Wonder horses
The film's heroes were generally one-dimensional, stock characters, who represented and promoted truth and goodness to their young audience.
More popular with adolescent viewers than a human sidekick, the Wonder Horse could not only outrun the mounts of the villains, but could also perform a series of feats and tricks to ensure that the cowboy hero would triumph.
[4] Movies featuring Wonder Horses embellish this relationship between man and beast while heightening the exceptional and heroic qualities of the cowboy by his association with a remarkable animal.
[5] Fritz was the first horse to be named in the credits as a costar to his rider, William S. Hart, appearing in at least eight silent films: Pinto Ben (1915), Hell’s Hinges (1916), The Narrow Trail (1917), Blue Blazes Rawden (1918), The Toll Gate (1920), Sand (1920), Three Word Brand (1921), and Singer Jim McKee (1924).
My little friend could not struggle any more, his eyes were glazed with coming death, and as we were going down for the last time the strong current we had been fighting carried us over the ledge back toward the way we cam in, and as we sank we touched the bottom and regained our feet.
His grave is marked by a cobblestone monument that reads: “Bill Hart's Pinto Pony Fritz—Aged 31 Years—A Loyal Comrade”.
Mix could convey any sort of message to the pony by touches of the hand or fingers on Tony's neck, although speculation existed that whips, strong bits, and spurs were used.
In the film Trailin' (1921) Mix and Tony have a bridge slashed from under them, and uncut footage shows the pair tipping over to the river below.
A program from the circus in 1931 made a statement about the bond between the pair: Every patron of the motion picture theater knows Tom Mix and his wonder horse Tony, who for years have been almost inseparable ... Tom is the only master Tony ever had and the only person who has been on his back, which may partly account for their extreme love for each other.Tony retired from the film industry in 1932 at the age of 22, when he was slightly injured on the set of his last movie, The Fourth Horseman (1932).
Tony's longevity as a movie horse is remarkable due to the lack of veterinary care available in those years, and because of the strenuous stunts that were not regulated.
In one scene from No Man's Law, Rex saves the modesty of a young woman swimming in the nude from a pair of rowdy villains.
Chasing one around in circles, rearing and bucking like a wild mustang, until he finally runs him off of a cliff, he sneaks up behind the other and nudges him with his nose over the ledge and into the watering hole.
While Tarzan could perform stunts like jumping off cliffs, he was known better for his tricks, such as dancing, bowing, nodding his head to answer questions, playing dead, untying ropes, dragging Maynard to safety, or nuzzling him into the arms of the leading lady.
[21] Several horses bore the name Champion; the first died while Autry was serving in the Army Air Force during World War II.
[22] Champion was able to perform numerous tricks, including jumping through paper-covered hoops and galloping toward and coming to a stop atop a piano.
He retired from show business in 1957, dying in 1965 at the age of 33; he was stuffed and the taxidermy mount resided at the Roy Rogers Museum in California and then in Branson, Missouri, until its closure.
[25][26] On July 14, 2010, Trigger was sold in auction at Christie's New York Saleroom to Patrick Gottsch, who plans to display the mount at the corporate headquarters of his network, RFD-TV, in Omaha, Nebraska.
During a trip to New York City, Trigger reportedly delighted audiences by dancing, rearing, pawing, and playing dead on the ballroom floor of the Hotel Astor.
His counterpart was Buttermilk, the horse of Roy Roger's wife, actress and singing cowgirl star Dale Evans.
As these Westerns had great appeal to children, toys, clothing, and other accessories were marketed, many of them featuring their favorite cowboy's Wonder Horse.
Tony, Trigger, Champion, Rocky Lane's Black Jack, and the Lone Ranger's Silver were some of the Wonder Horses of cinema that were featured in Western comic books.
