He was foaled in 1789 in Hartford, Connecticut. He was exchanged as a yearling to a Vermont schoolmaster for a debt of 15 shillings. He died of neglect in 1821, at the age of 32. These are the bare facts of his life--but no other horse has ever left such a mark on American history.

In 1789, America consisted of 14 states, populated mainly by small farmers and tradesmen. The only travel between towns was by water, or by dirt roads that were traversed by riders and horse- drawn vehicles. Horses and oxen provided the major power source both for travel, and for many industries, especially farming and lumbering. A good horse was an important family asset.

When Figure matured, he stood 14 hands (4 feet 8 inches) at the shoulder--just the right height for a tired man to throw his arm across at the end of a long day. He weighed 950 pounds. He was a dark bay color, with black legs, mane and tail. Figure had a broad forehead, small fine ears, and dark wideset eyes. He had large nostrils set in a small muzzle, a short back set off by a long shoulder and hip. His legs were short, hard, and muscled, with small, well-shaped hooves. His feet stayed sound all his life. He had a fast walk, a low smooth trot, and a fast start at the canter.

Figure's second owner, the Vermont schoolmaster, used to ride him from one rural school to another. When the teacher became ill, he leased Figure for $15 for one year to Robert Evans, a farmer, in 1795. Evans used Figure, who was very agile, for pulling logs out of the woods. At day's end, he would often ride Figure to the local tavern for a beer. One day, they came across a heavy log (500 pounds or more) mired in the road. None of the local draft horses had been able to budge it. Evans was proud of Figure, and wagered that his little horse could "skid" the log. After a few beers, the wager grew to pulling the log with three heavy men sitting atop. Imagine everyone's surprise--and Evans' winnings--when Figure did it!

Another entertainment for the farmers and loggers after work was to race their horses. A man would collect a bag of coins from everyone present, and place it a quarter mile down the road-- usually hanging from a tree branch. The men would mount their horses, usually bareback, and race down the road. First to grab the purse won. Figure, with his quick start, always gained Evans the purse. People began talking about the fast little bay stallion. On June 26, 1796, Silvertail, a famous thoroughbred racer from New York State, was brought to run a match race against Figure. Figure won.

Late in 1796 the teacher died. He willed Figure to his friend, Sherriff William Rice, who sold him to a man named Sheppard, who sold him to a man named Hawkins. In 1801, when Figure was 12 years old, Robert Evans bought him, and owned him until 1804, when he went into debt and sold Figure to Colonel John Goss. Col. Goss was an officer in the militia, who used to ride Figure on maneuvers and in parades. He died when Figure was 22, in 1811. Figure was sold to Jacob Langsmeade, who drove him in a six-horse delivery hitch between Windsor and Chelsea, Vermont, weekly for three years, in all weather. In 1814, the Goss family bought him back. They owned Figure until 1817, when he was 28. Samuel Stone, who owned Figure from 1817 to 1819, when he was 30, stood him at stud. Then in 1819 Figure was sold to Levi Bean, who, planning to use Figure at stud, turned him out in a field, where he died from the effects of another horse's kick in the severe winter of 1821, aged 32.

Why tell this sad story, you might ask? Who was this little horse? I never heard of him. Well, yes, you have. Two hundred years ago, it was the custom to call horses by their owner's name. Some people called Figure the Goss horse, some the Hawkins horse, but most called him by the name of the Vermont schoolmaster, the Morgan horse--or Juston Morgan's horse, or Justin Morgan, as we know him today.

Figure, you see, was the only horse in history to have founded a whole breed--the Morgan horse. The Vermont farmers and loggers saw how strong he was, how quick, and how gentle--just what they needed to help their families survive. So they sent their mares to Figure--draft mares, Thoroughbred mares, Arab mares--but all the foals looked like Figure. Some were bay, some weren't--but they all had broad foreheads, small fine ears, dark wideset eyes, large nostrils set in small muzzles, short backs set off by long shoulders and hips, short hard-muscled legs, and small well-shaped feet. They all were fast walkers, with low smooth trots and a fast start at the canter, and they were sound all their lives.

Morgan horses pulled Conestoga wagons west. They were cavalry mounts, and working cowhorses, and family horses who both plowed and pulled the family to church on Sundays. The United States government bred Morgan horses for over 50 years, sending the stallions out to stud all over the country so farmers could upgrade their stock. The first undefeated racehorse in American history, Blackhawk, was a grandson of Figure. Rienzi, who carried Sheridan on his "Ride", and Comanche, who survived the Little Big Horn, were Morgans. When General Grant was president, his carriage was pulled by matched Morgan mares. There is Morgan blood in the American Saddlebred, the Quarter Horse, the Morab, and the Tennessee Walker. All this from one little horse, who worked hard all his life-- Figure, the horse we know as Justin Morgan.

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