With my husband’s background as a mariner for almost 40 years, when we started looking for a name for our little farm and the Morgan breeding operation that is becoming our life, we looked to the sky for a solution. There it was, shining above the southern horizon… the Southern Cross, the smallest constellation in the sky, but one of the proudest, kind of like our Morgan horses.

The Australians affectionately refer to The Southern Cross as “Crux,” and their national flag bears its image. We took “CRUX” as our prefix, registered with the American Morgan Horse Association. Our 2008 foals will be the first to bear the CRUX prefix.

Our mission, at Southern Cross Morgans, is to preserve the history, and to promote the characteristics of the Foundation Morgan horse: Conformation, disposition, and willingness (the “bottom” and “heart” to get the work done). Our objectives are now simplified by our focus on Foundation bloodlines. A 100% Foundation Morgan must meet the following criteria: The sire line must trace to Justin Morgan (very top line of pedigree), and the horse must not have any saddlebred outcrosses after 1930. To learn more about the Foundation Morgan Horse, visit the website of the Foundation Morgan Horse Society (linked at the left of this page). Within the framework defining the Foundation Morgan Horse, we have also chosen to learn from the lessons that developed into the branch of Morgandom known as the Working Western Family. Like the horses that we love so much, we move forward with our head held high. -Ric & Rhonda Walker