Any retelling of the story made popular with younger readers by Marguerite Henry's (still in print) will suffer by comparison to that book. But true horse stories are rare in an area where any horse story goes. So this non-fiction approach to the history of Justin Morgan -- ""foundation sire of the only truly American breed of horses"" has its place. One could wish it had been done with the spark and verve the subject matter warrants. Justin Morgan was named after his beloved first owner, and the beautiful bay colt proved himself exceptional as work, race and show pony. The factual record of his travels from owner to owner is blended with anecdotes of early America, but somehow the whole lacks dramatic impact. Such interesting peripheral data as the achievements of future generations of Morgan horses is introduced as little more than a series of facts and incidents to round out the genealogical table so to speak.