7. A Child’s Dream of Horses

“Every night I pray to God to give me horses, wonderful horses.”

—Velvet Brown, National Velvet (Screenplay by Theodore Reeves and Helen Deutsch)

Elizabeth Taylor’s adoration of King Charles is obvious in this charming shot of the costars of National Velvet (1945).

National Velvet

In the classic film National Velvet (1945), a dreamy-eyed young actress named Elizabeth Taylor, portraying Velvet Brown, looks heavenward and confesses her prayer for God-given horses. Countless children have shared Velvet’s dream of owning a majestic animal who would not only be as loyal as the family dog but also have the power to transport them to magical lands. Many horse-themed films have capitalized on that dream, usually tossing in a strong moral about responsibility, perseverance, and compassion. Surprisingly modern in its outlook, National Velvet promoted the idea that a girl could excel in steeplechasing, a sport traditionally reserved for men. Of course, she needed the right coach, played in the film by a young Mickey Rooney and, most importantly, the perfect horse.

Based on the best-selling book by Enid Bagnold, National Velvet is set in the 1920s and revolves around working-class Velvet Brown and her horse, Pie, whom she enters in the most harrowing of races, the Grand National steeplechase, renowned for its formidable obstacles. In the novel, Pie stands for piebald, an English term for black-and-white pintos. Because piebalds were discriminated against in tradition-bound racing circles, Pie had an extra obstacle to overcome in the book. In the film, however, a blaze-faced chestnut Thoroughbred, King Charles, played Pie. His nickname was explained as a derivative of “Pirate.” King Charles was a spectacular jumper and had appeared in previous films performing his specialty, leaping over cars.

Taylor fell in love with King Charles, a seven-year-old grandson of Man O’War, at the Los Angeles riding school where she trained with Egon Mertz. At first rejected for the movie because she was small, Taylor campaigned aggressively for the part of Velvet Brown. She built her strength by riding an hour and a half every morning before school and began eating high-protein meals—including two giant farm breakfasts—and doing stretching exercises. After growing 3 inches, Taylor won the coveted role. She also convinced the producers to cast King Charles instead of a piebald horse.

A gifted equestrienne who started riding at age three, Taylor claimed she could jump King Charles over 6-foot fences bareback. Like many star horses, however, King Charles had an ornery side, and when a trainer tried to teach him to play dead, he bit a chunk out of the man’s shoulder. According to Taylor, only she and the jockey who doubled her in the race sequence could ride King Charles, but he followed the young actress around like a puppy, and she handled him with only a rope around his neck.

After the movie wrapped, producer Pandro S. Berman gave King Charles to Taylor for her thirteenth birthday. Taylor described that event as “one of the moments of my life.”

In 1961, National Velvet, the television series, debuted on NBC. Produced by MGM Studios, the series featured Lori Martin as Velvet Brown and a horse named Blaze King (“King” for short) as Pie. An American Saddlebred stallion, King was only three years old when the series producers saw him pulling a carriage. He had never been broken to ride but had the look the producers wanted. The script based Pie on King Charles: a blaze-faced chestnut with four white stockings. Wrangler Ken Lee was given six weeks to saddle-break King and teach Lori Martin to ride as well. Both pupils learned quickly and were ready on time.

Soldier and Chief were two horses from the Fat Jones Stables who doubled King. Wrangler Lee felt it was too risky to teach the main cast horse to rear, as sometimes a horse will use the trick offensively. When the script called for King to rear, Chief performed the trick instead. The gentle Chief, however, never harmed anyone. Soldier was a big horse who doubled King in all the jumping sequences. Although the series only ran for two years before it went into syndication, a number of National Velvet products were merchandised. One of the most unusual ones was a “King” horse seat, with a plastic horse head and yarn tail, for children to “ride” while watching the show.

After the series ended, Soldier was sold as a show jumper. A restaurateur in Cincinnati purchased King and Chief for his daughter. Eventually, they were donated to a farm for underprivileged children.

It wasn’t until 1978 that a feature-length sequel to National Velvet was released. International Velvet starred a young Tatum O’Neal as Velvet Brown’s niece, who trains for the British Olympic team aboard a horse named Arizona Pie. Olympic equestrian William Steinkraus served as a consultant on the film. Although the film contains some excellent jumping sequences, it did not achieve the success of the beloved original.

Wrangler Ken Lee was given six weeks to saddle-break Blaze King and teach Lori Martin to ride for the TV series National Velvet (1961–1963). Both pupils learned quickly, and Lori and King became the idols of millions of girls.

Black Beauty

Anna Sewell’s popular children’s book Black Beauty was first published in 1877 and has remained in print ever since. The evergreen story is told from the perspective of a black stallion forced from a loving country home and subjected to cruelty as a saddle and carriage horse in Victorian London. The book’s stark depiction of horse abuse is credited with starting the animal-welfare movement in Britain.

Black Beauty’s compelling story has inspired six films, the first in 1917, a silent film originally titled Your Obedient Servant. The title was later changed to Black Beauty, and the film was rereleased in 1921. Vitagraph released its own silent version of Black Beauty in the same year. This version inspired the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman to become a filmmaker. Although Bergman was only six years old when he saw Black Beauty, the powerful emotions evoked by the film—particularly the dramatic burning-barn sequence—ignited his own lifelong passion for cinema.

The next Black Beauty was a sound film released in 1933 by Monogram Studio. No record of the horses who starred in these early Black Beauty films has been found.

In 1946, Twentieth Century Fox released the third filmed version of Black Beauty to critical acclaim. A number of black horses were considered for the part of Beauty; the title role went to equine ingénue Highland Dale, who was only two years old at the time of his acting debut. Foaled in Missouri on March 4, 1943, the American Saddlebred stallion boasted an illustrious southern pedigree. Pedigree doesn’t guarantee star quality, but Highland Dale had “it.” Discovered when he was just eighteen months old by trainer Ralph McCutcheon, the beautiful Highland Dale proved to be a natural actor. Although only 15 hands high, he had such screen presence that he often stole the show from his human costars. After his impressive work as Beauty, Highland Dale was known around the McCutcheon barn as Beaut.

Highland Dale as Beauty has his ears cocked for signals from trainer Ralph McCutcheon and ignores the fire as the human actors play out the drama in the 1946 Black Beauty.

The year 1971 saw yet another remake of Black Beauty, a British production starring Mark Lester. The most recent version of Black Beauty is the 1994 Warner Brothers film directed by horse lover Caroline Thompson. Creating a heartwarming film that is true to Sewell’s original tale, writer-director Thompson decided to use a narrator (Alan Cumming) to speak for Beauty. For the first time, the story was told from the horse’s point of view. This clever device enables children especially to understand that horses have emotions similar to those of humans.

