More on body shape - Orlovs and Dutch Trotters

Count Orlov with a grey trotter, sometime identified as the Orlov foundation stallion Bars I. Painted in 1890 by Nikolai Sverchkov.

In the previous post, I wrote about the central myth in early 20th-century horse breeding, which was that all 'well-bred' horses have Eastern blood. Over time, this evolved into the idea that the Arabian—erroneously credited with the creation of the English Thoroughbred—was the primary "improver" of horse breeds. This led to the tendency to designate any Eastern horse as "Arabian" and then emphasize its influence. 

One of the most obvious examples of this is the Russian Orlov. Most descriptions of the breed will credit the Arabian stallion Smetanka as the founder of the breed. This painting almost always accompanies articles about Orlovs. 

Smetanka, believed to have been painted by Gavril Vasilyev in the late eighteenth century.

Smetanka was purchased in Turkey in 1774 and traveled by land for two years to Russia. He died the year after he arrived, leaving behind only five foals. Of those, the stallion Polkan was the most influential. Polkan's dam was a buckskin Danish mare from the Frederiksborg Stud.

The Frederiksborg Stud started in 1562 with Spanish and Neapolitan horses. These were later crossed with Turkish, Moroccan, and English horses. When Count Orlov imported the mares in the late 1700s, it is likely they still retained some of the original Spanish type. 

It is still possible to see the Spanish influence in Frode, a Frederiksborger foaled in 1855. There is another picture of him here. 

Polkan, who was half Arabian and half Frederikborger, produced a son that could more accurately be called the foundation sire of the Orlov Trotter. That was Bars (1784-1806). To establish his Khrenovsky Stud, Count Orlov linebred the descendants of Bars. 

The dam of Bars was an imported Dutch trotting mare: a hartraver. When responding to comments made by Walter Winans about the breed in the Live Stock Journal, the head of the Russian Agricultural Department described her in this way: 

The Orloff Trotter is not originated from several Arab stallions and Danish mares, as Mr. W. Winans means, because the first so-called ancestor of the Orloff Trotter—Bars—was a son of an Arab-Danish stallion out of an imported Friesian mare. The trotting qualities were inherited undoubtedly from the Friesian, or Flemish Hartraver (Trotter), and the influence of Friesian blood cannot be omitted.  (Live Stock Journal, June 1, 1917) 

Winans, whose article prompted the official to write, was an American residing in England, but who grew up in Russia. He is perhaps better known as the sculptor who discovered the famed Arabian stallion Skowronek in Poland and imported him. 

Skowronek, shown with his fifth (and best-known) owner, Lady Wentworth of Crabbet Park

Winans' interest in Arabians might explain why he focused on Smetanka. However, just as early Morgans didn't look like Thoroughbreds, the Orlovs of his day didn't look much like Arabians. It would be more accurate to say they looked like Friesians. Or rather, like our modern conception of a Friesian horse. 

Here is the Orlov stallion Varmik (f.1894), who was used at stud during the time Mr. Winans and the official from Russia were exchanging letters in the Live Stock Journal.  

Varmik was linebred to Bars. He also carried crosses to other Dutch mares used in the program.

Here is an Orlov mare from that time. Like Varmik, her body shape is distinctly Friesian-like. 

Here is Varmik's grandsire, Projda (f.1873). 

Even when Orlovs were grey, the body type is still very reminiscent of the Friesian. 

Gromadnyj (f. 1894), showing the heavy bone, feathered heels, and an overall shape similar to the previous examples.

It's not just the historical Orlovs that have this body type. It's not hard to find in modern Friesians. This lovely colt was offered at the 2023 yearling sale at the Moscow Stud Farm #1. Even at his young age, he has noticeable feathering on his heels. (Clicking on his picture will take you to the farm's website and a video showing his trot.)

Baget (f. 2022), a grey Orlov colt pictured as a yearling and offered at auction by Moscow Stud Farm #1.

So the Hartravers were Friesians? 

Does all this mean that the references to Dutch horses and "hartravers" were Friesians? 

The Orlov is one of the most thoroughly documented breeds from the 1700s. The amount of detail kept on the horses—particularly when it comes to the origins of the mares—is quite remarkable. However, this is all before there were breed registries. Terms like "Friesian" and "hartraver" could mean different things depending on who was speaking; there were no breed registries to regulate what was meant by a name. 

Tall, black horses of the modern Friesian type have a long history in the Netherlands. They were popular for use at funerals in Europe. Writing about the different classes of horses employed in London, one author referred to them as the "Black Brigade." 

The funeral horse hardly needs description. The breed has been the same for centuries. He stands about 16 hands... Altogether there are about 700 of these black horses in London. They are all Flemish, and come to us from the flats of Holland.

The illustration that accompanies the text shows horses of the Friesian type. 

