Description of Bulrush Morgan

Bulrush was a dark bay, with a few white hairs in his forehead, and no other marks; his legs, mane and tail were black, and his mane and tail were very heavy —the former came down nearly to his knees, and his foretop came down to his nose; his tail was cut off when young and left about nine or ten inches long; his legs were large and had some long hair, were close- jointed, broad, flat, and exhibited a more striking development of muscla than either Woodbury's or Sherman's ; hig back was not so short as either of the others', but it was very broad, and he was freer from any imputation of sway-back than any of his brothers, though towards the close of his life he indeed fell away in his loins, as is always the case in old stallions. His hips were very good, but not so long as Sherman's, and he was not so well quartered as Woodbury, but he was deeper in the chest than either of them ; his shoulders were thicker and not so well placed, and his head and neck were not so well set up. He was not so proud, bold and lofty in his carriage as Woodbury, and he had not Sherman's short, nervous step, and tractable but high-spirited temper; but he was a sharp, quick driver, and a faster trotter than either of them. He was a little inclined to be cross, but was not fierce, or in any respect unmanageable; on the contrary, he was very kind in harness, always working pleasantly wherever put. His most remarkable characteristic was his power of endurance. For this, we think it is generally admitted, he had no rival; and his extraordinary lasting- ness has become proverbial where he was known. His stock bear a strong resemblance to him, and are very numerous; are mostly dark bay without marks, never sorrel or light chestnut; occasionally a dark gray, from a white mare, may be found. Bulrush was about fourteen hands high, and weighed about one thousand pounds.

Bulrush, Sherman, and Woodbury, were treated very much alike. Until after ten years old, each of them was employed most of the time at the ordinary team-work of a farm, and at no period of their lives did they have any more care than the common horses of the country; and never had much knowledge of thick blankets and warm stables, but were early inured to the labor and hardship, fatigue and exposure, incident to a new and mountainous country and a cold climate. It is not improbable that the cold, dry atmosphere, and pure water of our mountains, has contributed as much as the rich pastures of our valleys to the stoutness, courage and lastingness of our horses.