Fast Facts The ranch got its start by breeding horses for U.S. Remount Service Program referred to as War Horses. Their ranch is a small family ranch operation. The ranch is located near Raton, New Mexico and Colorado border.
Moore Ranch began in 1872, after Alice Moore s great-grandparents Thomas Sims and Nancy Gillespie traveled by oxcart from Tennessee to northern New Mexico with 4-year-old daughter Cora on board. They set about homesteading the 160-acre property. Cora eventually married Landon D. Moore. Cora and Landon had four children. Their son Landon K. Moore inherited the property and purchased his brother Wilson s rights to the land. After marrying Mary, a registered nurse, Landon K. grew the ranch to encompass 23,000 acres and 400 cattle.
Alice was born in 1937. After graduating high school at 17, Alice intended to go to veterinary college. Unfortunately, her father passed away that summer. Her mother asked Alice to help run the ranch; Alice agreed and never looked back. Mary took care of bookkeeping and everything indoors, and Alice took on the outdoor responsibilities. Alice learned about running the ranch from long-term ranch help and her time spent with her father. She has spent her life protecting her land from the elements and making improvements to the cattle operation.
Moore Ranch has always raised horses to manage the cattle operation and has also earned the AQHA Legacy Breeder designation. The horse program really picked up in the 1920s when the Bureau of Animal Industry Remount Service program encouraged Landon K. to breed Thoroughbreds for the U.S. Cavalry. Webster s Dictionary defines Remount as a fresh horse to take the place of one lost or disabled. This definition was the basis of the U.S. Remount Service and the U.S. Army s Horse Breeding Program.
What was the Remount Service Program? The United States Remount Service operated from 1908 to 1948 and produced quality horses. They were constantly searching for a better mount, one that could do the job under saddle more efficiently, stay sound in spite of hard use and have sufficient speed when needed. The search for athletic and mental ability led to a study of practical conformation and an understanding of bloodlines.
During the peak years, the Remount Service placed 700 stallions on ranches and farms throughout the country. The United States Remount Department gave ranchers an economic reason to raise better horses. There were over 1 million horses used in World War I. They were used a cavalry mounts on the front line and transportation. They also pulled heavy wagons with food and ammunition and carried individual packs holding large artillery shells. The war would not have been won without them. During World War II, tanks and aircraft were seen more regularly than in earlier wars. However, horses were still used in difficult terrain in areas of Oahu, Hawaii, and were used in large scale operations with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy and Operation Mars in Burma. Countless well-known American Quarter Horses trace their ancestry back to one or more Remount stallions.
Moore Ranch has owned or leased several studs over the years to breed to its broodmares. These include Brush Mount, one of the foundation sires of AQHA, and his son Nugget McCue S, bred by J.W. Shoemaker. Alice bred her best mare to Bright Bar, a son of Three Bars out of AQHA Hall of Famer mare Maddon s Bright Eyes. That stallion was Mr Blue Bar.
Alice is an anchor in the Raton ranching community. She s maintained her family s operation for nearly six decades, and she doesn t show signs of slowing down any time soon. With a core herd of cattle and top broodmares, she s hunkering down through the dry times.