Caroline Thompson cast six-year-old black Quarter Horse stallion Doc’s Keepin Time in the title role and made sure he received star billing. Owned by trainer Rex Peterson, Doc’s Keepin Time came from a family of champion racing Quarter Horses. Despite his bloodlines, Doc’s Keepin Time didn’t shine on the racetrack, but Peterson saw his potential as a movie star. It began when he was searching for the star of the Family Channel’s The Black Stallion television series. Peterson found Doc’s Keepin Time just two weeks before production began. Cast as the title character, the stallion became known as Justin because Peterson found him for the series “just in time.” The series ran from 1990 to 1993 and proved Justin’s talent as a movie horse.

According to director Caroline Thompson, “Justin knew he was the star of Black Beauty.” He could also be a prima donna and would sometimes pin his ears and bare his teeth at Thompson. Still, she loved working with Justin and Peterson. “Rex Peterson is my hero,” said Thompson. “I couldn’t have done Black Beauty without Rex. Rex Peterson is capable of looking at the world through the eyes of a horse, pure and simple.”

Peterson used his wits to help create a realistic birthing scene for baby Beauty. Thompson was determined to capture the birth on film, so thirty pregnant mares were housed in foaling stalls on the English location. One of the mares finally gave birth to a black foal, but he was coming out crooked. When Peterson stepped in to turn the foal so he could be born normally, he noticed he did not have a white star like Beauty. Peterson quickly dabbed some white clown make up on the infant’s forehead as he repositioned him, and baby Beauty was born with a star.

Justin’s leading lady in Black Beauty was a chestnut Russian Thoroughbred mare named Rat, who played the part of Ginger. She was doubled in some scenes by Justin’s stablemate, Hightower, a gelding who had to be strategically filmed to pass as a mare. A dappled gray crossbred Shetland/Welsh pony aptly named Legs was imported from the States to play Merrylegs. In one of the film’s more whimsical sequences, the clever pony uses his teeth to open all the stall doors to let his stablemates frolic at liberty.

After his star turn in Black Beauty, Justin received the American Quarter Horse Association’s Silver Spur Award, an honor given to horses who exemplify the best of the breed. He went on to perform in commercials, music videos, and television, as well as in other films, including The Horse Whisperer. He played Gulliver, the horse who is killed early in the film. He also appeared in a music video for the British pop group Procol Harum (song: “Won’t Fade Away”), in which he was completely buried and burst up out of the ground. Peterson consulted his mentor, Glenn Randall, for help with the next-to-impossible trick, but before Randall could respond, Peterson had figured out a way to train the stallion to accept being totally buried. He will never reveal how he accomplished this amazing feat, but it would not have been possible without the incredible bond of trust between Justin and his trainer—the kind of bond kids dream about when they imagine having a horse as a friend.

In a 1994 remake, Justin, Legs, and Hightower play Beauty, Merrylegs, and Ginger. For his role as the mare, Hightower’s star had been extended into a stripe with makeup.

Gypsy Colt

A sentimental film about the bond between a horse and a little girl was 1954’s Gypsy Colt, starring child actor Donna Corcoran and the then eleven-year-old Highland Dale (playing a four-year-old) in the title role. Gypsy is a child’s beloved pet who must be sold. The heartbroken horse escapes his new owners and travels 500 miles to return to his friend.

When he first read the script, trainer Ralph McCutcheon was concerned by the number of tricks demanded of Highland Dale. THe horse knew some of the tricks but needed to learn many more. Not only did the stallion have to perform largely at liberty, but he also had to feign near-death and stumble into a comatose state in the desert. At one point, four motorcyclists chase him through rocky terrain in a harrowing sequence that would terrify most horses. McCutcheon took three months to prepare Highland Dale for the film. Their hard work was recognized by the American Humane when Highland Dale won the first PATSY Award for his role.

Like many movie stars, Highland Dale continued to work for the film after shooting finished. He and Ralph McCutcheon went on a national publicity tour as Gypsy Colt premiered across America.

Gypsy (Highland Dale) is determined to wake up his mistress Meg MacWade (Donna Corcoran) in one of the most charming scenes of 1954’s Gypsy Colt.

Fury

Beginning in October 1955, NBC drew children to the family television set on Saturday mornings to watch Fury, a show about a fiery black stallion and the boy who loved him. Fresh from his award-winning performance in Gypsy Colt, Highland Dale starred as Fury. His human costars were Bobby Diamond as Joey and Peter Graves as Joey’s father. Set in the new West, the show ran from 1955 to 1960 and was later syndicated as Brave Stallion.

The series made Highland Dale a superstar, and he received volumes of fan mail, mostly from girls ages ten and eleven asking for a photo of “Fury,” as he was forever after known to his public. His owner-trainer Ralph McCutcheon and insiders who worked with the horse continued to call him Beaut.

As Fury, Highland Dale commanded a then-whopping $1,500 per episode, out-earning seasoned actor Peter Graves, who gratefully acknowledged that “without that horse, I wouldn’t have made the money I made.” Working only four months a year, Highland Dale earned McCutcheon $500,000 in eight years.

In 1960 and 1961, Highland Dale added two more PATSY Awards to his collection for his work as Fury. In addition to his award for Gypsy Colt, he had also been given an Award of Excellence for Outlaw Stallion (1955). During a hiatus from the series in 1956, he had made his award-winning cameo in Giant. Highland Dale was to the movie-horse world as famous and celebrated as some of his human costars, such as Joan Crawford (who rode him in 1954’s Johnny Guitar), Elizabeth Taylor, and Clark Gable.

Highland Dale retired in the late 1960s at Ralph McCutcheon’s ranch in Sand Canyon, north of Los Angeles. Although a stallion, he was never bred and lived to the ripe old age of twenty-nine.

The superstar Highland Dale as the wild stallion Fury.

Gallant Bess

The 1947 family film Gallant Bess told the story of an orphaned farmboy named Tex Barton (Marshall Thompson) on the cusp of manhood. Bonded to his mare Bess, with whom he hopes to build a horse ranch, Tex is forced to put his dreams on hold when America gets involved in World War II. Tex joins the United States Navy, but before he ships out to the South Pacific, he returns home to find Bess dying. After burying his beloved mare, Tex is stationed on an island where he finds a wounded mare in the jungle. The horse looks amazingly like Bess. Tex nurses this new Bess back to health, and she becomes the mascot of his navy unit. After returning the favor and saving Tex’s life, Bess becomes despondent when he is shipped out for home without her. She breaks out of her corral and swims for the departing ship. The commanding officer’s heart melts when he sees the mare’s determination. He orders the ship’s hold opened, and Bess manages to scramble aboard.

