes. What is being promoted in the (park) ring and publications, is all too often much different from the Judging Standards.

In other words, returning to the breed what the AMHA has for a Standard is the prerequisite to breed popularity. We must give the public what no other breed has, as this is what made the Morgan popular, initially. If many of the present individuals in the breed existed in Justin’s place, they wouldn’t have been noticed as they lack everything physically that made Justin and his get so popular.

I have often mentioned that we now have a breed within the Morgan breed, and that is the generic horse, void of Morgan structural characteristics, with a bit of Morgan charisma, aura and appeal. Technically, there is no such thing as a “park” or “show” type of Morgan as the Standards describe only ONE type of horse.

D.C. Linsley, the first authority on the Morgan clearly states that Justin and his get were the “business” horses of that day, indicating that they were ---uniform--- and structured to do all the jobs required of them, no matter how difficult or varied his work was. It was this uncommon structure or type which differentiated the Morgan from their peers and this uncommon structure or type gave them the power, endurance, versatility and longevity found in no other blood. While the AMHA has correctly focused on the Registry, i.e. the blood aspects of the breed, it has at the same time ignored what made there Morgan great, its specific structure or TYPE.

        Let’s review a portion of the INTRODUCTION of the Judging Standards. These are not my words but from those before us who understood the importance of preserving traditional type. These words indicate that there is but ONE image that the AMHA should be projecting and promoting. Why isn’t this important to the present management of the AMHA? Quote:

       “Morgan type as described in the IN-HAND SECTION is the standard to which all breeders                 must strive” ..//.. “there is little room for deviation from this type” ..//.. “there is but ONE standard
        of perfection for the Morgan horse and that is the ideal standard”

I would like to point out the lack of type on all too many in the 8/05 issue of TMH, specifically, great long faces and ears, long backs, meager necks, and on, and on... One can see much generic structure in many of the pictures, and it is clear there aren’t many individuals with a great shoulder or hip, and their backs are too long on many we can see, relative to the AMHA Anatomical Chart. Many of these individuals are great examples of ‘generic’ horses. The argument is that we don’t use the Morgan as we use to 200 years ago. This doesn’t cut it as Justin would be as popular now as then as he would out-do all comers, as the versatile, “business” individual that he was at what they do today, as he was built to do exactly that.

The Morgan breed is a National Treasure which you can be instrumental in saving. All one needs to do is understand and project the structure and the advantages of the Morgan and its differences from the structure of the generic horse. In other words, Mike, return the Morgan breed to what the AMHA Standards call for, what it was originally, a very unique, exclusive and unequaled breed of horse in an extremely common equine world.

Suggestions for AMHA improvement.

1) Have the BOD of the AMHA declare that there will be a concerted effort by the AMHA to preserve and promote ---the true classic and traditional Morgan--- as depicted by the AMHA Standards, and mandated by the By-Laws.

        2) Clarify the Standards for a common and accurate interpretation. In order to return the breed to its former glory, the Standards need to be clarified to make it possible for everyone to understand them THE SAME WAY. No two individuals now interpret them the same, and that is why the ‘deviation FROM type’ that is causing the loss of interest in the breed.

        3) Mandate that all show champions will be required to meet a minimum of classic type in order to qualify as a Morgan champion. (It IS the Morgan breed.)

        IF the AMHA chooses to pursue the promotion and preservation of the MORGAN HORSE, the extremely un-typey individual representing the breed in the ring will lose popularity in the breed and perhaps these people should form another association. This is not an original idea, as Linsley suggested this back in 1856. Linsley mentioned to those who wish to change the Morgan for their specific “fashion” that "they should PREFER A DIFFERENT BREED." (page 217)

Drastic measures, you bet. But serious problems dictate severe action, and we are long overdue to take the necessary action to save what precious little there is left of the breed. And just think, ---YOU--- can be the one to turn the breed around, ---IF--- it is your in interest to do so.

Thanks for the opportunity, I look forward to your reply and the occasion to be of service to you.

Alton Shurtleff / Fairlane Morgan Farm
cc
AMHA BOD
Various others

2005-11-24

THE AMHA’s RESPONSIBILITY REGARDING PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION OF THE BREED

THE MORGAN CONTRIBUTION:
History has many extraordinary lessons from which we can profit from if we take notice. We have many breeds of horses in America which were developed throughout the country for specific jobs,. Consider the American Saddlebred, the Tennessee Walker, the Quarter Horse and the Standardbred. The people who developed these breeds borrowed from the Morgan breed what they could use and developed these other breeds. These individuals realized the value of the Morgan traits that would compliment their new breed and used these Morgan genes to infuse the Morgan characteristics that they wanted in their new breeds. They didn’t intend to change the Morgan to suit their needs, but successfully used what they needed from the Morgan breed to develop their breed.

