Breyer Sherman Morgan Model

Also featured in the latest Just About Horses (JAH) magazine was a retrospective of Sherman Morgan, "beloved representative of the breed," and star of Breyer's line.  Sherman Morgan is one of the more popular Breyer molds.  It was originally created in 1987 by Jeanne Mellin Herrick, and has been used as many different models since.  

This is one of the molds which has been used for a lot of the "fantasy" variations, including a special model Carpe Diem, "The Dawn of First Light," which was produced in 2000 to celebrate the millennium.  Carpe Diem is "metallic gold fading to sky blue, with metallic flaxen mane and tail."  Which is… I'll just say "an eye-catching color combination" and leave it at that.

Sherman Morgan was also used for five Connoisseur Series models in 2005, the Jokers Wild Special Run.  These were metallic pintos with spots shaped like card symbols on their flanks, Ace of Spades, Jack of Clubs, Joker, King of Diamonds, and Queen of Hearts.  

The original Morgan horse was a small bay stallion owned by a man named Justin Morgan.  Morgan's horse was named Figure, although he later came to be called "Justin Morgan's horse," and then "Justin Morgan," and then just the Morgan.  Figure was born in Massachusetts in 1789, and was given to a singing teacher named Justin Morgan as payment for a debt.

Although small, Figure (Justin Morgan) was unusually powerful.  He won many pulling contests against larger stallions, and was used to haul freight well into his older years.  His appeal was so great, even at the time, that he was popular for use as a stud.  Figure's genetics were strong, and many of his foals ended up looking almost exactly like him.  A greatly fictionalized account of Figure's life was told by acclaimed children's author Marguerite Henry in her book Justin Morgan Had a Horse.

Sherman Morgan came to be one of the best known and most successful of Figure's offspring.  Sherman was a bright chestnut horse, only 13.5 hands high (although all Morgans are technically horses, many of them are short enough to qualify as ponies).  Sherman was worked hard by his owner - life for a horse was not very picturesque in the early 19th century.  

Sherman excelled at pulling loads, clearing logs, driving carts, and won virtually every competition his owner stacked up against him.  Sherman and his teammates Bulrush and Woodbury would haul loads all spring, summer, and fall.  Come winter, when the weather prohibited field work, his owner would make money on the side by putting him up against anyone who would challenge him.  Soon the legend of Sherman Morgan was such that no one would bet against him!

Sherman, Bulrush, and Woodbury entered into New England legend, and helped cement the legacy of the Morgan horse.  Soon enough, New England was producing and shipping Morgans all across the country.  Although the breed fell out of favor for a while, when larger horses became the popular trend, the Morgan held steady and is currently one of the most popular breeds in the country.