Although the horse gets billing as simply “Bess,” the double role of the title character was actually played by a chestnut gelding named Silvernip. His white markings were altered slightly to distinguish the ranch Bess from the island Bess. Trained by Joe Atkinson, Silvernip displays some wonderful trick work in an early sequence in which Tex and the ranch Bess are camped out by a stream. While Tex sleeps, a parade of forest animals interacts with Bess, who reacts with amusing behaviors, such as turning “her” nose up at a skunk. Throughout the film, Silvernip works extensively at liberty and performs many standard tricks. While all of his work is outstanding, his final swimming scene is truly astonishing. Amazing as well is the revelation that according to the film’s credits, the movie was based, at least in part, on a true story.

Female impersonator Silvernip in the title role of Gallant Bess (1947) checks out the atmosphere with actor Marshall Thompson.

Gallant Bess star Silvernip checks out his picture on the cover of Modern Screen while perusing a Hollywood newsstand.

The Red Pony

A less fanciful story was forged by author John Steinbeck from three of his classic short stories. The compelling 1949 family film The Red Pony concerns a young rancher’s son, Tom Tiflin (Peter Miles), who learns about life’s harsh realities. Alienated by his stern parents and tormented by his schoolmates, Tom bonds with his family’s affable ranch hand, Billy Buck (Robert Mitchum). Trying to connect with his son, Tom’s father gives him a beautiful dark chestnut pony to raise, but this only furthers the boy’s dependence on Billy Buck. The clever pony, named Galiban after a mountain range, lets himself out of the barn one stormy night and contracts a deadly equine illness called strangles. In reality, there is no medical correlation between getting wet and getting strangles; but in the film it provides a pivotal plot point. Tom blames Billy for not keeping a closer eye on Galiban. Despite the ranch hand’s best efforts to save him, the pony runs away to die. In a horrific scene, Tom discovers his beloved pet being devoured by buzzards. The realism of this gruesome scene was accomplished with raw meat attached to the pony’s sides. Trained to lie down, the pony amazingly tolerated trained buzzards picking at the meat.

Glenn Randall trained the flashy star pony, whose white blaze and flaxen mane and tail made him look like a miniature version of cowboy star Rex Allen’s famous horse, Koko. In a wonderful fantasy sequence early in the film, Tom daydreams about being a circus ringmaster, and the flock of chickens he is feeding turns into a liberty act of eight white horses. These horses belonged to trainer Mark Smith, a friend of Randall. Another fantasy sequence depicts Tom and Billy Buck as medieval knights leading a phalanx of mounted soldiers. Republic Pictures contracted all these horses and others incidental to the film from the Hudkins Brothers Stables.

The character of Billy Buck might very well have been patterned on Glenn Randall, as he possesses uncanny horse savvy. Raised in part on mare’s milk, Billy tells Tom, “I’m half horse and horses know it.” Ultimately, Tom realizes that the ranch hand had nothing to do with Galiban’s death. In a gesture of sympathy, Billy softens the blow by giving the valuable foal of his champion mare Rosie to Tom.

The cast of 1949’s The Red Pony, from left: Shepperd Strudwick, Myrna Loy, young Peter Miles, Robert Mitchum, the pony Galiban and Louis Calhern. 

The Flicka Flicks

Mary O’Hara authored a trilogy of horse-themed books. The first, My Friend Flicka, was brought to the screen in 1943. Marketed as representing the American family values being fought for in World War II, the movie ironically starred a young British actor, Roddy McDowall, as Ken McLaughlin, the directionless son of a horse breeder. Ken dreams of bonding with a horse and comes into his own when he takes responsibility for a filly named Flicka.

Country Delight with Roddy McDowAll and Rita Johnson in My Friend Flicka (1943).

Twentieth Century Fox originally attempted to economize by making the movie without specially trained horses. The studio paid dearly for this decision, as the inexperienced horses caused costly delays in addition to close calls with stunt people. The studio then brought Jack “Swede” Lindell on to the film as equine supervisor, and the production took a two-week hiatus while he prepped experienced horses. Fox was so pleased with Lindell’s work on My Friend Flicka that the studio created a special facility for him to train horses for its future films.

Country Delight, a seven-month-old sorrel American Saddlebred filly owned by Thomas H. Wright of Los Angeles, was cast as Flicka. Since Country Delight was not an experienced “actress,” Lindell had to quickly put the necessary cues on the filly. She performed beautifully in the challenging role. Although it is always Country Delight in scenes in which the filly’s sweet face with white star can be seen, she had several doubles for the stunts, such as one in which Flicka becomes tangled in barbed wire and badly injured. The scene was so realistic that viewers responded with letters of outrage. In fact, the scene was an exquisitely staged piece of movie magic, using rubber bands with cork barbs for the wire and a skilled makeup artist to create Flicka’s wounds.

Fat Jones’s veteran horse Misty made a cameo appearance as Banner, Flicka’s sire, in a scene in which he saves his herd from stampeding off a cliff. The Jones barn also supplied the myriad of other horses that populate the McLaughlins’ Goose Bar Ranch.

My Friend Flicka was followed by a sequel, Thunderhead, Son of Flicka, released in 1945. The film featured the same major cast members as its predecessor. Swede Lindell was contracted as equine supervisor from the beginning, and the studio again rented horses from the Fat Jones Stable. The story begins with the birth of Thunderhead, supposedly a throwback to his “loco” great-grandsire, the Albino, who sired Flicka’s crazy dam, Rocket. Faced with the challenge of finding a white colt to play Flicka’s new baby, the studio gave contracts to dozens of mares likely to deliver such a foal. Shooting commenced when the perfect white colt was born. Ironically, according to genetic experts, it is highly unlikely that Thunderhead, whose movie dam and sire were both solid colors, would have been white.

One scene in the movie provoked audience concern even twenty years after the movie was filmed and shown on television. During a heavy rainstorm, young Thunderhead is trapped in a gully and struggles desperately as the water rises around him. Although the colt is eventually rescued in the film, the scenes of him panicking are extremely realistic. Actually, the entire sequence was filmed on a soundstage under very controlled—and safe—conditions.

The older Thunderhead in the movie was played by Blanco and nine other white horses from the Fat Jones Stable. Misty’s character of Banner is killed off in the film, by the old Albino stallion, but Thunderhead exacts revenge in a thrilling fight to the death with his great-grandsire. Now “King of the Herd,” Thunderhead is released into the wilds by young Ken. Of course, the stallion’s release symbolizes Ken’s own rite of passage into young adulthood.

