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)!
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