These people were very mindful and wise to do what they did as it gave them a chance to develop what they wanted in their breed without taking away from the quality of the Morgan breed. It is easy to believe that they realized that the Morgan had much to contribute as an established breed and was too valuable as a breed to disfigure for their personal gain. It is certain that the people back in that time had a greater knowledge of equine quality and respected the integrity and versatility of the Morgan horse and the breed’s people. They may have also realized that destroying the Morgan for the sake of developing their new breed would meet with very stiff opposition from Morgan people, not to mention the loss of a very unique breed. As a result these new breeds were established without the diminishing the quality or causing the demise of the Morgan breed.

THE MORGAN DILEMMA:
The Morgan breed is presently suffering from a loss of type without the help of outside forces. We no longer, as a rule, have the great laid back shoulder, strong hip, and deep body of the Morgan breed. Also missing is the short face and ear and the great cresty necks, all of which were the Morgan’s trademark. The use of outside blood, both legitimate and not, along with outside characteristics, has produced a breed within the breed completely void of classic Morgan type. While these Morgan may be registered, the amount of genuine Justin Morgan blood in these animals is anywhere from 5% to 25%, depending on the families they are from and the accuracy of the Registry. As the outside blood can be from 95% to 75% of the total gene pool, it is reasonable to believe that the physical characteristics of our registered Morgans are very strongly influenced by these percentages. Improper breeding practices concentrate the genetic strengths of these outside gene pools, causing the dilution of Morgan genes and characteristics. This is the cause of another distinct type of animal within the Morgan breed. If every AMHA member was better acquainted with the aspects of type and its function, they would be most interested in the preservation of classic type. Where are these people?

THE CAUSES:
    Unfortunately, many breeding practices causing this loss of type are determined by the championships a stallion has rather than its true Morgan characteristics,. The past practices of placing ring champions has allowed horses to be “champions” with no regard to its degree of type. If there are only horses of great performance and little type competing, the champion can be invariably of little Morgan structure. This practice has existed for years without any chance for a judge to pin down, or even out, the horses with little or no Morgan type as a “champion”. Is it any wonder why the classic type in the “park” and “in-hand” classes is near extinction?

    All too many people have entered the breed with no knowledge of classic type and have accepted what they see in the ring as bona fide Morgans. They have then used these individuals to produce more individuals in like manner into the mix. Many people will disagree with this statement as they haven’t been around long enough to have seen some of the great real type which existed many years ago and are totally unfamiliar with classic type. It is interesting to speak with these individuals who have no clue as to exactly what classic type is, relative to the AMHA Standards nor the function of the same, as to what they believe type to be.

THE RESULTS:
We also have a constituent within the AMHA that believes that anything with a Morgan registration is a Morgan, regardless of its type. This disagrees with the intent of the AMHA Standards and has led to the problem of type loss to the alarming degree to those who understand and want Morgan type, not only a registration. As the AMHA will register anything that is DNA’d as having two registered Morgan parents, it is the consensus of some people that if it is “registered” it is 100% Morgan. The AMHA Standards are very specific as to how we preserve and promote the Morgan breed. The AMHA Standards describe a single Morgan type and also mandate that this type be adhered to for the maintenance of the breed. (See the Introduction) The AMHA words are not intended to be overlook or ignored, but to be carried out to their full intent. It is the responsibility of each AMHA member to understand and follow the resolve of the Standards. It is also the responsibility of the AMHA membership to make sure that the management of the AMHA be held to these directives.

Also, since the introduction of certain SB blood many years ago when the Registry was open, the concentration of this blood has produced a popular family of “park” horses nearly void of Morgan characteristics. A great deal of today’s Morgans are closer to SB type characteristics than Morgan because of this concentration of a single bloodline and poor breeding practices.

THE SOLUTION:
The Morgan breed is now at the crossroad, we either do what is necessary to preserve the breed and promote the values of the same, or the uniqueness of the Morgan breed will be lost forever. I urge all traditional/classic Morgan enthusiast to get involved with their AMHA directors to concentrate on the true value of the Morgan, which is its type. Where the DNA has satisfied the Registry, it is now necessary to focus on the other and extremely important aspect of the breed and that is the continuity of the breed relative to the Standards. As it has been truthfully said, Justin had NO registration it is paramount to realize that it was his structure which made him as versatile as he was. Without the uncommon way which he was structured, he would have had neither his versatility, power, endurance or longevity, the very aspects of what made him famous and created the Morgan breed.

Alton Shurtleff
Fairlane Morgan Farm

2005-11-04 Morganhästen måste synas mer!

Vi behöver åka ut mer med Morganhästarna, för att skapa nya kontakter och nya framtida Morganhäst-ägare.
Oavsett om vi bara åker till en tränare eller är ute på tävlingsbanorna, så syns vi. Människor är av naturen nyfikna och det är ju det vi vill att de ska vara – dom ska vara nyfikna på att lära mer om Morganhästen, dom ska vilja bli den framtida Morganägare, som i sin tur ska vilja åka ut och lära andra bli nyfikna. Vi måste utnyttja nyfikenheten på alla tänkbara sätt.

Oavsett om du är en westernryttare, rider dressyr eller hoppning – eller om du är kusk eller rider i någon av de för Sverige “nya” ridgrenarna som t ex saddle seat – måste du vilja åka ut och visa upp dig.

