The History of the Morab
1855
THROUGH TODAY
Morab history seems to have
started in the west. Lynn Beckford was the original researcher and she searched
in the libraries and worked her way through many Arabian and Morgan books to
put the first documentation together, and we are greatly in her debt! She said,
"There was a concern with the lack of documentation of the beginnings of
the Morab breed as there was very limited material prior to 1973 and I worked
for five years on the project." Members of the Morab Community Network
have added many more years of research to Lynn’s to produce this
version.
ARABIAN
REGISTRY
In the book History of
the Arabian Horse Registry, written in the early 1900's, Lynn tells us
there was a provision for the get of the Arabian/Morgan crosses in the early
Arabian Horse Club Registry. This reference was discontinued about the time of
World War I and prior to the formation of the International Arabian Horse
Association in the 1940's. Unfortunately with that change in procedures
(registering and recording only purebreds) and the starting of IAHA (Half
Arabian Registry), those earlier records were no where to be found.
MORGAN
REGISTRY
With the 1857 book The
Morgan Horse by D. C. Lindsley, the early Morgan historian, came a lot
more background. He discussed the needs of this country relative to horseflesh
and according to Lindsley, in New England a person was rarely seen on
horseback, preferring rather to drive. This was becoming the trend in the South
as well, and with it the age of the light buggy was dawning. The buggy was fast
becoming the favorite means of conveyance because of the many conveniences they
offered. Protection from the elements, the facility for carrying light packages
and personal baggage were some of the conveniences. These points combined with
a light carriage upon good roads, allowed a single horse to perform the work of
two horses under saddle, making this mode of transportation very
popular.
A major part of Lindsley’s
essay was concerned with perpetuating and improving the Morgan breed, and
stated where mares of Morgan blood could not be obtained, mares possessing a
strain of racing or Arabian blood could be considered. Lindsley specifically
recommended 1/8 to 1/4 Arabian blood as suitable and you find many of the
Morgan/Arab cross (Morabs) registered in the American Morgan Horse Association
registry prior to their 1/1/48 abolishment of their Rule 2 that allowed out
crosses.
From the Lindsley essay came
information about the first volume of the Morgan Horse
Registry written by Colonel Joseph Battell. Battell continued on the
work started by Lindsley, but went one step further by taking on the task of
documenting the Morgan breed and publishing the first Morgan Stud Book which
also contained a fairly complete history of the Morgan breed.
GOLDDUST
Battell’s Volume I
provided an entire chapter devoted to the stallion named Golddust MHA70; a
horse of great merit, whose bloodlines reveal he was a Morab, registered as #70
in the Morgan registry. Golddust was foaled in 1855 (bred by Andrew Hoke near
Louisville, Kentucky), and sold when a weanling for $1,000 to L.L. Dorsey, Eden
Stock Farm. His sire was Vermont Morgan MHA69, his dam the unregistered Hoke
mare. The Hoke mare was said to be by Zilcaadi, a chestnut Arabian stallion,
presented by the Sultan to the United States Consul, Mr. Rhind, and was then
imported by him.
Golddust became an important
sire of the time and was retained by Mr. Dorsey for his career. He is described
as being pure gold in color, off hind ankle white, sixteen hands high and
weighing 1,275 pounds. It was reported he was never defeated in the show ring
at the trot or at the flat-footed walk and that at the flat walk he could cover
six miles in an hour. No stallion of his day produced larger, more handsome,
showy horses, or more winners in the show rings and trotting races of the era.
His get were exhibited at all the prominent expositions and fairs with
Goldsheen MHA4971 (by his son Goldzil) winning his classes at the St. Louis
World's Fair in 1904.
Golddust outperformed anything
bred before in Kentucky. Racing in 1861, Golddust defeated Iron Duke in a match
race, best three out of five heats, for a purse of $10,000. Besides being an
animal of great beauty and refinement, he was noted for endowing his offspring
with extreme speed. Although the Civil War and his own untimely death curtailed
his stud career, he sired 302 foals and left 44 trotters of record. In getting
speed, he out ranks even the great Hambletonian. In addition to their speed and
racing quality, his get also illustrated the style and beauty of their Morgan
and Arabian lineage.
A search through the IMR™
records has found over 100 of today's Morabs tracing their ancestor’s back
to Golddust. This connection goes through a series of stallion and mare tail
mates, but passes in great numbers primarily through the 103 progeny of Flyhawk
MHA7526.
TIME MOVES ON
With the advent of the carriage
horse, the country became very involved with speed and horses were not sold by
pedigree but rather by their racing time. It seems these horses were not only
raced on the tracks but in friendly matches on the country roads. This was a
fascinating time however, in the search for sheer racing speed, the Morgan
blood, and unfortunately, that of the Morab somewhat disappeared into the new
breed of Standardbred. Couple this with the advent of the horse less carriage
and in a very short period of time the entire horse industry in this country
changed dramatically.