The television series My Friend Flicka debuted in 1956. It ran until 1957 on CBS and then moved to NBC for another year. A chestnut Arabian mare named Wahama played Flicka in the close work with the actors. Her double was Goldie, a chestnut Thoroughbred gelding featured in the action sequences. Because Goldie was such a handful, the young series star, Johnny Washbrook, an inexperienced equestrian, was not allowed on his back. A more accomplished rider, a ten-year-old girl, doubled Washbrook in the scenes with Goldie.

Sixty-three years after the first Flicka flick, the same family values that were championed by the original My Friend Flicka form the moral center of a remake directed by Michael Mayer, called simply Flicka. As in the original movie, wild mustangs symbolize the value that Americans hold most dear: freedom.

In Fox’s 2006 version of O’Hara’s classic tale, Ken has become Katy (Alison Lohman), a dreamy teenager who returns home from boarding school to her family’s Montana ranch. When her father, Quarter Horse breeder Rob (country-music star Tim McGraw), receives her dismal report card, he attempts to discipline Katy who is more interested in riding horses than writing an essay that will keep her from repeating a grade. She finds inspiration in a two-year-old wild mustang mare she names Flicka, after a ranch hand translates the meaning from Swedish as “an innocent young beauty.” Katy identifies with Flicka and the mustang breed, writing in her essay, “I see in them my own restless spirit.”

Encouraged by her mother, Nell (Maria Bello), Katy finds purpose in secretly training Flicka, even though it means defying her father. When Rob discovers Katy’s obsession, he sells the filly to a rodeo man who enters her in a wild-horse race. Katy schemes with her older brother, Howard (Ryan Kwanten), to win back Flicka by catching and riding her in the rodeo event. In witnessing his daughter’s intrepid determination, Rob realizes Katy’s spirit is her strength and that they are more alike than not. It is Katy, not her city-bound brother Howard, who will eventually inherit the family’s Goose Bar Ranch.

For Flicka’s title character, head wrangler Rusty Hendrickson attempted to replicate Country Delight’s coloring and originally prepped a sorrel gelding. Hendrickson favors geldings for film work, as they are generally more predictable than mares. When portraying females, however, they do provide the cinematographers with the challenge of not revealing the horses’ male anatomy.

When director Mayer came to the California ranch where Rusty was preparing the film’s horses, he spotted a charismatic six-year-old black gelding named Ribbon in Hendrickson’s herd. A star was born as Mayer chose Ribbon as Flicka instead of the sorrel.

Ribbon’s rise to stardom began humbly in a Montana sale pen where Hendrickson first spotted the black of possible Morgan blood. Recognizing a diamond in the rough, he bought the untrained young horse, saving him from a trip to the slaughterhouse. Rusty began working his magic on the horse he named Ribbon, breaking him to ride and teaching him to work at liberty, rear, and lie down. He displays all his talents in Flicka but was doubled by the heftier Cimarron in some running and rearing scenes to spare his energy. Distinguished by a long mane and forelock and an expressive face, Ribbon was perfect for close-ups where the bond between Katy and Flicka is revealed.

According to Hendrickson, “The nature of the story is that the horse is supposed to have some life, and this horse is larger than life.” At first Ribbon had a bit too much life for Lohman, who was just learning to ride for the film. She took a spill early on but fortunately was not injured and, under Hendrickson’s tutelage, soon found her seat. She rode Ribbon, his double, Pablo, and the sorrel Benny in the film. Benny, another seasoned equine thespian who also appears in Dreamer, is the horse Katy rides until she finds Flicka. Since most of her riding in the film is bareback at a canter, Lohman especially appreciated Benny’s comfortable Quarter Horse back.

Hendrickson also taught Maria Bello and Ryan Kwanten to ride. Tim McGraw grew up around horses and needed little coaching. He looks completely at home on Biscuit, Hendrickson’s bay Quarter Horse gelding whose credits include Seabiscuit and the ESPN television movie Ruffian, in which he is ridden by Sam Shepard.

Trainer Rex Peterson, who often works with Hendrickson, brought veteran equine actor Monkey to double Ribbon in some scenes where the hero horse had to look fierce. A black Thoroughbred who doubled Justin, the star of 1994’s Black Beauty, Monkey is trained to rear and paw the air. Even though Monkey is just acting when he performs those behaviors, as a safety precaution, Lohman was doubled in such scenes by Julie Adair, a member of an illustrious family of stunt performers.

Peterson was prepared to recreate a sequence from the original film in which Flicka gets tangled in barbed wire. That sequence was not filmed, but a fight between Flicka and a mountain lion was recreated. The realistic-looking sequence was safely accomplished through the green-screen technique, in which the opposing animals are filmed separately and meet only in the editing room.

The rodeo scenario was a new invention for the remake. It was during this sequence that tragedy befell the production. The scene involved eight professional cowboys and four seasoned, domestic-bred rodeo horses working in a controlled environment under the supervision of four of the American Humane Association’s Certified Animal Safety Representatives. One of the horses unexpectedly pulled away from his handler and tripped on its thirteen-foot lead rope. The horse fell to the ground, breaking its neck before anyone could reach it.

This unfortunate incident occurred just two weeks after another freak accident claimed the life of another horse. In a scene where a stunt double ropes Flicka, his mount took a misstep and fractured his rear right leg above the hock. Hendrickson, who was directing the second unit sequence, stopped filming as soon as he saw the horse falter. The horse never fell, but Hendrickson could see that his leg was broken and called for the veterinarian. The doctor identified the injury as an extremely rare type of break that could not have been predicted. Because of the location and severity of the fracture, the leg could not be cast and it was decided that euthanasia was the most humane option.

The two equine fatalities were investigated by Los Angeles Animal Services, per legal protocol, and pronounced unavoidable accidents. In both cases, the Animal Safety Representatives had examined the ground before the scenes and did so again afterward. They found no holes or rocks that could have contributed to the accidents.

As a result of these unfortunate incidents, Flicka received a modified end credit disclaimer from the American Human Association, stating simply that they monitored the animal action. It is a harsh truth of working with horses that accidents can occur at any time, even under the most controlled circumstances.

The sadness felt by all involved in the production of Flicka is mitigated by the wonderful horse work and uplifting message. Ultimately, Katy’s wild spirit becomes the basis of a stronger bond with her father, and her passionate advocacy on behalf of America’s wild mustangs reminds us all that these horses are a national treasure to be protected for generations to come.

