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The Famous Horses of Hollywood: Bonanza

By John McGran

Key Takeaways

  • A trusty steed was a cowboy’s most important accessory
  • A breakdown of Bonanza’s four-legged co-stars
  • When Bonanza was cancelled, Lorne Greene bought Buck

 

A horse is a horse, of course, of course—unless that horse happens to have carted around one of our all-time favorite cowboy actors.

Saddle up and meet some of Hollywood’s leading men—and the horses they rode in on.

These amazing animals stole our hearts and effortlessly carried the day while chasing the bad guys, corralling cattle, sidestepping bullets and arrows, or simply sauntering into town for supplies.

A trusty steed was indeed a cowboy’s most important accessory.

Many an unbreakable bond was formed between rider and ride. Some bonds were so strong the well-trained horse was put out to pasture with its actor master after the cameras stopped rolling.

Trigger … Silver … Scout … Fans of Westerns have become familiar with so many famous horses. So let’s stray from the beaten path and take a look at a few of these lesser-known, but just as recognizable and talented horses.

Our journey starts with a bonanza of four-legged co-stars.

Since Bonanza was the first TV Western to be filmed in color, it was of the utmost importance for the Cartwright family mounts to sport eye-catching colors and traits.

Buck was the half-ton Buckskin beauty that helped Ben Cartwright navigate his rugged ranch and the trails that led to Virginia City and beyond.

When Bonanza was cancelled, Lorne Greene bought Buck for fear that the horse would end up in a bad way. He then donated Buck to a therapeutic riding center where the horse taught mentally and physically challenged children to ride until his passing in 1992 at age 45, an unusually long life for a horse.

For the first six years of the series, Little Joe was riding high on a gorgeous American Paint named Tomahawk—a horse that was introduced to viewers with its character name of Cochise. Sadly, the flashy horse met a horrifying and untimely off-screen end at the hands of a knife-wielding slasher.

Michael Landon so cared for his equine co-star he offered a reward for information leading to the capture of the perpetrator. The killer was never found. And from that point on, Landon rode a variety of Paints with similar markings.

It takes a big horse to carry a big man. Meet Chub, the 1,250-pound dark bay half-American Quarter Horse, half-Thoroughbred tough enough to trot about with the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Hoss on its back. The horse with a distinctive crooked blaze down his face remained with the series during its entire 14-season run—and even outlived Hoss actor Dan Blocker who died in 1972.

It was third time lucky for eldest Cartwright son Adam who got around on a horse named Scout. Two other horses, Candy and Beauty, were given first crack at the plum role. Both proved too fractious in front of the cameras. Enter the well-behaved Scout, an 1,100-pound Thoroughbred and a good match for actor Pernell Roberts.

Scout was a sorrel gelding which means it was a dark red horse with a mane and tail the same shade or lighter than the body coat color. Cowboy and horse co-starred for three seasons before handlers had to retire the mount and replace him with a horse nearly identical in appearance. Look closely and you’ll notice the later version has four white socks as opposed to the three sported by the original Scout.

When it comes to Hollywood’s hottest leading horses, we’ve only just scratched the surface. Heck, you could fill several barns alone with the horses that galloped into the sunset with John Wayne in the saddle.

So be sure to saddle up and ride on back out here for future installments of our look at horses, a cowboy’s best friend. We’ll unmask the memorable mounts ridden by such stars as the Duke, Jimmy Stewart, Joel McCrea and James Arness, who interestingly enough rode the same horse as Lorne Greene did on Bonanza.

Happy trails!

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