General Tsui, one of the Chinesse officials saw to it that all the Morgans were "housed" on deck in
specially built stalls where their health would not be impaired with foul air, and daylight would brighten their spirits as
well as add to their comfort. Just before sailing time he decided the stalls were not to his liking so he delayed sailing
time while they rebuilt some of the stalls.
The Morgans had been loaded the previous day and had overcome their nervousness. Even amid the screeching
and clatter of the winches, it was told they stood munching hay as though they were seasoned ocean travelers.
These are
excepts of General Tsui reports on arrival of Morgans in China. "We left United States October 1 and landed at Shanghai October
22. Bad storms gave us a send-off in the Eastern Pacific and welcomed us in the Western Pacific. The horses stabled on deck
took many a bath. But they stood the trip comfortably." "The horses will remain at Shanghai until the end of January when
they will be removed to the Northwest and the Southwest in the interior of China by airplane." "Red Rex has to be put down
shortly after arrival in Shanghi due to an accident."
"The appearance of the Morgans was a complete mystery to most of the China residents. There was nothing
done in the way of press relations. Only a few insiders were informed that the colorful procession of Mei-gwa Ma (American
horses) was destined to mingle with China's horse population and be swallowed up. "
That information was written just before the Communist goverment took over in China. Early in 1948,
turmoil broke out in China. The entire Morgan Horse program fell apart due to the revolution. All records on the original
26 Morgans were lost to our knowledge. Since 1949 very little information has come out of China about the Morgan horses.
There is evidence though that the new government had a keen eye for good horse flesh and either took
over an existing farm or set up a new breeding farm to breed the Morgan horse in China. There is evidence that the Morgan
horse is alive and well in China.
In the 1950's Dwight D. Eisenhower, then President of the United States, realized there was a great
need for understandings between nations. He felt that this should be done on a different level than government, and he initiated
a program called People to People Exchange. It proved to be a great breakdown of barriers between nations.
Due to the efforts of former President Nixon the doors to China were opened. For the first time a horse-oriented
tour visited the People's Republic of China. In the early 1980's there were 17 people with agricultural and equine interests
that went on a "Maupin" Tour of China for two weeks. The tour had a national guide and a local guide at each stop. They were
allowed to meet some horsemen of China. They were allowed to visit the Equestrian Center in Mongolia, near the town of Huhehot.
Outside of Huhehot, they toured a collective farm. There they saw the Three Rivers Horse, a Chinese
breed. They were told some of the horses there were half Three Rivers and half Morgan. They saw horses there of Morgan descent.
It was reported in a London paper that an American woman had defected to the China reds. She was said
to be a one-timer Vermonter, and that she was helping run a northern horse farm for the Chinese. At the time, she and others
were characterizing their Western stock as "a gift from the Russian government". Although everyone with inside knowledge knew
full well where the horses in question came from.