WILLIAM RANDOLPH
HEARST
Little more was found until the
1920's, following World War I. At that time the famed publisher William
Randolph Hearst had a superior Arabian breeding program and had a short-lived,
but important Morgan breeding program which included a program of breeding
Morabs. Hearst is credited with having coined the word "Morab" and
some of his Morabs were registered as Morgans with the "Sunical"
prefix (his Morgans had the "Piedmont" prefix), under the now extinct
outcross Rule 2 of the American Morgan Horse Association.
Hearst bred Morabs by crossing
his mostly Crabbett based Arabian stallions Ghazi AHR560, Gulastra AHR521, Joon
AHR439, Ksar AHR707, Rahas AHR651 and Sabab AHR710 to his Morgan mares. Mrs.
William Randolph Hearst II said in her book Horses of San
Simeon that Hearst, "... found the produce were excellent for
work on his California Ranch." "He registered 110 horses in the AMHA,
18 of which were Morabs", she said. Quoted in an early American Morab
Horse Assn. Brochure, "According to A. J. Cooke of the Hearst Corp,
Sunical Div. … Hearst bred Morabs in the 1930’s and 1940’s for
ranch work … and were desirable for the large, rough mountainous terrain
of the Hearst Ranches."
Hearst purchased the Morgan
stallion Mountcrest Sellman MHA7289, bred by another famous cattle ranch, from
the Sellman Ranch in Texas, to expand his Morgan program. He bred him to the
mare Pontez MHAF0195 (a Morab by the Arab Antez AHR448 out of the Morgan
Pondette MHA04523), producing the Morab stallion Antman MHAX8318. Antman went
on to sire 35 foals that were registered with the AMHA.
Do date we have traced 25 of
our IMR™ registered Morabs back to this breeding program through a
combination of stallion and mare tail mates. These Morabs are not only out west
as we might suspect, but the Midwest and Canada too. Rahas and Antman come up
more often than the other stallions.
These
IMR™ Morabs trace back to both the
Morgan Golddust and the Hearst Arabians:
Aladdinn's Enchanted Dream - IMR0CA5 - 1996 bay
Stallion
BLT's Coaldust - IMR1542 - 1996 black Stallion
Gentle Ben +BA - IMR013B - 1991 bay Stallion
LM Aurora Sparkler - IMR0B93 - 1995 bay Mare
LM Sparkling Radiance - IMR0B96 - 1996 chestnut Mare
Reinbeaus Illusion - IMR0F9D - 1996 gray Stallion
Whispering Bold Kamar - IMR1104 - 1996 chestnut Gelding
Windmere Ambrosia - IMR02BD - 1982 palomino Mare
Windmere Erica - IMR0136 - 1984 gray Mare
SWENSON - SMS RANCH
Another Morab breeding program
of interest was developed by the Swenson Brothers near Stamford, Texas on their
world famous SMS Ranch. The purchase of Morgan stud colts Red Bird MHA6775 and
Gotch MHA5979 (sons of The Admiral MHA4871), along with a band of seven Morgan
brood mares just prior to 1920, marked the beginning of the SMS expansion into
Morgans. A few years later three Government Remount Arabian stallions were
added to the stock and fine Morab cutting horses evolved. One example was a bay
gelding called Rey Boy (AQHA15810), foaled at SMS in 1943 and owned by Wild
Bill Elliott of Hollywood fame. Rey’s sire was the Quarter Horse Billy by
King (P-234) but is dam was a Morab sired by Niwad (Arabian) out of the
daughter of an SMS Morgan Stallion (AQHA registry).
FULLER
A very significant breeding
program centers on Martha Doyle Fuller of Clovis, California. In 1955, in an
attempt to breed a horse that could successfully compete on the open show
circuit, Mrs. Fuller developed a Morab breeding program. She had experimented
with several horse breeds, however, the Morab was the only one she felt could
consistently fill the bill. It was from her breeding program that the first
Morab registry was formed. Her daughters (Mrs. Irene Miller) husband James
founded the American Morab Horse Association Inc. on July 19, 1973. This first
Morab registry was also called ‘Morab Horse Registry of America’, and
'Clovis' for the town she lived in. It issued Gold Seal Certificates to Arabian
and Morgan crossed Morabs (Premium Division) and Blue Seal Certificates to
those that were approved on conformation with some missing pedigree
documentation (Permanent Division). In 1978 they established the 25/75
limit for Morgan/Arabian blood mix.
It was because of Mrs. Miller's
efforts that we have a tie from the past to some of today’s Morab breeding
programs. The years since have brought a re-emergence and a new appreciation of
the Morab breed for its own fine qualities. The Morab breed owes its current
success to Mrs. Miller's dedication and belief in the breed. To many, she is
known as Mrs. Morab. Lynn Beckford had corresponded and spoken with her over a
period of time and she said of her, "I will say her nickname was a well
deserved one. It was under her direction that two regional Morab Clubs were
formed and her registry personally supported the breed at numerous horse
fairs." With Mrs. Millers passing in 1980, the first registry began to
rapidly fade away!
