The Morgan Horse Ranch at Point Reyes
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On a small hill above the Bear Valley Visitor Center at Point Reyes there is a red barn with white trim and a few working horses. It is the Morgan Horse Ranch, and for about three decades it bred and trained horses for national parks across the country.
Opened in 1970
The ranch opened on June 27, 1970, with support from the Northern California Morgan Horse Association. The National Park Service set it up for two jobs: to breed and train Morgans for rangers in other parks, and to show visitors a working horse operation. It sits on the old Bear Valley Ranch.
One Park Service account from Yellowstone gives the founding year as 1968. Point Reyes itself, and the association that funds the ranch, both say 1970.
Why Morgans
The Morgan is one of the first horse breeds developed in the United States, prized for stamina, brains and the ability to do many jobs. Rangers at Point Reyes ride them deep into the backcountry and along the beaches, where a horse disturbs less than a truck.
A smaller herd, still working
The breeding program was phased out in the late 1990s as more parks came to keep their own horses. The ranch did not close. A small herd of working horses is still there, and in 2016 a history of the ranch counted five Morgans. The Point Reyes National Seashore Association pays for it today.
Visiting
Park at the Bear Valley trailhead and walk up the maintenance road at the southeast end of the lot. The ranch marks its anniversary every year on or near June 27.
This is one entry in the full Bay Area horse history timeline.