Vermont UVM Morgan Horse Farm

Steve Davis, the Director of the University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm, is a bundle of energy, whose passion for Morgans is evident from his handshake. We were joining Steve for a tour, and I was interested in meeting a foal or two.

Steve took us over to UVM Opie, a three-month old bay colt, who will be auctioned off in UVM’s yearly raffle in October. After seeing Opie, I purchased 10 raffle tickets.

Steve has been working at the UVM Morgan Horse Farm for over 34 years, so has had a hand in naming and training many horses. He told us a bit about the training process, which starts with imprint handling at birth. This helps desensitize the horses early on. Steve demonstrated this a bit with Opie, before we went downstairs to the arena.

The UVM Morgan Horse Farm dates back to Colonial Joseph Battell, who assembled a herd of Morgans and started breeding them in the late 1800s. The farm is open to visitors and is housed in a beautiful white, Victorian style barn, with a lot of history. It is right outside of Middlebury, Vermont.

It was neat to observe Morgans' up close and get a better handle on their conformation. It was also nice to see them worked a bit in the indoor arena, where some of the apprentices were lunging them and also doing a bit of driving. Apprentices spend a year working on the farm. It is an intense year for them and a pretty special program.

Learn more about Vermont Equestrian Vacations near the UVM Morgan Horse Farm.

Darley Newman is the host of the Public Television series Equitrekking®, which takes viewers on horseback riding vacations around the world. Visit equitrekking.com and purchase Equitrekking DVDs, the Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback book and more at ShopDarley.com