Ribbon, the star of 2006’s Flicka, looks like the wild horse he portrays as he leads a herd of movie horses—and one mule—enjoying their down time on wrangler Rusty Hendrickson’s Montana ranch. The bay on the right is Biscuit, one of the 2003 Seabiscuit stars; the black on the left is Cimarron, Ribbon’s frequent double; the chestnut is Apollo, who was ridden by Jeff Bridges in 2010’s True Grit, and the bay bringing up the rear is Leroy, a veteran cast horse ridden by many actors over the years, including in such films as True Grit and 2013’s Django Unchained.

Misty of Chincoteague

First published in 1947, author Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague is one of the most beloved children’s books ever written and is still in print. In 1961, a movie based on the book was released, entitled Misty. The story centers on a young brother and sister and the lessons they learn from wild ponies. At its heart is a real-life event that has been going on for centuries. Wild ponies that live on Virginia’s Assateague Island are rounded up in late summer to swim across a narrow straight to nearby Chincoteague Island. There many of the weaned colts and yearlings are auctioned off to benefit the volunteer fire department that maintains the herd in good health. While historical evidence supports the legends that the ponies are descendants of Spanish horses from a shipwrecked galleon or descendants of pirate ponies, they are also likely kin of horses released on the island by Virginia settlers to avoid paying taxes on their livestock.

Starring David Ladd, the talented son of actor Alan Ladd, and ingénue Pam Smith as brother and sister, Misty was filmed on location on the Chincoteague and Assateague Islands and features the pony swim and auction. The wild ponies were filmed for these scenes and are also shown galloping on the beach in beautiful sequences. The lead roles of Phantom and her foal, Misty, were played by real Chincoteague ponies tamed by local residents. As a foal, Misty was played by a pony named Emma, whose dark brown coat was bleached blond to match the coat of the pony in the book. Trainer Les Hilton spent several weeks working with the native ponies on location in advance of the shoot. Ladd, meanwhile, had no trouble with the film’s riding scenes as he learned horsemanship with his father and sister Alana on the family’s California horse ranch.

The Horse with the Flying Tail

Another horse film based on real events was Disney’s The Horse with the Flying Tail, released in 1960. The true story of a spectacular palomino jumper named Nautical, The Horse with the Flying Tail won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film and was a hit with horse-crazy kids who dreamed of finding such a diamond in the rough. Nautical’s crowd-pleasing signature was his flamboyant flipping of his gorgeous white tail as he sailed over immense obstacles. The horse so aptly described in the film’s title began life as Injun Joe in Roswell, New Mexico. He was given a western brand on his jaw, and when he was three, he was trained to be a cutting horse. He must not have liked his job because he reportedly escaped from every corral that tried to hold him. The palomino gelding was on the verge of being destroyed when he was rescued by an ex-cavalry officer. Sold as a foxhunter in Virginia, he had some exposure on the jumper show circuit, yet an explosive temperament kept Injun Joe from major success until world-class equestrian Hugh Wiley purchased him in 1955. Wiley, a United States Navy veteran, renamed him Nautical.

With the help of renowned United States Equestrian Team (USET) coach Bertalan de Nemethy, Wiley and Nautical formed a winning partnership. They represented the United States in major European competitions, winning England’s coveted King George V Gold Cup in 1959. The former cow pony was awarded his trophy by none other than Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, the queen mother. Returning to the States, they helped the USET win the 1959 Pan American Games gold medal. Nautical’s keen intelligence, great strength, and extreme speed combined with his flashy looks made him one of the most popular competitors of his era. According to Hugh Wiley, he loved to perform and went faster and jumped higher when he heard the roar of the crowd.

Although various horses portrayed the palomino in different stages of his life in the film, the real Nautical appeared in scenes documenting some of his career highlights. After the success of The Horse with the Flying Tail, Nautical suffered a bout with pneumonia and was retired. He received visitors for several years at the USET stables in New Jersey. Later he moved with Wiley to Maryland and occasionally made a public appearance at a horse show, where he tolerantly accepted the adulation of young fans. He eventually passed away on Wiley’s farm.

The Black Stallion

Mane and tail flying, a magnificent black stallion gallops down a deserted fairytale beach with a small boy astride. The child rides bareback, with no bridle, in perfect harmony with the glorious creature. This enduring poetic image is one of the reasons revered film reviewer Pauline Kael described The Black Stallion as “maybe the greatest children’s movie ever made.”

Based on Walter Farley’s novel of the same name, 1979’s The Black Stallion details the story of two shipwreck survivors, an American boy and the Arabian stallion who saves his life. Executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola, directed by Carroll Ballard, and gloriously photographed by Caleb Deschanel, The Black Stallion appealed to adults as well as children. Ballard had a strong vision that often challenged screenwriting convention. The heart of the film has an astonishing twenty-eight minutes of dialogue-free interaction between boy and horse as their bond of interdependency deepens to love.

Kelly Reno, an unknown rancher’s son from Boulder, Colorado, starred as the boy, Alec Ramsey. The twelve-year old Reno saw a notice in a horse magazine calling for boys with riding ability to audition for a new movie. Having learned to ride as a toddler, Reno figured he qualified. Convincing his parents to drive him to the casting session in Denver, Reno was chosen for the lead role over more experienced child actors. Except for the racing sequences, Kelly did all his own riding—and falling—in the film. The Black Stallion also marked the acting debut of Cass Olé, a purebred Arabian stallion foaled in 1969. As a show horse, Cass Olé enjoyed considerable success. In the mid-1970s, he was named American Horse Shows Association’s Horse of the Year for all breeds and won the national championship in Arabian western pleasure. His stellar record, superb temperament, and majestic presence won him the part of the Black. Although Cass Olé was not completely black, his four white socks and blaze were easily dyed.

Corky Randall was assigned the task of training Cass Olé for his starring role. Because the Black was required to work extensively at liberty, Corky taught the stallion to respond to off-camera whip cues. Cass Olé’s exceptional talent wowed the veteran trainer. “He’s the only horse I ever worked with that you could see had personality; you could see an expression on his face,” said Randall. “We didn’t have that long to train Cass Olé; it just happened to be that he was a brilliant subject and trained out of this world.”

Five horses doubled Cass Olé in fighting, running, and swimming scenes. Two were sorrel Quarter Horses belonging to Glenn Randall Jr. (brother of Corky) and were dyed black to resemble Cass. These horses worked in a sequence in which the Black bolts from Alec’s backyard and runs through town. Two French Camargue ponies—known for their natural swimming abilities—were acquired for the water scenes. Seen swimming in the dimly lit shipwreck sequence and shot from underwater when Alec and the Black are rescued, the Camargues’ coarse heads were not an issue, but since the ponies were white, they also required dye jobs. Another double, an Arabian named Fae-jur, a particular favorite of director Ballard, came from the Jack Tone Ranch in Stockton, California. All of Cass Olé’s doubles were trained to respond to visual cues.

