30 Famous Western Horses
Roy Rogers and Trigger at the peak of their fame in the 1940s.
Back in the Saddle Again
Ever wondered what Gene Autry's horse's name was? How about what happened to Tim Holt's steeds? In this article, you'll find information about 23 of the most iconic horses in Western films and their famous cowboy riders. To whet your appetite, here's the top 10:
- Trigger (Roy Rogers)
- Silver (Buck Jones)
- Black Jack (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
- Buttermilk (Dale Evans)
- Champion (Gene Autry)
- Koko (Rex Allen)
- Loco (Pancho)
- Silver (The Lone Ranger)
- Black Diamond/Rush (Lash LaRue)
- Ring Eye (Smiley Burnette)
Roy Rogers and Trigger in an iconic photo from the 1940s.
1. Trigger (Roy Rogers)
Trigger first appeared in the film, The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938 starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland under the name Golden Cloud. He was Miss de Havilland's horse in the film. Roy Rogers bought the Palomino stallion and renamed him Trigger.
Trigger was never bred, as many think. Therefore, Trigger, Jr. was not his descendant. Roy rode Trigger in many of his films and in his television series. He is the most famous horse in film history. According to the official Roy Rogers website:
Trigger learned 150 trick cues and could walk 50 feet (15 meters) on his hind legs (according to sources close to Roy). Trigger became such a ham that as soon as he heard applause he would start bowing and ruin that trick. He could sit in a chair, sign his name “X” with a pencil, lie down for a nap and cover himself with a blanket.
Trigger died in 1965.
2. Silver (Buck Jones)
Silver made 73 films from 1922 until 1942 and was Buck Jones' horse in approximately 50 of those pictures. These include The Cowboy and the Countess (1926), Shadow Ranch (1930), Boss of Lonely Valley (1937), and Forbidden Trails (1941), all of which featured Silver on the movie poster.
Their partnership ended when Jones died in the infamous Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston on November 28, 1942. Fire and toxic smoke spread so quickly that several clubgoers were found dead with drinks still in their hand. Jones was found slumped under his table severely burned and died of his injuries two days later.
3. Black Jack (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
Black Jack was originally called Thunder and was ridden by Wild Bill Elliott in 16 films about the famous 1940s comic-strip cowboy, Red Ryder. Allan Lane took over the role in 1946 for an additional seven movies with the same horse.
In 1947, Allan Lane changed his name to "Rocky" Lane, he bought Thunder, and renamed him Black Jack. They appeared in almost 100 films together, with over thirty of those being filmed in 1947–53 alone.
Buttermilk was Dale Evans' buckskin quarter horse and he co-starred—with Trigger—on "The Roy Rogers Show," a TV Western that NBC broadcast from 1951–57.
4. Buttermilk (Dale Evans)
Buttermilk was Dale Evans' buckskin quarter horse, who appeared with Dale in many of her films and later became iconic (along with Trigger) on The Roy Rogers Show. She lived from 1941 until 1972.
Recommended
Many sites on the internet list Dale's horse as Buttercup. A buttercup is a flower that will kill a horse if eaten.
Gene Autry posing with Champion the Wonder Horse in 1939.
Palgrave, Robert Harry Inglis, Sir, 1827-1919, via Wikimedia Commons/Photoscape
5. Champion (Gene Autry)
There were actually three different Champions ridden by Gene Autry. The original Champion first appeared in 1935's Melody Trail and the pair combined for 51 additional films until his death in 1947.
Champion Jr. worked in film from 1946 to 1950, but was replaced by Television Champion, who appeared in Gene's 1950–53 films, all 91 episodes of The Gene Autry Show (1950–56), and all 26 episodes of The Adventures of Champion (1955–56).
All of the Champions performed a wide variety of tricks, including playing dead, dancing the hula and Charleston, and jumping through rings of fire. The original Champion even received thousands of fan letters each month.
6. Koko (Rex Allen)
Known as "The Miracle Horse of the Movies," Koko was a white-maned, white-tailed chocolate-colored chestnut stallion who performed in over 30 films as Rex Allen's horse. Rex loved the horse so much he took him with him to his ranch when he retired. Koko lived from 1940 to 1967.
7. Loco (Pancho)
Loco only appeared in just two films with Pancho, in 1949 and 1950, but continued to be his horse in the television series, The Cisco Kid, from 1950 to 1956.
Silver may not have been the most famous Western horse by sight, but everyone remembers him because of The Lone Ranger's catchphrase, "Hi ho Silver, away!"
8. Silver (The Lone Ranger)
Silver was in the only two films as the Lone Ranger's horse that can still be found. More were filmed on the back lots of Republic Pictures, but are not available. Silver would continue to be the Ranger's horse in the television series of the same name.
Lash Larue showing off on Black Diamond, the horse he later renamed Rush.
9. Black Diamond/Rush (Lash LaRue)
I can not find the dates of the horse's birth or death. However, I can tell you that LaRue's horse was Black Diamond and at a later date the name was changed to Rush.
Thanks to Marilyn Ingalls, we know where Black Diamond is buried. Black Diamond was buried at 20 South Michigan Ave, Coldwater, Michigan.
According to Marilyn, the current owner, Joy Hodges, was riding him and a car hit them.
Smiley Burnette's horse went by Black-eyed Nellie and Ring-eyed Nellie before settling on Ring Eye, so named for obvious reasons.
10. Ring Eye (Smiley Burnette)
Smiley made over 62 films with Gene Autry. He left Gene to make 56 films with the Durango Kid and came back for Autry's final six films. He also spent time with Roy Rogers and Sunset Carson. His horse through all this went through three name changes; Black-eyed Nellie, Ring-eyed Nellie and finally just Ring Eye.
11–12. Scout and Reno/Rebel (Johnny Mack Brown)
Johnny started out on a white steed called Scout (pictured above in 1935's Courageous Avenger). Later, he changed to a Palomino, first named Reno and then changed to Rebel.