Morab

 History

In 1855, the palomino foal of an Arabian and a Morgan was born. Gold-dust, named for his golden color, grew to be a fantastic show horse and a fast racehorse. His offspring shared similar traits and made excellent carriage horses. 

 Millionaire William Hearst began breeding the pretty horses to work in his cattle operation, naming them Morabs. Before long, other ranchers noticed the usefulness of the Morab as a cow horse and also began using them while working with cows.

The Morab

 Then, a woman name Martha Doyle Fuller decided that the Morab was better suited for the show arena than a dusty cattle ranch, so she bred the most flashy Morabs to accomplish the task. In 1973, her daughter founded the first Morab horse association.

 Since then, the Morab has been considered a breed, not just a cross-bred horse. Each generation has distinct characeristics. It is not uncommon that rather than crossing a 1st generation Morab with another of the same generation, the Morab is crossed with a pure blood Morgan or Arabian.

Breed Description and Uses

 Morabs share traits of both Morgans and Arabians. They are short, standing only 14.1 to 15.2 hands high on average, and are refined yet muscular. Often, they have small, concave heads with tiny ears, wide-set eyes, and arched necks. Morabs have a lot of stamina and grace from their Arabian, and recieve their strength and agility from their Morgan side. The result is a horse with the best from both breeds.

 The breed is a prized show horse and excels at endurance racing and dressage.

Morgan

 In 1789, a logging horse named Figure was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts. No one knew who his parents were, although some suspect the sire to be True Briton, a Thoroughbred, and believe that Friesians, Welsh Cobs, Norfolk Trotters, or even Canadian Horses to be somewhere in his lineage. Then again, these are just speculations. No one really knows for certain. 

 As a yearling, Figure was sold to Justin Morgan, a schoolteacher from Vermont, who lent the young horse to neighboring farmers to be used as a plow horse and a logging horse. It turns out that the small, 14 hands high colt was also good at racing. He would beat the fastest Thoroughbreds in match races, win trotting races, and could even out-pull heavy draft horses in log-pulling races, always winning, no matter how much extra weight was put on.

Morgans are usually found in bay,
black, and dark chestnut. They
can be used in many disciplines,
including western pleasure, like the one
above.

 It wasn't long before villagers asked for Figures stud services, breeding him mainly to Thoroughbred and Norfolk Trotter mares, although he successfully made his mark upon generations of horses, which became to be known as "Morgan's horse." Later, the name was shortened to "Morgan," which is used to this day. 

 The Morgan has large, intelligent eyes; a slightly dished profile; a crested neck, which flows smoothly into high withers; a short back, sturdy legs, powerful haunches, and stands between 14.1 and 15.2 hands high. Also, the breed is divided into two different types: the powerful, compact Morgan, which closely resembles the breed's base stallion, Figure, and the elegant, more refined type, developed more recently than he other type. Despite their physical differences, the two have three traits in common: liveliness, endurance, and a good-natured temperament. 

 Just like the Thoroughbred, the Morgan excels in many disciplines, including dressage, driving, endurance racing, eventing, show jumping, and just about any other discipline, English or Western. The fact that it is an all-round horse most likely goes back to the early development of the breed, when a farmer needed to have it ready to do harness work or another man had to use it for different purposes. 

Tennessee Walking Horse

 In the late 1800s, settlers of central Tennessee began breeding Morgans, Narragansett Pacers, and Canadian Horses, the breeds they had brought with them when they had first settled there, one with another. The outcome were several fine, elegant saddle horses with many of the good qualities from each breed. However, the one characteristic that set it apart from most other breeds was its unique gaits.

 Most people remember the Walker by its running walk, which resembles a smooth trot that is much easier to ride than other breeds' bouncy trots. Because of that, many people, such as farmers, who would spend long hours in the saddle preferred the Walker over any other breed. Tennessee Walkers are born with the unique smooth trot, and no other breed can replicate it. As the Walker does the swift running walk, which can reach up to 20 miles an hour, he would slide smoothly across the ground, his head bobbing while his hind legs overstepped, leaving prints in front of his forelegs. The running walk is a four-beat gait and the Walker can do it for miles without tiring.

Illustration of the Walker's three special gaits, the flat walk,
the running walk, and the canter.
Credit

 Another one of their special gaits is the flat walk. The flat walk is a fast, four-beat gait in which the Walker would overstride, a trait unique to the Walker. His left rear would step in front of his left front and his right rear would step over his right front. Two factors are taken into account when this gait is judged: whether the horse bobs his head to the rhythm of his footsteps and whether he overstrides, both of which are unique qualities of the Walker. 

  The final gait is a canter that resembles that of a rocking horse. The Walker steps one foot at a time, moving either to the right or to the left. For example, if he starts with a right lead, he should continue with the left hind, the right hind, the left fore, and the the right fore again, always moving his legs in a diagonal motion. This gait usually has a lot of spring to it, rising and falling much in he manner of a rocking horse. Therefore, the gait is known as the "rocking horse" or the "rocking chair" gait.

According to the illustration above, this Walker is cantering.
Notice in the illustration that the horse in the bottom right corner
is in the same position as the horse in this picture.
Credit

 Walkers are commonly dark in color, usually bay or black, though they can be chestnut, grey, palomino, or almost every other color. Their head is very intelligent looking, with bright eyes and large nostrils; their neck is arched, with sloped shoulders beneath it; their haunches are powerful; and their legs are long, coming complete with hardy hooves. 

 Walkers are show in both western and English competitions and are judged on how well they perform their distinctive gaits. Also, they are used in both leisure and trail riding.