The Book Justin Morgan And The Morgan Horse Living On The Town Line

 

A True Story

This book explains the determined hunt which unearthed much history of the difficult lives of early Vermonters and their relationships with each other. Despite working full-time and running his own Morgan horse farm, Dennis researches far into the night on his computer, making phone calls to likely sources of information, and spending many weekends interviewing, tramping through brush and digging possible sites, Fourteen years later, the Morgan Homesite location is found.

Buy the book at https://www.justinmorgan1.com

About The Author

Dennis Tatro is a Morgan Horse historian, breeder, researcher, and equine photographer. He has managed many Morgan Horse events like The Morgan Mile Trotting Races, the Lippitt Morgan Country Horse Show and Vermont Morgan Heritage Day. He has shown their Morgan Stallion, Denlore’s Desert Storm at dozens of horse shows and equine events all over New England and started “Morgan Row” at Equine Affaire in West Springfield Massachusetts. He has been involved with Morgan Horses since 1986 serving on the board of the Vermont Morgan Horse Association for ten years and has been President of the Lippitt Club for three years. Dennis and his wife Laura reside at Denlore Morgan Horse Farm in Sharon Vermont along with their Morgan Horses, Shih Tzu dog Ozzie and their two Muscovy Ducks Moe and Martha.

Stallions Have Feelings Too!

We are a small breeding facility located on the eastern side of the state of Vermont about twenty miles from the Vermont New Hampshire border. We consider ourselves to be a little different than other farms who collect stallions because we allow the owner or handler to handle their own stallion and become involved if they wish.

We have found that stallions collect better when the person they know, respect and love handles them. Stallions do have feelings and when you bring a stallion to a strange farm, handled by someone who he does not know, you may get a poor performance from him. It also allows us to be able to watch the stallion and evaluate his performance better because we can concentrate more on getting a good  collection from him rather than on handling him.

Last summer we had a person contact us who had a stallion that was brought to another farm to be trained to the phantom and after several attempts at collecting him, could only get pre ejaculates. It was assumed that the stallion was not collectable. We agreed that we would try to collect him and the following weekend the owner and stallion came to our farm. The stallion was turned out in the paddock and we spent time with the owner on how to tease the stallion and approach the phantom so that the stallion would mount correctly. After several failed attempts of getting a good collection we noticed that the stallion was a little shy and that he was unusually large at the head and long in the shaft. We loosened the last buckle on the jacket of the AV which allowed the stallion to flare comfortably at the head and penetrate deeper. BINGO! We not only got a good collection but he also had many swimmers. We continued to collect this stallion and have shipped him all over the Country and to Canada with wonderful success. This year we started collecting him with no jump mare at all. We tease him in the barn, walk him out to the phantom and collect him. By the time the owner walks him around a little and loads him on the trailer, we have semen extended and off the owner goes to ship the container. It takes us as little as thirty minutes to collect this stallion now and as soon as he gets off the trailer he knows what is job is and he tends to business.

So you might be saying to yourself, what’s the point? The point is that animals are not just a possession or object. Some people think that animals have no feelings but that way of thinking is old and antiquated. Stallions are treated like they are crazy and out of their minds when around a mare and in some cases a stallion may be just that, “crazy” but those stallion should not be left a stallion. For the most part stallions lead a life of seclusion not able to be turned out with the rest of the horses but they are loving, sensitive creatures who will give you signs or signals of their needs through body language.

Yes, we are a little different in how we collect stallions. It takes a little more time and commitment from the owner/handler but we have found that it makes for a nicer collection experience for the stallion and saves the owner money by not having to board the stallion at my farm while being trained or collected.

SHOW YOUR HORSES!!