REGISTRY
UPDATE
In the early 1980's, as the
Morab Horse Registry Of America dwindled, the North American Morab Horse
Association (NAMHA) was founded. Morab Community Network Life Member
& Director, Carol Hardy (then Stankiewicz) reports ... "It was in the
late summer of 1984 when a group of Wisconsin Morab enthusiasts met at the home
of Gordon & Betty Weyrauch to form NAMHA. Present at that meeting were Pat
Fochs, Lynn Beckford, Phyllis Griffith, Carol Stankiewicz (now Hardy), and Jean
Nutter (now Schultz), and of course Gordon and Betty. The first NAMHA
registrations were issued early in 1985."
While it was not able to obtain
Mrs. Millers records, Carol goes on to say, "The primary goal of NAMHA was
to provide an organization to register Morabs so the breed could continue to
grow. The Registry was to be based in Hilbert, WI at the home of Pat Fochs. It
was agreed to continue the policies of the Clovis registry regarding
registration requirements, and also to accept any Morab already registered with
Clovis into the NAMHA registry." It continued to register on
conformation/type or Morgan/Arabian bloodlines and thought that distant
Thoroughbred crosses were good. Carol was a director on the NAMHA Board
of Directors.
In 1987 the first Morab
breeders group was incorporated and the International Morab Breeders'
Association Inc. (IMBA) offered breeder members marketing ventures, co-op
advertising, breed continuity, education, referrals, newsletters and regional
and national Futurity program potential. As the breed began a bright resurgence
in the mid to late 1980's, NAMHA quickly grew apart from its breeders and
founders. With NAMHA registration and correspondence taking mostly 6 months to
be responded to and calls going unanswered, in 1992 IMBA created the
International Morab Registry (IMR)™ to fill the critically growing void.
The IMR™ is based only on Morgan and Arabian pedigree but it does accept
any Morab that was registered with a
prior Morab registry (regardless of its pedigree) in an effort to protect breed
history and maintain breed continuity. These Morabs have been clearly
identified with a "#" sign in their registration number and a foot
note on the face of the certificate. The US Trademark Office issued a
certificate for "IMR; International Morab Registry; and The Morab
Registry" to the IMBA in late 1998.
At the start of 1998, NAMHA
effectively closed its doors and the directors started the Purebred Morab Horse
Association (PMHA). This eliminated all the registered horses with any unknown
Morgan and/or Arabian in their pedigree from the MMHA studbook. At the start of
1999 a 3rd registry was started in Illinois, called the Morab Horse Register,
their reasons and motivation are not apparent.
Over the first decade the IMBA
has grown from the original six Incorporates to an organization of more than
200 breeders and 450 associates on three continents. Besides using major
national and regional publications for articles and marketing ventures, they
were the first to introduced the Morab to the Internet in 1996 with a
professionally designed, award winning, informational web site (domain). The
site is reached at http://www.morab.com and opens with a slide
show of working Morabs and features Free Classifieds, Free Show Listings,
Picture Sales Catalog, a Farm Tour and many other features of interest to horse
people and others that are out surfing the web! Email contact for IMBA;
mailto:imba@morab.com and for the
IMR™; mailto:imr@morab.com . Now the
Morab Community Network combines the efforts of existing Morab companies to
present the Morab to the general public.
EPILOG
The distribution of both the
Arabian and the Morgan registries CD-ROM's in 1997 presented IMBA/IMR with a
great deal of reference material of great historical value, in a computer
searchable media. It is just a matter of time before the still fuzzy, unfocused
historical picture of the Morab is brought into a still brighter and clearer
framework.
Only Pat Fochs remained with
NAMHA from the original incorporates. Lynn Beckford’s dreams were
never realized through NAMHA and she left Morabs completely after donating all
her historical material and her rights to the "History Of The Morab
Breed" essay to the Morab Community Network (IMBA.) She closed her
original essay with, "Yet I am even more excited about the history yet to
be written by the Morabs of today. I look forward to a well deserved bright
future and recognition for the Morab breed; a breed that through the span of
the last century and a half has done a great deal to either improve or help
other breeds grow. " We could not’t agree with her more and the years
have proved her points. Thanks Lynn!
The book "Morab
Moments" (Morab Publishing International) has a great deal of
historical detail including charts, over 60 pictures, breeder and owner
stories, forms, pedigrees and much, much more about the development, breeding
and showing of the Morab. Book information is available at:
MORAB BOOK Morab Community Network
produces the monthly email newsletter BITS & PIECES for
members and others interested in the Morab. Subscription is available on the
first page of the web site at: http://www.morab.com
The information and photographs for this section are kindly
provided by the Morab Community Network. To learn more about this fascinating
breed please visit their website
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