When it comes to horse names, sometimes it is nice when your horse’s name has a story. Some connection to the past that you can share with others when you are out riding. That’s how I got the idea to expand on my list of 170+ Western Horse Names with this article and focus on just Cowboy Horse Names.
If you are looking for a nice, long list of famous horses check out this book on Amazon.com.
Here you’ll find a list of horses who belonged to a true cowboy (or cowgirl). Most are from movies and films. A few are known to have traveled around doing performances! Where possible I’ve grouped them by the horse’s color (when known)!
Table of Contents
Top 10 Cowboy Horse Names for Male Horses
- Trigger – Palomino, ridden by Roy Rogers.
- Duke – Gray, ridden by John Wayne
- Starlight – White (possibly a few spot Appaloosa based on historic photos), ridden by John Wayne
- Dollor – Chestnut/Sorrel, ridden by John Wayne
- Silver – White, ridden by the Lone Ranger
- Buck – Buckskin, ridden by Ben Cartwright in Bonanza
- Cochise – Paint, ridden by Little Joe in Bonanza
- Chub – Bay, ridden by Hoss in Bonanza
- Sport – Sorrel, ridden by Adam in Bonanza
- Rex – Black, starred in several movies including “The King of the Wild Horses“
Other Famous Cowboy Horses
Many of the horses and riders below were photographed and filmed in black and white. I have organized these horses by color when known, reasonably assumed or referenced in an article.
Bay Horses
- Amelia – Bay, ridden by Dan James
- Banner – Bay, ridden by Don Barry
- Can Can Lena – Dark bay, ridden by Stacey Westfall
- Chub – Bay, ridden by Hoss in Bonanza
- Cyclone – bay, ridden by Don Barry
- Ozzie – dark bay, ridden by Dan James
- Poncho – bay, ridden by Bobby Kerr
- Scamper – Bay, ridden by Charmayne James
- Smokey – Dark Bay or Black, ridden by Bernice Walsh McLaughlin
Black Horses
- Black Diamond – black, ridden by Lash Larue
- Black Jack – probably black, ridden by Allan Lane
- Boy– black, ridden by Tom Tyler
- Midnight – probably black, ridden by Hoot Gibson
- Midnight – probably black, ridden by Tim McCoy
- Rex – Black, starred in several movies including “The King of the Wild Horses“
- Thunder – black, ridden by Wild Bill Elliott
Buckskin Horses
- Buck – Buckskin, ridden by Ben Cartwright in Bonanza
- Buttermilk – Buckskin, ridden by Dale Evans
Palomino Horses
- Goldie – palomino, ridden by Hoot Gibson
- Lightning – Palomino, ridden by Tim Holt
- Loco – Palomino with at least one blue eye, ridden by “Pancho” in the Cisco Kid
- Reno – palomino, ridden by Johnny Mack Brown
- Rebel – palomino, ridden by Johnny Mack Brown (formerly namedReno)
- Silver King – palomino, ridden by Fred Thomson
- Spider Pig – palomino, ridden by Dan James
- Tarzan, the Wonder Horse – palomino, ridden by Ken Maynard.
- Trigger – Palomino, ridden by Roy Rogers.
Sorrel/Chestnut Horses
- Apollo – chestnut, ridden by Dan James
- Champion the Wonder Horse – chestnut, ridden by Gene Autry
- Copper – sorrel, ridden by Bruce Campbell
- Comet – sorrel, ridden by Bruce Campbell on The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
- Dollor – Chestnut/Sorrel, ridden by John Wayne
- Flashlight – Sorrel/Chestnut, ridden by Tom Tyler
- Koko “The Miracle Horse of the Movies” – Very Dark LiverFlaxen Chestnut, ridden by Rex Allen
- Maypop – Chestnut/Sorrel, ridden by Bobby Kerr
- Merv – Sorrel/Chestnut, ridden by Tom Hagwood
- Sport – Sorrel, ridden by Adam in Bonanza
- Tony “The Wonder Horse” – sorrel/chestnut, ridden by Tom Mix.