Illustration from The Horse-World of London, published in 1893

The similarity between the funeral horses and the Orlovs was noted by a traveler writing for the Country Gentleman's Estate Book in 1913. 

A highly typical feature is the shape of the croup... which is seen in several Continental breeds, and most markedly so in the old unimproved Dutch breed of horses, of which so many representatives are used in this country as hearse horses at funerals. 

Based on the appearance of the descendants of Bars, it seems likely that the "Dutch trotter" mares used by Count Orlov were of Friesian type. They would not have qualified as Friesians today. For one thing, Bars' Dutch dam was grey. At least one other Dutch mare used at the stud was also grey. But in body shape, it is easy to imagine that they resembled a modern-day Friesian.

Does this mean Justin Morgan was a Friesian?

Bars was foaled just a few years before Justin Morgan. His dam was a "Dutch mare," and Justin Morgan (the man) always claimed his stallion was a "Dutch horse." Does that mean the foundation of the Morgan breed was a Friesian? 

No, it doesn't. Written accounts dating back centuries indicate that Dutch breeders were famed for producing strong trotters. They also produced more than one type of trotter. 

There is notable similarity in the body shape of the Orlovs and the Friesians, but neither resemble Morgans.  That's because there were two different sorts of Dutch trotting horses. Writers referring to Hartravers might be speaking of either type. 

Sultan, an East Friesian, and Varmik, an Orlov, illustrate the two different body shapes "hartravers" might have. (The two horses were born a year apart.)

A German writer, commenting on the horses of East Frisia in a 1879 government report, said they were like the "Harttrabers of neighboring Holland." 

That means there were three different "Dutch horses." There was a heavy draft, a tall black ceremonial carriage horse, and a fast-trotting coach horse. It seems likely that when Justin Morgan spoke of Dutch horses, he meant that last type. 

As blood horses became fashionable, especially in English-speaking countries, stallion promoters 'discovered' suitable back stories for their animals. The Hartravers were largely forgotten, which is why the information provided by Justin Morgan's son found few proponents. The only "Dutch" horses they knew about were the heavy drafters. 

Body shape vs. breed mythology

Breed history has always fascinated me. My interest in horse color led me to follow leads on color lines using pedigrees and other historical documents. I spent a lot of time in registry archives and specialized libraries. Once libraries began digitizing their collections, a whole treasure trove of information became available. That is how I found images like the one at the top of this post. 

Judging from the silhouette, what breed does this look like? Ignore the bad photo cut-out that took away his tail and the edge of his mane. Imagine he has a full mane and tail.

The first time I saw that image, it reminded me of horses like this one. It has the same heavily crested, upright neck and attractive head. 

Hale's Green Mountain Morgan, drawing by George Ford Morris

Here is another image showing the face of the first horse.

The second horse is an artist's rendering of Hale's Green Mountain Morgan (f. 1834). He was intensely linebred to Justin Morgan, with both parents by Woodbury Morgan (a son of Justin Morgan) and out of Justin Morgan-bred mares. He is what most model horse hobbyists would think of as an "old type" Morgan. 

The first horse is Warner (f.1895), an East Friesian. East Frisia is situated between the Netherlands and Germany and has at various times belonged to one or the other. The horses of East Frisia played a significant role in the foundation of the Dutch coaching breeds from nearby Groningen and Drenthe. Below are two East Friesian stallions—father and son—used in the Netherlands. 

It's important to note that these are not the same as what modern equestrians would think of as a "Friesian," although they were sometimes called that. They were also sometimes referred to as hart-dravers ("fast trotters"). To keep things challenging, that term also seems to have been used for traditional Friesians. Because standardizing breeds was a new idea, there wasn't really a sharp dividing line between any of these things! The important fact is that fast trotting roadsters had been bred in the Netherlands for a long time. Many of them looked remarkably similar to this. 

East Friesian stallions Sultann (f. 1895) and his son Mentor (f. 1904)

If you grew up with the image of Maureen Love's Morgan sculptures as your idea of a "typey" Morgan horse, these stallions might remind you of them. If you added a full mane and tail, they would look very similar. 

The Breyer Stablemate Morgan Stallion, sculpted by Maureen Love, compared to the East Friesian Sultan II. (Photo from Identify Your Breyer)

Here is another comparison. Note the similar neck and shoulder to the East Friesian to the right and the Maureen Love Morgan directly above.

The horse to the left is the famous Welsh Cob sire Mathrafal Brenin (f.1911)

All three have similar body shapes. That's something that model horse artists, especially those who came of age during the golden era of customizing, are skilled in recognizing. We know that it wouldn't take much work to make the Morgan Stallion look like either Sultan II or Mathrafal Brenin. 

Breed Mythologies

Why would an old-fashioned Morgan look like a Welsh Cob or a Dutch hart-draver? 