Poetry in motion, Cass Olé and Kelly Reno live the fantasy in The Black Stallion (1979).

The Black Stallion made Cass Olé an international celebrity, and he delighted his fans with many personal appearances. He even participated in the 1981 Presidential Inauguration.

In 1983, a sequel, The Black Stallion Returns, was released. Directed by Robert Dalva, the Academy Award-nominated editor of The Black Stallion, the new film was based on Walter Farley’s second book in The Black Stallion series. Kelly Reno reprised his role as Alec, and Cass Olé returned as the Black. The plot centers on Moroccan thieves who steal the stallion from his comfortable New York stable and take him back to North Africa to race.

Considered one of the most demanding films ever produced, The Black Stallion Returns began shooting in Zagora, Morocco, and wrapped up in Tunisia. Much of the film was shot in the Sahara Desert, where the Arabian breed began. The film featured more than 20 horses in the lead roles (including doubles), and the production’s stable housed 120 horses total. In Morocco, only the royal stable of the princess had more horses.

A chestnut stallion named SC Billy Rubin was the Black’s racing rival. An Arabian gelding named Talishma (T-Bone) from Ginsburg Desert Wind Arabians played the Black’s love interest, Johar, a gray Arabian mare. Black Midnight, a Polish Arabian from North Dakota, was used to double Cass Olé in the scenes with Talishma.

A stunning stallion named El Mokhtar also doubled Cass Olé. Foaled in Cairo, Egypt, in 1971, El Mokhtar was originally imported to the United States to be a breeding stallion. He was considered for the role of the Black in the first film, but his syndicate owners were not interested. At the urgings of Corky Randall, he was purchased for The Black Stallion Returns for $25,000. Since El Mokhtar had never been ridden, Randall had to train him from scratch. According to the trainer, “He just never did anything wrong.”

Much bigger than Cass Olé, El Mokhtar had a beautiful head and very expressive eyes, seen in some of the film’s close-ups of the Black. He also possessed tremendous stamina and was used for the film’s race sequences. Near the end of the movie, El Mokhtar, as the Black, appears to be running flat out, yet he suddenly surges ahead in an astonishing display of speed.

Just two weeks before shooting was set to wrap, El Mokhtar died tragically from complications of colic. A veterinarian was flown in from the States, but El Mokhtar could not be saved. An autopsy revealed a severely twisted intestine that even surgery, impossible on location, would likely not have remedied. The cast and crew were heartbroken. As the show must go on, Cass Olé performed the final race scene himself.

According to director Robert Dalva, Cass Olé was as enthusiastic about his work in The Black Stallion Returns as he had been in the original film. Cass came alive when he heard the sound of the slate (a wooden marker with a clapper used to identify scenes) slapping before each take and responded well to applause. To get the stallion revved up for the pre-race sequence, Dalva directed the crowd to clap.

Cass Olé with Vincent Spano in The Black Stallion Returns.

Although a born actor, Cass Olé did have his uncooperative moments. The most dramatic incident took place at one in the morning, on a remote location, miles from any village or highway. The moonless night was especially dark, and the crew was working in a small circle of light created by a generator. Dalva had been shooting a scene in which the villain, Kurr, kidnaps the Black. He had six takes in the can but wanted one more. Corky Randall noticed that Cass Olé was getting tired but told Dalva the horse could probably handle one last take. Kelly Reno was aboard Cass bareback with only a thin wire in the horse’s mouth for control. Cass was asked to proceed to his mark, but as soon as he hit it, he spun left and galloped into the night. Reno couldn’t control Cass with just the wire and opted to bail off the runaway. To everyone’s relief, Kelly came walking back into the light, unharmed—but he had no idea where Cass had gone.

The crew turned the lights out into the desert but could see no sign of the black horse. Corky Randall told Dalva he knew Cass was out there in the dark, “watching and laughing.” Finally, the crew piled into Land Rovers and began searching for the stallion. Figuring Cass would be looking for food, they headed to the nearest village. “I was sitting on top of this Land Rover,” says Dalva. “It was just starting to get light. I saw Cass appear from behind some bushes. He was hungry, he was tired, and he was glad to see us.” Turns out Cass had galloped about 7 miles from the location.

Cass Olé died on July 22, 1993, at the age of twenty-four and was mourned by his many fans.

Ten years after Cass Olé’s death, Disney Studios released The Young Black Stallion, a prequel to The Black Stallion made specifically for showing in IMAX. Based on a novel by Walter Farley and his son Steven Farley, produced by Fred Roos, and directed by Australian Simon Wincer, the film is set in the North African desert at the end of World War II. The movie begins with the birth of the Black and follows his adventures with a young girl named Neera.

Neera is played by Biana Tamimi, a native Texan who began riding at age five. Tamimi’s excellent skills on horseback enabled her to perform much of the riding in the film, although stunt doubles spared the young actress unnecessary risk.

Biana Tamimi as Neera with Thee Cyclone, dyed black for his role as the title character in The Young Black Stallion.

During the making of The Young Black Stallion, forty horses were employed, including twenty-one Arabians leased from Jack Maritz, a South African breeder. His mare, Jara, was filmed giving birth to a foal meant to be Shetan, as the Black is known by the Arabian people in the film. The baby Shetan was played by a long-legged colt named Cricket. Including Cricket, nine horses were required to play Shetan. For the lead horse, Australian horse master Heath Harris chose the three-time South African National Champion Stallion Thee Cyclone. Originally bred in Michigan by Frank and Pat Bradish, the pure Egyptian Arabian was just six months old in 1994 when he was imported to South Africa. In addition to his breeding class championships, he had many under saddle wins, including National Champion Country English Pleasure. Conditioned by ranch work, Cyclone was physically fit for the demanding role of Shetan. There was only one problem with the classically beautiful stallion: he was bay. Like so many movie stars, Cyclone had to change his hair color for his star turn. Thee Cyclone’s main double, a mare named AE Juliette, was also bay and required a dye job to match the stallion in racing scenes.

