How a Morgan goes at a fence
The Morgan packs a lot of horse into a compact frame: a strong, crested neck, a deep chest, hardy feet, and a willing, people-focused mind that notices how things work. His escapes tend to combine force and curiosity. He leans his chest into a rail to reach through or over, rubs his neck and hindquarters along posts until fixings loosen, and investigates gate hardware with a persistence that suggests he remembers yesterday's attempt and resumes it. Because he is smaller than a draft or warmblood, fence spacing set for a bigger horse can also leave him a lower rail to push under or a corner gap that fits his narrower frame. Inspect height, low spacing, hardware, and post strength as one connected system rather than separate chores.
Load the line at Morgan height and look low as well
Begin at the gate and walk the inside, pushing firmly on each rail at the height his chest meets it, then bending to test the lowest rail or strand with outward pressure from a knee. Sight down the line for a rail that has taken a permanent bow, split ends at bolt holes, and screws or nails standing proud where rubbing has worked them loose, tapping doubtful boards rather than trusting their colour. Rock every few posts and all corner posts, checking the ground line for movement, soft soil after rain, and the polished patch that shows where he rubs daily. A Morgan turned out with companions will test hardest along the stretch facing those companions or facing the barn at feeding time, so give those runs extra attention and look there for fresh hair, bent fittings, and pawed ground inside the line.
Check that nothing in the field helps him: a trough, block, or round bale feeder tight against the fence raises his front end and changes the leverage entirely, while a shelter corner adjoining the line can be climbed by a handy horse. Keep those items pulled in from the boundary, and clear fallen branches that bridge wire or weigh tape down into a step-over.
Prove gates against leaning and mouthing combined
Close the gate and lean on it from inside at his shoulder height, hold the pressure, and watch the latch, hinges, and receiving post share the strain, because a Morgan rarely gives a gate one sharp blow; he rests weight on it and keeps it there. Then try the latch as he would, with nudges upward and sideways and repeated rattling, and secure any fitting that creeps under that treatment with a fastening that needs proper fingers and a second action. Check the gate hangs level so the bottom gap stays too small to start a push-under, confirm hinge pins cannot lift, and inspect the post bases on both sides for the loosening that daily leaning produces long before the gate itself looks wrong. If he waits at the gate for feeds, consider feeding further inside the field so the hardware is not loaded by habit twice a day.
Make rechecks follow his habits, not the calendar alone
Repeat the full circuit after storms and ground-softening rain, whenever turnout groups change, and promptly after you catch him leaning or mouthing at a fitting, because that observation tells you exactly which component to strengthen before it fails. Keep brief notes on repeat spots so a chronically worked corner gets rebuilt rather than endlessly retightened. If a Morgan still engineers an exit and is found on a nearby track, a ready profile on KinsLe in the Lost Pet Alert System puts the word out locally and lets whoever is holding him get in touch about bringing him home.