A Morgan would be a great choice. We bought our first Morgan a couple of years ago and he has the sweetest disposition. He is my husband's buddy and work horse. He leaves the other horses, and even his food, & comes to the gate as soon as he sees my husband. We can put the neighbor kids on him bareback, three at a time, and he just follows my husband around the corral. He is a real people horse.
As for work, he is about as cowey as any horse we've ever been around. My husband has chased a lot of cows on him and the horse just homes in on the cow and turns on a dime. He is also turning into a great team penning horse. This Morgan is 6 years old and seems to have finished his growing this past winter. He has filled in and is quite muscular compared to even a year ago. He was in good condition when we bought him - he just still had some growing to do.
This horse also took off one day when we were finished riding. My husband had taken off the bridle and suddenly there went the horse, saddle still on. He was herding a flock of ducks! Yesterday, we were up at our friends' home and the horse spotted a flock of chickens and dropped his head and started herding them. He is hard on dogs, though. He was harrassed by dogs where he lived before, and will bite a dog in a heartbeat.
Other friends bought 2 Morgans a couple of years ago from a different source. They are novice riders and these were their first horses. They had the horses trained by the fellow they bought them from, and sent one horse back as unsatisfactory. He was just more than they could handle, and the seller traded him for another Morgan. They're very happy with their horses. But, they have brought one to be trained further. This is the Morgan that hardly gets ridden and is ridden by a total novice when he is used. This trainer (a friend) loves the horse, but says he is a little nervous. I don't know if that's because of his particular breeding, how he was trained and handled originally, or how the novice is handling him.
As others have said, there are wonderful horses and buttheads in every breed. But, you probably will be off to a good start with a Morgan.
> Years ago, as a kid, I read lots
> of articles, stories, etc. about
> Morgan horses. The stories made
> them out to be great horses that
> could do just about anything.
> However, there generally is
> another side to the story.
> What are the advantages and
> disadvantages of Morgan horses for
> a farm family who is considering
> buying their first horse and are
> relatively inexperienced with
> horses.
> Thanks