Weren't we all taught that the founder of the breed, Justin Morgan, was by a Thoroughbred stallion and out of a mare of Thoroughbred and Arabian breeding? Those breeds don't really look like this.

Here is a mature Thoroughbred stallion from the same time frame as Warner, the East Friesian at the top of this post. It is hard to imagine Morgan type coming from a sire like this, especially if bred to a daughter of similar breeding.

Wagner (f.1882), pictured in an article in the Thoroughbred Record discussing his upcoming sale in 1897. 

When I was a kid, the answer to that was that Justin Morgan was a "sport." This supposedly explained why he produced his own type so consistently. The idea of a sport, where an organism looks nothing like its parents but then produces copies of itself, isn't part of modern genetics.

It didn't take advances in genetics to undermine that idea, however. When it comes to Morgans, questions about the difference in body type and the official pedigree have a long, colorful history. 

Gilded Age Flamewar

Modern equestrians are not unique in their appetite for drama. The only difference is that in the past, it happened (ever so slowly) over the editorial pages of agricultural journals. One of the most entertaining of these involved speculation about the origins of Justin Morgan. It played out in Wallace's Monthly between 1878 and 1879.

At that time, the story that Justin Morgan was a son of the Thoroughbred "True Briton" and out of "Wildair mare" was widely accepted. However, a conflicting account had been previously dismissed. Justin Morgan's son, Justin Morgan Jr., provided this information in a 1842 letter that was included in an essay on the Morgan Horse, published in 1857.

"I know that my father always, while he lived, called him a Dutch horse"

In July of 1878, O. W. Cook wrote an article for Wallace's Monthly titled "The Pedigree Furnished The Morgan." In it, he shared information that undermined the story that True Briton (also known as Beautiful Bay) was the sire. He also pointed out that "a type of Dutch horse" was present in the area at the time. 

Then, in February of 1879, he wrote a follow-up article when additional information came to light. 

"All I expected to do in the way of reconstruction was to establish, in a general way, that the Morgan was a Dutch horse; or, at least, to insist that his owner’s representations should not be longer ignored. I now find it my duty to offer more definite and particular materials... I consider the following advertisement so important that I transcribe it in full. It fits into the vacuum in the Morgan’s lineage as a fragment of pottery fits into its complement.”

Cook then goes on to include a stud advertisement for Young Bulrock, a stallion "of the Dutch breed" who stood in Springfield the year before Justin Morgan was foaled. There are replies of agreement both from the editor and at least one reader who found Mr. Cook's research compelling. 

In June 1879, Dr. William Leonard wrote to express his contempt for the idea. He suggested that Justin Morgan used Dutch as a pet name, perhaps because he "was the biggest when he lay down." (In subsequent responses, this comment was ridiculed as just as nonsensical as it might seem to modern readers.) Leonard further said of Justin Morgan:

"He must have known that in [True Briton and Wild Air] was found in that day... the best blood, in the common acceptation of the term, that no Dutch horse, or violent cross, could, for one moment, compare..."

Since Justin Morgan was said to be of "upright character", it was not possible that he could claim that the horse was "of the best blood" (which Morgan did) when it had no Thoroughbred blood. That would be a dishonorable lie. Dr. Leonard also insisted that no reputable dealer would try to market "Dutch horses" as roadsters. Everyone knew they were unfit for it! 

It can be assumed that Dr. Leonard was thinking of large drafts, then commonly called "Flemish Horses." He was unaware that Dutch hart-dravers had been bred for generations for precisely that purpose. To be fair to him, most American horsemen were unaware. The editor, John Wallace, replied to this. 

"The theory that [the Dutch horses in the area] were the great heavy team horses from the valley of the Conestoga, in Pennsylvania, is all moonshine."

In the next month's issue, Cook responded to the comment about "violent crosses", saying,

"All these fancies mean just this, that the Doctor prefers to trace his colts to an apochryphal thoroughbred, rather than to a Dutch horse, fearing that the latter is some no-account brute.”

The editor comes down on the side of Mr. Cook, saying the facts were on his side. It is interesting to note, however, that the Thoroughbred pedigree is still the accepted version almost 100 years later. Why?

The Central Myth

The year-long argument between the two men might seem like the nineteenth-century version of a social media spat. One can almost imagine a Mrs. Leonard telling her husband that it is not the end of the world if someone in the Wallace's Monthly is wrong. However, Mr. Cook was pushing back against a central myth in the equestrian world, which was that good horses must have Eastern blood. (He likely wrote for John Wallace because, as a supporter of trotters, his magazine was more open to questioning the idea.)

This is important because this myth distorted the stories told about a lot of breeds that were standardized at the turn of the last century. Modern genetic testing is calling a lot of those stories into question, but artists (and judges of equine art) might already see the truth in body shapes.