Woodbury Morgan son of Justin Morgan the Horse

Description of Woodbury Morgan

Woodbury was fourteen and three-quarters hands high, and weighed from nine hundred and eighty-eight pounds to tea hundred and forty pounds; he was weighed several times, and these two statements of his weight, at different times, are the extremes. Many persons who have frequently seen him weighed, say they never knew him weigh more than ten hundred and thirty, nor less than ten hundred and fifteen pounds. He was a dark, rich chestnut; his off hind-leg was white from the foot half way to the hock, and he had a white stripe in his face, beginning at the edge of the Upper-lip, filling the space between the nostrils, and extending more than half way to his eyes. His mane was not very thick, or long, and was lighter than either of the others, still it was full. His tail was cut off when a colt, and left about ten inches long; the hair was very full, and curly; both mane and tail were about the same color as his body. The hair on the body was fine, short and soft. He was close and compactly built, with heavy quarters and deep flanks; his chest was good and the shoulders finely shaped; he had a short back, and broad, sinewy loins. His legs had some long hairs on the back-side, but were well shaped, somewhat larger than Sherman's and not so large as Bulrush's. His head was small and lean, with a fine, firm muzzle, the nostrils very large and full, face straight, very wide between the eyes, which were dark hazel, very large and prominent, and showed no white around the edge of the lid. His ears were small and fine, but rather short, and set somewhat wider apart than many would consider consistent with perfect beauty. His style of action was bold and resolute, and his temperament was so nervous, that when taken out with a bridle it was almost impossible to keep him still. He was a good driver and appeared well in harness, but he appeared to the best advantage under the saddle. Militia Colonels and Generals were eager to ride him, and no "musters" or reviews could pass without his being seen; in his case, to be seen was to be admired. His disposition was pleasant and playful.

As has been said, he was taken to Gainesville, Ala,, in the autumn of 1836, being then twenty years old. He was shipped from Boston, on board a small sailing vessel; he suffered much from the long and stormy passage, and never fully recovered from the effects of it. It is altogether likely that the climate and food did not agree with him, for neither was such as he had been accustomed to; however this may be, it is certain he continued to fail until he died in 1838. Woodbury was the largest of these horses, and possessed in a greater degree the bold, fearless and showy style of their sire; he was more nervous, and less tractable than Sherman, better under the saddle, not so pleasant in harness, and we are inclined to think hardly as good a roadster. His form was more symmetrical than either of the others; his breast was not so full and prominent as Sherman's; he was deeper in the flank and better quartered. No horse ever had less fear. Martial music only roused him, the firing of guns in no way disturbed him, waving flags and gay uniforms seemed hardly able to attract from him a single glance, and he moved about as if he was himself the principal object of attraction and the cause of all the attending excitement and display.

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.

We have thus slightly sketched the more obvious distinctions and general characteristics of these celebrated sons of the original or Justin Morgan. While they differed in the particulars we have herein set forth (which difference was rather in the degree, than the nature of their qualities,) they all possessed the great and striking features of their distinguished sire. The same compactness of form, great muscular development, hardy, rugged constitution, docility and tractableness, short, easy, rapid step, eager ambition and lofty courage, so remarkable in him, were found in each of them in a high degree. Through these noble channels, the blood of the Justin Morgan has been poured profusely into the hitherto hardy stock of Vermont, conveying not only the very form of the great original, but all his unrivalled vigor, grace, and ease of motion, combined with his docility and matchless courage.

Ref: Morgan Horses by D.C. Linsley 1857