Paint Horses
- Bullet – paint, ridden by Charles Starrett
- Cochise – Paint, ridden by Little Joe in Bonanza
- Diablo – Black and White Overo with Blue Eyes, ridden by the Cisco Kid
- Fritz “The Wonder Horse” – Tobiano Paint – ridden by William S. Hart
- Lucky – Tobiano Paint, ridden by Raymond Hatton
- Silver Cloud – Tobiano Paint (possibly palomino), ridden by Hardy Murphy
- Sonny – tobiano paint, ridden by Wild Bill Elliott
White/Gray Horses
- Baron – white, ridden by Tom Tyler
- Bullet – gray/white, ridden by Whip Wilson (formerly Silver Bullet)
- Cactus – gray/white, ridden by Sunset Carson
- Duke – white/gray ridden by John Wayne
- Eagle – Gray, ridden by Buck Jones
- Jingle Bob – gray, ridden by Bobby Kerr
- Mutt – probably black, ridden by Hoot Gibson
- Raider – white/cremello, ridden by Charles Starrett
- Rebel – white, ridden by Reb Russell
- Ring Eye – white (possibly Appaloosa) – ridden by Smiley Burnette (also called Black-Eyed Nellie and Ring-Eyed Nellie)
- Rocket – gray/white, ridden by Whip Wilson (formerly Silver Bullet)
- Rush – black, ridden by Lash LaRue (formerly called Black Diamond)
- Sandy – Gray, ridden by Buck Jones
- Scout – white, ridden by Johnny Mack Brown
- Silver (also called Silver Buck) – Gray, ridden by Buck Jones
- Silver – white/cremello, ridden by the Lone Ranger
- Silver Bullet – gray/white, ridden by Whip Wilson
- Starlight – white, ridden by Jack Perrin
- Starlight – White (possibly a few spot Appaloosa based on historic photos), ridden by John Wayne
- Swampy – gray, ridden by Dan James
- Tarzan – white, ridden by Ken Maynard
- Topper – white, ridden by Hopalong Cassidy
- White Flash – cremello/white, ridden by Tex Ritter
Other Cowboy Horses
Some of these horses it’s hard to make out color because they were filmed or photographed in black and white. Without a specific color reference in an article, or a colorized poster or video, I just grouped these horses here.
- Ace – ridden by Bruce Campbell
- Duke – (dark), ridden by Tim Holt
- Feather – ridden by Allan Lane
- Falcon – ridden by Buster Crabbe
- King – ridden by Bill Cody
- Knight – ridden by Rod Cameron
- Mike – ridden by George O’Brien
- Old Blue – possibly a roan, ridden by Tom Mix
- Old Buck – possibly a light buckskin or palomino, ridden by Hardy Murphy
- Rusty the Wonder Horse – ridden by Chief Thunder Cloud in Trail Blazers
- Scout – ridden by Jack Hoxie
- Shamrock – ridden by Bob Livingstone
- Silver – ridden by Sunset Carson
- Steel – ridden by Tim Holt and others.
- Sun Dance – ridden by Tim Holt
Resources
You might be surprised how much detail goes into tracking down some of these names and details. Here are some websites I found helpful when researching this article. MANY of them have photos of the horses which I can’t repost due to copyright laws.
- https://www.npr.org/2016/03/21/471283190/hollywood-hoofbeats-chronicles-the-horses-that-captured-moviegoers-hearts
- http://www.b-westerns.com/holt3.htm
- https://fiftieswesterns.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/tim-holt-tuesday-2-john-booker-interviews-tim-holt-1970/
- http://www.b-westerns.com/hoss-bj.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cisco_Kid_(TV_series)
- http://www.b-westerns.com/hgibson5.htm
- https://reelrundown.com/celebrities/Horses-of-Famous-Western-Film-Stars-and-their-Sidekicks
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Starrett
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Carson
- http://www.b-westerns.com/elliott7.htm
- http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/09/four-legged-pals-more-wonderful-movie.html
- https://thesmellofgunsmoke.com/2014/11/12/brisco-county-and-his-horse-comet/
- https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/tarzanthewonderhorse.htm
- http://www.b-westerns.com/hoss-tt.htm
