Horses - Disney Animals

You’ll spot horse-drawn carriages on Main Street U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom park, but to interact with our majestic horses, take a sleigh ride or a scenic jaunt along a trail at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.

You can see a variety of breeds, including Quarter Horse, Percheron, Paint, Gypsy Vanner, Clydesdale, Belgian, Appaloosa, Arabian and Shetland ponies, at Tri-Circle-D Ranch.

Horses In the Wild
There are 4 main groups of horses: light, heavy, pony and feral or wild horse. North America, Eurasia and Africa are where wild horses roamed the open plains before being domesticated by humans more than 5,000 years ago.

Walt Disney’s passion for horses continues today at our theme parks—and in our movies and television shows.

Hoofing It Down Main Street, U.S.A.
As you stroll, keep your eyes open for our beloved draft horses, which include Clydesdales, Percherons and Belgians, who pull the Main Street Trolley. Draft horses are the largest breed of horses and are bred to pull heavy loads.

However, our Main Street Trolley is actually designed to be lightweight, which helps us provide the best care and safety to our horses.

Horses and More on Parade
At Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (available seasonally), look for our specially trained horses that carry the Headless Horseman in the Boo-To-You Halloween Parade.

On the Ranch
Stroll around the barns at the Tri-Circle-D Ranch to see our horses and visit with animal care experts.

Free Fertilizer
Like many of the animals at Walt Disney World Resort, our horses provide a very important service—free fertilizer! Their poop is sent to our compost facility and turned into nutrient-rich compost, which is used by our Horticulture team to help keep the many gardens across the Resort in full bloom.

Top-Notch Care
All the horses and ponies at Walt Disney World Resort receive a balanced diet, daily bath, grooming, dental care, vaccinations, regular full physical exams and new horseshoes every 5 to 6 weeks. They rely on a team of animal care experts to assist them, including ranch hands, veterinarians, blacksmiths and nutritionists.

Horses on Screen
For any Disney television or film production that includes the use of horses, our Animals in Film & TV team collaborates with professional horse trainers and organizations such as the American Humane Association to ensure the safety and welfare of horses on set. If you visit the lobby of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, you can see a pictorial history of horses in Disney films.

The Walt Disney Company is passionately committed to the welfare of the horses that call Walt Disney World Resort home, the protection of their wild relatives and the preservation of the wild spaces they rely upon.

Threats to Equids
Habitat loss, competition for resources and hunting all pose threats to wild equids, including wild horses, zebras and wild asses. The Przewalski’s horse, also known as the Asian or Mongolian wild horse, once dwindled to roughly 15 individuals, due to hunting and habitat destruction.

Reintroduction Success
In China, with help from the Disney Conservation Fund and other conservation organizations, conservationists working with local communities reintroduced Przewalski’s horses to the wild. Although they are still considered endangered— this is an amazing success for a species that was practically extinct! Disney support has also helped nonprofit organizations rescue domestic horses in the aftermath of emergencies like fires and floods.