Almost thirty-five years ago, I entered the horse world with a fresh mind and a future full of opportunity. I saw the cream of the crop, and everything else; I learned from each one. Today, I am breeding horses that I want to own as a horseman, and a trainer. Horses that are sensitive and highly tuned, with presence and poise, yet gentle enough to accept whatever they’re doing with ease. As a trainer, I am here to help and be a resource for anyone who desires to learn.
At Black Willow Morgans, we are breeding horses that horse people want to own. It is our passion and our life’s work. We have worked very hard to find and build upon two attributes that are very unique together. Unique because they are two components you don’t find together in much concentration in the same horse; components that almost always extinguish the other out. when you hear the word “gentle” you automatically think of a dull horse, or maybe a kid’s horse, or a beginner horse.
I believe that gentle can be a DNA component, a horse that’s natural inclination is never to bite or kick, but accept whatever happens to it, good or bad.
The direct opposite is the sensitive horse. A horse that detects and analyzes everything around it and responds in a micro-second. These horses can be the opposite of gentle, and be flighty, touchy, and hard to handle.
Here at Black Willow Morgans we have the blend of the two. An athlete that is tuned into the slightest cue from the rider…with the strength and gusto to hit the horizon or pull the barn down, yet compliant enough to easily wait for the moment you choose.
We think that makes for a perfect companion horse. That is why we say we are breeding horses that horse people want to own.
I think my fascination with the horse began with their aesthetic beauty. I see the exterior of the horse as art. The Morgan was the breed that captured me over thirty years ago. Yes, I am drawn to traits like upheadedness and willing to please, but the Morgan has always captured me with its mind and heart—its interior. I enjoy seeing the evidence of the excellence of the Morgan in my horses, that heart that carried soldiers to battle in the Civil War and Pony Express riders galloping across the plain. I appreciate what the Morgan is and the complexity of tasks that have been accomplished through the years and in my life. I am a horseman, the horse is my passion, and I am excited to show them to you. – Jeff Wilson