I really love to show a nice Morgan Horse in harness but the thing I really love is to show a nice Morgan Horse in hand. There is a skill to showing a Morgan in hand and nothing frustrates me more than watching an in hand class and see a nice Morgan get placed back in the ribbons when it should have taken a blue instead. It’s not because of the judge but it’s because of the handler and how the horse was presented. For some reason people think that all you have to do is walk your horse to the judge and trot off down the rail. Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes a skill that not everyone has in order to show a horse in hand and a person who has that skill will take a horse and get it pinned with the best ribbon possible. I have shown horses like Half Lippitt Royalton Supreme Aire, Full Lippitts Rohan Deor, Weathermont Ethan and others as well as my own stallion Denlores Desert Storm. Storm took in hand championships at many A rated shows, presented at presented at Equine Affaire and then was sponsored by Nutrena for four years in which he took year end championships on the VHSA circuit for stallion in hand, open in hand and he has never been defeated in the Justin Morgan Standard class anywhere. The horses I have shown were nice horses no doubt but they were shown at nothing but their best. First of all if your showing in hand someone else should be getting your horse ready. My wife Laura puts the final touches on Storm while I go out and watch the judge. Every judge is different in what they will allow and what they like. Some judges will let a horse skip a beat going down the rail or forgive a horse if he acts up a bit. Other judges like to see a horse stretched a bit and others want a horse to stand square. I am not talking about sport horse in hand class I am talking about a stallion or mare in hand class here so you’re going to want your Morgan with his head up and alive looking. I see people all the time trot their Morgan down the rail dragging the head down to the ground. Lift your arm up and bring the curb bit in so that you get your horses head up and slightly in so he looks arched or well-rounded and not all strung out. You may want to practice this at home so that you get his head set just right. At home is the time to train your horse, not in the show ring. A judge likes to see a Morgan bright and excited but yet controlled. I usually work my horse at home and teach my horses the kiss method. When I kiss I want my horse to move so that as I am going down the rail and I want my horse up more in the bridle I will kiss to him which tells him to give me a little more gas pedal. I may also have someone use a small plastic shopping type of bag behind him when I kiss so that he gets the idea that when I kiss I want him up more in the bridle. Desert Storm is such a well-trained stallion that anyone can walk him anywhere however the minute I take him and kiss a little he knows it’s show time. When I show a horse that is not mine and I did not train, I will always talk to it. I may grumble or kiss to it but I will look for something that will excite that horse in order to make it look brilliant. I might use a candy wrapper or clicker but I’ll use something that will excite that horse. I test him a little using these things to find that out before I go into the ring. When you trot down the rail you will line up head to tail and the judge will ask each person to walk their horse to him/her. Walk your horse right to the judge. Don’t stray to the left or to the right because the judge wants to see your horse walk from the front. I see so many people pay no attention as to where they are walking. Stop your horse and show him in the direction that the judge requests and stretch him a little and make him stand. If the judge wants your horse square they will tell you to square your horse up. Please do your homework and teach your horse to stand when you are at home. There is nothing more aggravating to a judge than when they have to run in circles because a horse has not been taught to stand. Make sure your horses head is up and the curb bit flexed in a bit to give the horse that well rounded look. Scratch his neck and talk to him nice and calm so he knows that what he is doing is correct and what you’re looking for. The judge will ask you to walk to the rail and trot down. Again walk directly away from the judge turn left and trot your horse down the rail just like you did when you came in the in gate. Go back to the lineup with your horse. You always want to be showing your horse. While the judge is looking at other horses you will want to have your horse stretched and looking brilliant just as if your showing to the judge. Many times while judging the horse in front of them a judge may look up briefly or without notice because he may be comparing your horse to the one he is judging. Always show your horse and never stop until the judges card is handed in. Here are a few tips. Know the conformation faults the horse that you are showing has before you show him. You can set your horse up so that they may not be so evident to the judge. A horse may have a leg that does not place right when over stretched so if that’s the case just don’t stretch the horse so far that it shows that fault. Always know how you want your horse to stand in order for him to look his best. If you see a spot on the ground that goes up slightly you will want your horse so that he is facing on the up slant if you can. Most judges will let you reposition your horse as long as you can do it reasonably fast so you don’t hold them up. Learn little tricks that may mean the difference between a blue ribbon and a red ribbon. Many times the difference between horses will be small that the little difference you make could help you take a championship ribbon. Let me give you one last example. I was showing Desert Storm in a stallion class and we had been to a show the day before so between the showing and the traveling he was not as brilliant as I wanted him to be. So I had kissed to him and got him to show fairly well in front of the judge but I wanted a great final impression so in the final line up as the judge was walking down the line one last time, I turned Storm around so he was facing the stallion that was behind him. I then took one step toward that stallion which made Storm look really excited and brilliant. The judge did make us turn back around and face in the same direction like all the other horses but that brilliant moment was enough to take a blue ribbon. Remember, I’m not saying that you can take a horse with poor conformation and make it a winner but the person handling a horse can make a difference in an in hand class when the judge is trying to decide between two very close horses and that could mean the difference that makes your horse win the blue ribbon.

Looking back at 2010

The end of 2010 is here and we look forward to the breeding season of 2011. Denlore's Desert Storm is going to be twenty years old this year and we are looking at breeding several mares to him. He's getting up there in age and we love his foals. All of them have been easy to train and work with and when they have gone to new homes their owners have been able to continue on with their training by themselves.
The Morgan Horse is a wonderful animal all on it's own and when you get a stallion that is a special as Storm has been, it is just frosting on the cake.
Besides loving the breed we also love the history. The Morgan is truly America's first breed of horse and as far as I'm concerned, the best. Morgans excel in jumping, endurance, saddleseat, hunt seat, western, driving and make wonderful trail horses. They love people and are great children horses.
If you want a horse that can do it all and be your best friend as well, own a Morgan Horse!

Excellent Summer!

We had a great summer. It's been sunny and warm most days this summer and it's been one of the best I can remember.
We have collected several out side studs this summer and photographed some wonderful horse shows. We found a wonderful home for our twenty three year old mare and go into winter with only three of our own horses. With this questionable economy at hand, we are in a great position to continue our breeding program when the future looks a little better.
In the mean time we will work with the Morgan horses we have to further their education.

As The Summer Goes On!

We have collected several outside studs as well as a collection on our stallion Denlore's Desert Storm. We are not sure however if we will end up breeding any mares this year. Our mare is old and she has not been easy to read while in heat. This tells me that at age twenty three, that her days as a baby maker have come to a close. We need to find a nice home for her to serve out the rest of her life.
We have also concluded that with the economy the way it is, that a year away from breeding a mare might be a good decision since holding on to foals does not make you money. We have a very nice yearling to sell and we should get him going well and sell him before any more foals are made.
We will next year however get our four year old started on collecting him on the phantom and maybe get his first foal on the ground at that time. I will keep you informed to whats going on if things change.

Breeding Time Has Come

Precious is in heat but we will wait one more heat before we breed her. We will collect Storm to keep him cleaned out but living here in Vermont our Aprils can be cold and snowy so we will wait one more heat to breed.
Gaetano is home but I have not had the time to work with him as I should be doing but his rest will be over shortly. Summers in Vermont are not long enough with stalls, turn out, training, breeding, wood and hay but we always manage to get it all done.
The Morgan Horse is a wonderful breed and no where will you find a horse that is more willing and can do it all.