Two other mares, Isabella and Madonna, stood in for Cyclone during trekking scenes across the desert with Neera and scenes in which the horses interact with the young girl. A young stallion named Exclusive worked with Biana Tamimi in some of these scenes as well. According to the actress, Exclusive was a bit wild and made her nervous. Her favorite was a stallion named Rambo, whom she rode in some of the racing scenes. She also rode a mare named Nyala in many of the racing shots. The only nonpurebred Arabian horse used was an Arabian/Thoroughbred cross named Jibber Jabber, who did most of the rearing stunts. In one of his scenes, Shetan is visible from Neera’s window, rearing dramatically on a mountaintop, and her grandfather realizes the horse she has been talking about is not a dream. The oldest horse in the movie was Bint Fore, a twenty-nine-year-old former broodmare who came out of retirement for a bit part pulling a cart. She limped a little, but her age-related lameness fit the character, and the mare enjoyed the attention.

Equine perfection, the exquisite Thee Cyclone in his natural bay color.

Continuing the Tradition

Riding on the success of the first two Black Stallion movies came 1984’s Sylvester, about a sixteen-year-old orphan who becomes a successful three-day-eventing Olympic rider after falling in love with a rodeo bronc she calls Sylvester.

Starring Melissa Gilbert and Richard Farnsworth, the film was shot in part at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington and includes footage of the 1984 Rolex Kentucky three-day event. The horse who played Sylvester, Tis No Trouble, was a dapple gray grand prix jumper discovered by screenwriter Carol Sobieski at the Foxfield Riding Club in Thousand Oaks, California. Nicknamed Sylvester after his character, the gelding was well loved by those who worked with him on the film, including trainers Corky Randall and Rex Peterson. In 1986, Tis No Trouble picked up the last PATSY ever given by the AHA at the thirty-second annual awards.

At the 1986 PATSY ceremony, actor Dennis Franz presented the award to Sylvester star Tis No Trouble, shown with his escort, Rex Peterson.

 

Continuing the tradition of turning books into film, Columbia produced The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988), adapted from the Swedish children’s book by Astrid Lindgren. The film features the antics of a sea captain’s daughter, Pippi Longstocking, her pet monkey, and her horse, Alphonso. In the Pippi Longstocking books, Alphonso is a Knapstrupper, a Danish breed similar in color to American Appaloosas. In the movie, Alphonso is played by a leopard Appaloosa owned by Hollywild Park in South Carolina. Alphonso was trained to sit, walk up and down stairs, pull a motorized sidecar, and allow several children to ride him at once. The film was not successful and proves that even the most talented horse actors have the unfortunate disadvantage of not being able to read the script before committing to their roles.

In 1992, Miramax released an exceptional film about the mystical bond between children and horses. Filmed in Ireland by British director Mike Newell, with an international cast starring Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin, Into the West focuses on two young brothers, Ossie and Tito. They connect with a mysterious gray horse who follows their gypsy grandfather from the seashore to Dublin. Stuck in a miserable existence with their alcoholic father (Byrne), who is still grieving the death of their mother, the boys are fascinated by their grandfather’s tale of the horse, Tír na nÓg, Celtic for “the Land of Eternal Youth,” and the magical undersea kingdom whence he came.

Ossie and Tito try to keep Tír na nÓg in their tenement apartment but are forced to give him up. A wealthy horse dealer illegally buys the gray and discovers his preternatural jumping ability. The boys reclaim the gray in a dramatic scene at a horse show and go on the run—to the West, a place they have imagined from watching American Westerns.

Tír na nÓg takes the boys on a journey that not only connects them with their mother’s spirit but also heals their father’s broken heart and reunites him with his gypsy soul. The many haunting close-ups of Tír na nÓg’s kind eyes, as well as amusing shots of him in the tenement and beautiful scenes of him running, make lasting impressions.

Tír na nÓg was portrayed by three different light gray horses belonging to French stunt and trick trainer Mario Luraschi. For the romantic image of the lone horse running on the beach, a Lippizan liberty horse was cued to run 200 meters from a distant mark to the camera. The memorable shot was accomplished in one take. Two Andalusians played Tír na nÓg in all the other scenes. The talented horses were handled by Mr. Luraschi’s protégé, Joelle Baland.

The Black Stallion screenwriter Jeanne Rosenberg penned the family film Running Free (2001), directed by the Russian Sergie Bodrov. A fictionalized story about how a group of real wild horses came to live in the Garub Desert of Namibia, South Africa, the tale begins in 1914 with a group of German horses being loaded onto a ship bound for South Africa, where they will toil in the mines. Among them is a pregnant gray mare who gives birth en route to the hero of the film, a chestnut colt. Like 1994’s Black Beauty, the story is told from the colt’s point of view through narration, added by a studio writer after the film was cut. Actor Lukas Haas provided his voice.

As the ship finds shore, the colt is separated from his mother. He is rescued by Richard (Chase Moore), an orphan boy who works at the stable of the German mine boss. Richard names the colt Lucky and does his best to nurture him. Despite Richard’s efforts, Lucky finds the going rough at the fancy stable. His nemesis is a majestic black stallion named Caesar, who disapproves of the attraction between Lucky and his daughter, Beauty.

Lucky is separated from Richard at the onset of World War I and finds himself alone. Searching for companionship in the desert, Lucky discovers two baby lion cubs resting under a tree. By now fully grown (and portrayed by a horse named Aladdin), Lucky lies down in the shade and plays with the cubs in an incredible sequence of animals-only acting. When the mother lion challenges Lucky, he is helped by a friendly onyx. The horse interacts with the long-horned African antelope in some fascinating scenes, made even more incredible by the fact that onyx are wild animals that have never been domesticated. The film culminates with Lucky returning to the old mining encampment for a showdown with Caesar. Victorious, he takes the former workhorses to live wild in the desert. All grown up, Beauty becomes his companion. In a tag scene, the adult Richard returns for a brief, touching reunion with Lucky.

While some reviewers criticized the narration’s rather treacly anthropomorphizing of animals, it does help children identify with their four-legged friends as feeling beings. For older adult horse lovers, the cinematography and equine action make the movie more than worthwhile.

For much of the film, Lucky is a weanling. Amazing sequences depict the colt struggling in the ocean. According to Heath Harris, the ocean work proved very difficult as the water temperature was quite cold. As soon as a foal—in reality an at least six-months-old colt—would hit the beach, he would be wrapped in blankets and warmed by portable heat lamps. Several colts were used to create the swimming sequence to minimize exposure. In fact, it took ten horses to play Lucky in his younger years, including Jibber Jabber of The Black Stallion Returns. Trainers Harris and Bob Lovgren worked with all the horses. Head trainer Sled Reynolds supervised the animal action and worked with the exotics. Tommy Hall, an expert on the wild horses of Namibia, was involved in the shooting of real wild herds. A team of thirteen assistant trainers was employed to marshal the extensive equine and exotic animal cast.

