All About George Washington's Horse

clarissa
Called the George Washington horse, a horse owned by George Washington was sure to make history books. A George Washington horse was a horse that was talented able to go through battles if need be.

The term George Washington Horse actually does not refer to one horse but many horses. In other words, George Washington had several horses that could be called a George Washington Horse.

For instance, George Washington's horse at Valley Forge was called different names at different times. Sometimes this horse was called Roger Leo. And other times, this horse was called Ellen Edeberg.

Several of George Washington's horses were with him during times of the war. Two of the horses went by the names of Nelson and Blueskin.

George Washington's horses played a huge part in his life as he even talked about his horses in some of his writings. For instance, in one letter he talks about trading in a black horse.

Still, even though George Washington's horses were many, it is commonly said that George Washington had a favorite horse. The favored George Washington horse went by the name of Magnolia, and she was a prize Arabian.

In the year 1788, George Washington gave up his prize horse in a trade to Light Horse Harry Lee. In exchange for the prized George Washington horse, George Washington gained 5000 acres of land. These 5000 acres of land were located right in Kentucky territory. So a George Washington Horse must have been worth a whole lot back then.

But now, years after the famed George Washington Horse has passed away, Mt Vernon has received a horse that is very similar to George Washington's Magnolia. He is a chestnut-colored Arabian horse and he is just a little bit smaller than the original Magnolia. Now this horse has become a vital part of the historical Virginia plantation.

When George Washington left this world, he owned 21 horses. And each one of them was a George Washington horse. George Washington was also heavily involved in horse breeding and racing.

Now, when people say George Washington horse they could be referring to a number of things. For instance, they could be talking about a time when George Washington was in his prime. They could be talking about the current horse on Mount Vernon that is similar to Magnolia or they could be talking about a racehorse. At least one present-day racehorse was given the name George Washington's horse.

Published by clarissa

Clarissa's been writing for over 10 years in several different sectors including her college newspapers, local magazines, and online media.  View profile

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  • Kathleen Kirsan8/17/2011

    Hello Clarissa, George Washington's mare Magnolia was not an arabian. George Washington, like many of his day after the genetics of the imported Fearnought caused a sensation of distance speed, referred to any horses that had Tb blood as 'arabian'. The best distance racing lines came from the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian, which were not arabian horses but Turcoman, who were labeled arabian to increase their value. Since King James imported the Markham Arabian- a real arab- and proclaimed it the best of the best even though it could not win a race against the English Running horses (precursor to the Tb) his subjects and those coming after them would label sires 'arabian' to increase their value. (Read Alexander MacKay-Smith's "Speed and the Thoroughbred" to get a good understanding of the real origins of the Tb.) In our day mtDNA studies of the Tb has proven that only 6 true arabians ever entered the tb gene pool, and those individuals actually slowed down the speed not increased it. In this country no true Arabian horse ever entered America until after 1800- never mind about the Lindsays Arabian either as he was Barb - not an arabian. Now back to Magnolia- she was a daughter of imported Selima- an early English Tb who was a daughter of the Godolphin Arabian out of a mare by the Darley Arabian. It was trendy to label American horses of Tb descent 'arabian' and Washington was one the worst offenders in this. Kathy

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