THE JENNISON COLT
We shall continue talking about this family line started in the previous issue of the Guide and Bulletin, with a son of the Randolph Morgan. At the end of that article, I quoted Abijah Jennison in his glowing descripton of The Randolph Horse, Apparently Mr. Jennison, of Walden, Vt., brought at least one mare for breeding to him which resulted in the ..." bright, cherry bay colt", named as was the custom back then, the Jennison Colt, after his breeder. The colt was foaled in 1841, had a star and the black "points' of a bay with a "flowing mane and tail, according to Volume I of the AMH Register. He was almost 16 hands and weighed a little over 1200 lbs. His dam was described as being "black with brown nose and flanks" She was not highly thought of as a working horse, was described as "lazy and dull but a fast pacer." (Keep in mind that many folks in that time period kept a trotter or two along with their Morgans) This mare is listed as 16 hands and 1300 lbs. She had a .."thin, rat-tail and bright clear hazel eyes." Despite her size and lack of interest in working, she apparently was very strong and frequently broke log chains when used in the woods for logging. Mr. Jennison was her third owner, he bought her from Nathaniel Farrington of Walden, Vt. You will see this name later in the Chronicles, Jennison kept the bay colt for three years and then sold him to a man in Marshfield, Vt. who then sold him back again to Mr. Jennison, two years later. Apparently Mr. Jennison was a man with little or no money and probably used this colt for an income as he was once again sold to Maine and his story is unknown after that Volume I has at least three long paragraphs on the Jennison Colt written by people who owned or knew this horse. Mr. Jennison considered this colt to be perfect in his eyes, describes his ears as",,,had the same little, short, sharp, quick ear of the little Morgan." (Justin I presume) This was a vast improvement over his dams ears that were described as."...long and lapped some ." The Jennison Colt inherited his trotting speed from his dam and we can only guess that he may have been taken to local fairs for the friendly wager on the fastest horse there that day. Going back to the financial status or lack thereof, of Mr. Jennison, at one point in time, Jennison traded a pound of tea for a breeding to his Jennison Colt to a mare owned by Mr. James Heath, also of Walden, Vt. This story may seem unimportant to you as the reader but the result of this breeding will be the subject of the next Chronicle. I did not find pictures of the Jennison Colt but am including one of the Jennison property as seen today in Walden, Vt. It is said the house was moved from its original location to its present location, All the original barns and sheds are gone and been replaced, with a new dairy barn.
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