One of the most dramatic scenes in the film depicts a fight between Lucky’s dam and Caesar, a fight that results in the mare’s demise. The fight looks frighteningly real, but according to the American Humane Association, trainers cued the horses off-camera to perform each behavior throughout the choreographed action. American Humane did not monitor the production directly but relied on the reports of the Animal Anti-Cruelty League of Johannesburg, South Africa.

When the final credits roll, the horse stars are given billing just after the human actors, with a freeze frame of each horse superimposed behind the credit. Lucky’s dam was played by a noble Polish Arabian named Kateefa. His filly friend, Beauty, was played by Noodle, and a weanling named Nisha is given credit for playing Lucky as a young horse. Although Caesar is referred to as a Thoroughbred, he was played by a jet-black Friesian stallion named Fat Albert.

Aladdin, as Lucky in Running Free (2001), plays tag with a long-horned onyx.

Animated Equines

Animated equines have enchanted children of all ages for decades. In Disney’s first full-length animated feature, 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Prince Charming rides a beautiful white steed. This horse was modeled on King John, an Arabian stallion owned by the illustrious Kellogg Arabians of California. Short cartoons such as Disney’s How to Ride a Horse from 1941, starring the lovable Goofy as a ridiculous cowboy, warmed up audiences for the feature attractions. In more recent times, a horse named Kahn provided transportation and companionship to Mulan, the heroine in Mulan (1998). In Toy Story 2 (1999), the horse Bullseye saves the day in the film’s climactic sequence, helping cowboy star Woody make an improbable transfer to his back from the landing gear of an airplane.

It wasn’t until 2002 that a full-length animated feature focused primarily on a horse. DreamWorks’ Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron tells the story of a wild stallion and his adventures with humans both good and evil. Told from the stallion’s point of view through narration, Spirit includes the voices of stars Matt Damon (Spirit) and James Cromwell.

A woolly Spirit surveys his winter pasture at the Return to Freedom wild horse sanctuary.

Spirit, as captured by renowned equine photographer Kimerlee Curyl at the Return to Freedom wild horse sanctuary in Lompoc, California.

Spirit’s animators sought to create the most realistic horses possible for the film. Horses are difficult creatures to animate because of their long, inflexible spines, range of gaits, well-defined musculature, and vibrant body language. Anatomy and locomotion expert Stuart Sumida, who teaches at California State University San Bernadino, was recruited to instruct the animators at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, where he could illustrate his lectures with live examples. “My job,” said Sumida, “is to teach animators about natural movement and shape so that when these characters are moving on-screen the audiences are so comfortable with what they do, they lose themselves in the story.”

The horses in Spirit do not speak, so their emotions had to be conveyed on their faces. To create more expression, artists gave the horses eyebrows and white around the irises of their eyes. Of course, real horses have neither characteristic.

A handsome Kiger Mustang stallion served as the model for Spirit. Named for Oregon’s Kiger Gorge, where Bureau of Land Management officials discovered the breed in 1977, Kigers are thought to be purebred descendants of the Spanish Barbs first brought to America in the 1600s. Prized for their beauty and dispositions, they are now bred in captivity. Originally called Donner, Spirit, as he was renamed after the movie, was foaled on a ranch in Bend, Oregon, on May 8, 1995. A dun with a dorsal stripe, he stands 14.3 hands high. He was chosen for Spirit because of his great personality, his lovely gaits, and his willingness to pose for hours while the animators copied his conformation. After making his contribution to the film, Spirit was permanently retired to the Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Preservation and Sanctuary in Lompoc, California, for an idyllic life among others of his kind.

A blue-eyed bay overo pinto mare named Wakaya (registered with the American Paint Horse Association as Maide Of Smoke) was screenwriter John Fusco’s special inspiration for Spirit’s companion, Rain. Wakaya lives in Vermont with many equine friends on Fusco’s farm where he maintains a conservancy for rare Spanish Mustangs, as well as a retirement colony for movie horses.

Cloud: A Wild Dream of a Horse

Wild horses are popular characters in family entertainment because of the life lessons they have to teach about the values of freedom and loyalty. In reality, wild horses live in family bands, each one led by a dominant stallion and his lead mare. Emmy-winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens has recorded much of what we know about these bands of wild horses in three amazing documentaries for the Public Broadcasting Service’s Nature Series. Cloud, Wild Stallion of the Rockies (2001); Cloud’s Legacy, The Wild Stallion Returns (2003); and Cloud, Challenge of the Stallions (2009) all follow a rare pale palomino stallion named Cloud from birth in the Rocky Mountains to his role as a mighty band leader. These incredible documentaries still air on PBS as the beauty of the horses and the story they have to tell never gets old.

“I have often said that mustangs value their freedom and their families above all else,” states Kathrens. “The complexity of their behavior and the uniqueness of their social structure make the wild horse incredibly interesting to watch.” In describing how their structure works, Kathrens says, “The wild horse, or mustang, is the only species in our hemisphere that lives in a family band in which the male is present 365 days a year. The job of the stallion is to protect and keep the family together. If the foals wander or fail to keep up, it is the stallion’s job to retrieve them.” While the mares primarily raise the foals, they relinquish this part of the task to the stallion. A mare who left the band in search of a foal would be at risk of being captured by a rival stallion, thus further jeopardizing her foal’s chances of survival.

As the colts mature, they leave the family and live as bachelors until they are capable of challenging the older stallions for mares. As a family, the horses search for sustenance and fend off natural predators. Cloud’s survival is remarkable because of his unique, almost white color that makes him highly visible to predators like mountain lions.

Besides natural predators and the challenges of harsh weather, another threat to wild horses is their routine capture by the Bureau of Land Management. A great deal of controversy surrounds this issue, especially since many of the rounded-up horses have ended up in slaughterhouses. Awareness of their plight has galvanized people from all walks of life who would like to see the mustangs remain free on public lands deeded to them by Congress. One of these advocates is actor Robert Redford who says, “If you think about an image of a horse running wild and free, it’s pretty beautiful. The horse is iconic, symbolic of America. And what is America? America is freedom. That’s how we became America: we sought freedom from other rule.” Redford believes that protecting the national treasures that are America’s wild horses starts “with telling a story.” Ginger Kathrens’s wonderful documentary films and books about Cloud and his family are an excellent place to start.

Still going strong at eighteen in July, 2013, Cloud enjoys running through a summer pasture in the pryor mountains.

Cloud’s look-alike daughter Encore was born in May 2013.

Cloud’s daughter Encore and her two-year-old brother, Mato ska, which means “silver bear” in the lakota language.