Ducky, one of 18 horses currently owned by the Disneyland Resort, takes a look out of its stall in the barn at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ducky makes a trip to the outside portion of its own stall at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. When it, and the other 17 horses are not being used at Disneyland to pull the horse-drawn streetcars, they are taken here to live. The horses typically work 3-4 hours a day for three days at the park, then are rotated back to the ranch for several days. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Alexis Cole, a stable attendant, stands with Lucky, one of the 18 horses the Disneyland Resort currently owns and uses at Disneyland to pull its horse-drawn streetcars on Main Street U.S.A. and for other special events such as parades. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Audrey Zamorano, a stable attendant, cleans out one of the stables in the barn at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. Each horse gets its own indoor/outdoor stalls, there are 20 stalls at the ranch. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Each Disneyland Resort horse has its own harnesses and reins, that stay at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco, that hang on the wall of the harness room in the barn when the horse is not at the Resort. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
These white harnesses in the harness room at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco, are used on horses for special events at the Disneyland Resort, such as weddings. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Audrey Zamorano, a stable attendant at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco, leads a horse, while other attendants follow, back into the barn after spending a few hours in the turnout corral just “horsing” around. Unless there is inclement weather, or it is too hot, the horses at the Circle D spend 2-3 hours a day in the corral. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jessie Mantei, a trainer, attaches the harness of one of the horses at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco to a training cart. When the horses are not being used at the Disneyland Resort to pull the horse-drawn streetcars on Main Street U.S.A., they spend time at the ranch, including continuous training while at the ranch. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Horses staying at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco, always get to spend several hours in a corral on their own or with other horses – standing around or horsing around as they wish every day, except in inclement weather. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jennifer Gable, stage manager of the Circle D Ranch in Norco, stands by some of the bales of hay horses eat at the Disneyland Resort owned facility while staying there and not pulling the street cars at Disneyland. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Several of the special carts and wagons stored at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. On the far end is one of the original stagecoaches built by Disney for one of the original attractions at Disneyland, the Stagecoach Ride in Frontierland. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ducky is curious about the photographer near the outside portion of its stall at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. The horses are free to stay inside or outside in their stalls at the ranch. Many horses like to stand outside when it rains. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The inside of the barn at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. There are 20 indoor/outdoor stalls for horses. Currently, the Disneyland Resort has 18 horses. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A view towards the free play corral outside the barn at the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
One of the horses pulls the Horse-Drawn Streetcar down Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland. When the horse is not working its 3 days at the theme park (3 hours a day) it is returned back to the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. While at Disneyland, it stays in a barn located behind New Orleans Square. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
This house was used by the family that once own the grounds that is now the Disney-owned Circle D Ranch in Norco. The 5 1/4-acre property is now the home of the horses used by the Disneyland Resort on Main Street U.S.A. and other special events. The horses stay here when not being used at the resort. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)
When the equines on the front of the Horse-Drawn Streetcars finish their three to four days a week working at Disneyland, they get to go home to their new digs in Norco.
“It’s big and comfortable here. The horses love it,” said Jennifer Gable, stage manager at the ranch.
The Circle D Ranch, as it is called, was in the northwest section of Disneyland’s backstage (what Disneyland calls areas its visitors cannot see), behind the berm that hid it from view. But plans called for using that space as part of the new 14-acre “Star Wars” land now under construction.
After a two-year search, a 5 1/4 acre property was found in Norco suitable for Disney’s and the horses’ needs. The property was purchased from a trust owned by the DeRuyter family. It was a chicken egg ranch and a Christmas Tree farm in its history. It included the house, which has been converted into offices for the ranch hands.
The new ranch, that opened in June 2017, is bigger than the old one by nearly 2 acres, giving the horses and trainers plenty of room.
“Each horse gets its own private stall in our new barn, including their own private outdoor section,” Gable said.
The barn has 20 stalls, room for more horses, as Disneyland owns 18 horses. Besides the stalls, there is a harness room – where each horse’s harness hangs when not in use at the ranch or at Disneyland on the Streetcars.
“The harnesses are individually fitted to each horse,” Gable said.
The harness room also holds harnesses used for weddings, or for pulling other wagons at special events like parades in Norco. One of those wagons is the original, now restored, Stagecoach used in the original attraction of the same name at the park in the 1950s.
While at the ranch, and at Disneyland, their diet is carefully controlled. They get two different types of hay and a variety of grains. They are fed through a device that makes the horses eat as if they’re in the field, and cannot just gorge themselves.
Veterinarians monitor their diet, and check the horses regularly, including their weight that can reach nearly 2,000 pounds for some.
The horses also get regular baths, and their stalls are cleaned on a daily basis.
“Some of the horses are really neat and do their duty in one corner. Others are pretty messy,” said Gable.
There are two large corrals (turnouts) where the horses get to spend 2-3 hours a day just hanging out with other horses – weather permitting.
“We don’t do any training with them while they’re in there, it’s just a chance for them to just be a horse,” said Gable.
But the horses also undergo training at the ranch; for the more experienced horses, it’s a refresher course. For the younger horses, this is where their training begins.
That training starts with pulling a cart, and getting them accustomed to the noises at Disneyland. Leigha Beck, a trainer at the rancch, said they use a variety of things including drums and tambourines to make all kinds of noise.
“We even do a lot of clapping and jumping around the horse, just like what might happen at Disneyland,” Beck said.
The horses have a regular schedule posted in the stables, listing their training and their shifts at Disneyland.
When it’s a horse’s turn to work at the park, it is loaded into a special trailer and transported to the park – about a 45-minute drive. While at Disneyland, they stay in a barn behind New Orleans Square, when not working their three-hour shift on Main Street U.S.A. The ones that have been working at the park are then put in the trailers and returned to the ranch.
There are five different types of large horses stabled at the ranch and used at Disneyland including Percherons, Belgians, Brabants, Shires and Clydesdales.