De som har en Morganhäst och inte alls är intresserade av att åka ut och tävla, menar jag inte att man ska tvinga ut: Men ni kanske någon gång vill träna för en instruktör, eller stå inackorderade i ett stall – det är också att synas! Så det handlar inte bara om att “showa”.

Vi måste även synas i tidningar, skriva artiklar, annonsera – så som vi gjorde inför Morganhästens Dag våren 2005, fast mycket oftare.

Quarterhästen är liksom Morganhästen en till antalet ganska liten ras i Sverige, liksom flera andra raser, men om vi jämför oss med just Quartern så ser man – med mina ögon sett – en mycket bra annonsering, av alla dess sorter, av just den rasen. Man kan läsa om dem, eller se olika typer av annonser om dem, om tävlingarna, deras tränare respektive uppfödare.

Jag tycker att man har pratat mycket om att Morganhästen är en allroundhäst, som kan göra allt, vilket delvis är rätt; Morganhästen är en allroundhäst, men samtidigt en individ liksom de är inom alla andra raser – En Morgan måste inte vara bra på allt. Se till individen: Vad tycker den är roligast?

Det individen tycker är roligast blir den också bäst på, det är likadant med människor.
Jag dansar inte balett, om det är simning som jag tycker är roligast.

Ingela Isetoft / Ice Morgans
Pictured: Ingela and the stallion Quite a Man

2005-11-03 My mare Chickie is a blend of bloodlines... and in my opinion they all played a role in the creation of one of the easiest and nicest horses all-round that I own (if not the best, truth be told). She is a double-bred Treble's Willy Wild (top & bottom) and he was the world champion Morgan stallion in his era. SHOW horse, not stock horse.
She gets the color from Sunup Neptune, she has some really neat old wwf lines and then add a fleck of UVM.
She is the epitome of what some elitists refer to as 'scatterbred, scrambled eggs, mongrelized and so on'.
Thats ok, they ride what they want to own and so do I and I *know no one has one better than this filly. As good as? Sure, you bet... but not a darn bit better minded, better looking or more nicely conformed. I did NOT breed her. She came to me by way of Homestead Morgans in BC, Canada.

A pedigree *is important - if you like the horse or not - and it should not be ignored or dissed if the lines are something that you may not initially think you are interested in. Maybe you *should * get interested in other lines if the horse is what you like/want.
'Open minded' and 'compromising the breed' are not synonymous as some of the Aryan breeders would have 'us' believe. A blend of good quality horses from *proven lines in work or performance of some kind, is a good a recipe to follow in breeding. The middleground where emphasis doesn't go too far in compromising the truly important things is why good horses are still with us.
The paper-purists have their place and it is squarely even with the rest of the crowd as to whether or not their method is best. The playing field is level and if they show up to prove their horses alongside others... then they will have proven their point: That their method works.
The same is true for horses bred otherwise and they deserve their just reward.

I did not have any of the more recent show lines prior to Chickie. She proved to me yet again that it is the *horse that speaks for and sells itself. If they do the work and do it well, whatever it may be... then let the naysaying peanut gallery be still while they dine on crow.
I loathe snobbery and the insecurity issues & better-than attitudes that hide behind too many of the Morgan 'purists'. They *say they are the preservationists and suggest that we revere their devotion to the breed. Ok, I do. Now get out there and prove the point on that playing field mentioned. As the cowboys say... "Get 'er done".

The purist contigent remind me of a gunzel (wannabee exspurt) I saw while doing fallwork a few years ago at another ranch... standing in the way, in the gait, dressed in all his fashiony buckaroo finery gear, yakking and going on as if 'we' were being graced by his wisdom and expertise... he was barking orders as needed & such.
Finally, another elderly cowpoke that everyone admires politely but firmly said... "Why don't you go to the house, son, so we can get some work done"... as he pushed past him with his horse.
I was the only one that heard it as I was sitting nearby on my horse. The know-it-all-NOT didn't go to the house but he was put in his place and knew at least *that much. He has since lightened up and is almost pleasant to be around.

The 'real cowboy' crowd is one of the nicest group of humans you can spend time with - working or socializing but one thing they don't abide is a phony. They use the term counterfeit. They don't care nearly as much about how you look but how you perform... what happens when what is inside is put to work.
If you are a hard worker, try your best to do *whatever needs done, do it willingly and cheerfully... that is the only prerequisite for approval. I found that to be true myself and with my Morgans. The same standards apply to both horse and human. Talk is easy and cheap. Doing it is the meat.

Shery Jespersen, Wyoming La Reata Morgans /Reata Rose Jewelry

Helén van den Born
Jan Wifstrand
Tullesbo Gård,
275 94 Sjöbo,
Sweden
+46 415 41200) home,
+46 708 320300 mobile
helen@tullesbo.com
jan@tullesbo.com

© Tullesbo Gård AB 2005 • The material on www.tullesbo.com is protected by Swedish Copyright Law. No part of it can be reproduced or reused in any way. All pictures are copyrighted. All rights reserved.