Challa Station

Challa Station Morgans..... Sound bodies, sound minds and pure hearts.

   
It usually takes only one experience with a Morgan horse to turn your life completely around. Morgan owners will tell you that until you share your life with a Morgan, you don’t know the absolute pleasure that is derived from a true partnership with a horse. The feeling that you are in complete unity can only come from a horse who loves people. When you gain their trust you gain their heart and there’s nothing they won’t do for you. One of the many traits for which Morgans are famous is that they are real ‘people horses.’ They are horses that are curious, friendly, intelligent, stylish and gregarious. They love people and people love them.
That’s why you see so few Morgans under saddle advertised for sale. They become lifetime partners with their owner, who wouldn’t sell them for all the tea in China. They are also highly prized as safe family horses because of their inclination to think through a situation. Rather than fearing something new, a Morgan is more likely to want to investigate it.  You’ll often hear a Morgan owner say, “He took it all in his stride” or “don’t worry, she’s a Morgan!” They can be so unflappable, accommodating and forgiving that they can make an average rider look like a true equestrian.
Morgans have awesome personalities and take any opportunity to team up with their owner, whatever the situation. It is well known amongst Morgan enthusiasts that when you visit a Morgan stud as a prospective buyer, the horse will choose you, you don’t choose them. Then one Morgan will lead to another, or a partbred will lead to a purebred, because it seems that the Morgan is the horse you’ve been searching for all of your life.

Challa Station Symphony at 2 years

Morgans are thrifty keepers who have excellent hooves and are very often ridden barefoot. They are very trainable horses who can do anything and have a work ethic second to none. While the majority of Morgan horses in Australia are tightly held family or breeding horses, there are some who are out competing with the best in a variety of disciplines from endurance, dressage, rodeo barrel racing, camp drafting, eventing, showing to working equitation. According to one Morgan enthusiast, they have “a bright, calm intelligence and energy with Baroque style and looks.” Another says,” They are the most versatile, beautiful and people loving horses in the world. They are hard working, loyal, funny, trustworthy, trainable, honest, sure footed, stylish and beautiful animals ….. is there any other horse like it?” We think not.
Morgan horses have only been available in Australia for a couple of decades. They can still be difficult to find and sometimes the only option is to purchase a youngster rather than watching for one that is already under saddle to come on the market. After all, if this is your lifetime horse - and Morgans are known for their longevity-   it is worth waiting just that little bit longer!  
With increasing numbers of Morgans being imported and bred across Australia, there is a great opportunity for more people to get involved with the breed. All it will take is a visit to a nearby Morgan stud, or catch up with some Morgan people at a show or event, and your relationship with horses could change forever.

 

Challa Station Tarantella and Spinifex, 2019 foals

The Challa Station Morgans 

Horses have been bred on Challa station since 1888, when George Chandler Dowden took up the lease on this beautiful
500 000 acre property in the lower Murchison region of outback WA.

The original horses that inhabited this country and assisted the early pioneers to take up the land were, indeed, a hardy lot. Sadly the original bloodlines from the Challa Station horses were lost when motorbikes were deemed more practical for stockwork. The bulk of the plant was sold off in the 1970s and 80s, and the old horses that were left eventually died.

When Ashley and Debbie Dowden decided they were going to bring some horses back to Challa, they knew they needed a breed that was going to be able to handle the tough conditions, the droughts, the extreme heat and the cold. They needed a horse with good conformation, sound hooves and a kind and willing temperament. A real working horse. 

After a great deal of research and some trial and error, they chose Morgans.

The Challa Station Morgans roam in herds in an environment that is as close to the horses’ natural environment as it is possible to be. They live in huge paddocks, some 80km square. They walk between 15 and 25km a day as they roam over the country, selecting the feed that best suits their palate and needs. Their hooves are reminiscent of the wild brumbies further north, and none are shod. The foals are handled from birth and are comfortable around humans, but as they grow up as virtually wild horses, they live the best of both worlds. 
 

Research has shown that foals who grow up with plenty of gentle, natural exercise, develop denser bones than foals that are confined in small areas.They go on to be sounder horses for longer than their confined counterparts. The Challa Morgans develop in conditions that promote optimal bone growth and soundness.
 

Research also shows that young horses that grow up in a herd environment are more likely to be easier to train and become better riding horses than those who grow up in solitary situations. Furthermore they exhibit no symptoms of mental or emotional stress.  
 

The Challa Morgans have sound bodies, sound minds and pure hearts.

Challa Station occasionally offers for sale exceptional pure or part bred Morgans. Check or "For Sale" page for details.