Duke's Movie Horses

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  • Hello All
    I would appreciate some elaboration on the statement Quirt makes about JW not loving horses. Can anyone can point me at a reference to JW and his feeling about horses.

    Greetings from North of the 49th

  • Quote

    Originally posted by kilo 6@Sep 7 2005, 10:12 PM
    Hello All
    I would appreciate some elaboration on the statement Quirt makes about JW not loving horses. Can anyone can point me at a reference to JW and his feeling about horses.

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    Howdy Kilo,
    There have been several books out about John Wayne that make some sort of mention that he either disliked or hated horses, or at least riding them. I think the most blatant mention is in Garry Wills book John Wayne: The Politics of America. In it he flat out states that Duke hated horses. Personally I hated this book and felt that Wills disliked Wayne and took every opportunity to belittle or discount him in his book. However, you have to remember that Duke grew up riding a horse to school every day when he first moved to California, and he rode well. There are several other times that he mentioned riding a horse, such as when he told about herding cattle on horseback to bring the cattle into Monument Valley in 1930 for the film Lone Star Ranger. He also rode horses with Ward Bond when they went hunting.


    I don't think he hated horses per se, but I don't think they were his favorite form of transportation. He raised horses on one of his ranches, he was a good horseman and he sat a horse well, but as Duke himself once said, "When I get on a horse, I get paid a lot of money."
    Colorado Bob

    "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them" It may be time worn, but it's the best life-creed I know.

  • Hi all,
    Thank you very much to bring that topic again, I didn't find it during my search in old topics, and I' m very interested in the questions connected with Dukes horses. And I find answerers for the most of them in the posts. Only that first question about Dukes horse in The Searchers and Horse soldgies wasn't answered (I myself quess that it was the same horse) and I can't agree that it is the tall horse, I think it is less than 160 sm.
    Regards,
    Vera

  • Vera;


    Duke was not what we call a Horse Lover, but thought of them as a Tool to be used in His Films. But He did have His Favorite Horses like Old Dollar and Bo. :)


    In the Southwest in the 1800s and then on up into the 1980s when I was raising Horses on my ranch, we would say that a Horse was so many "Hands High!" One hand was about 4 inches or about 10 sm. And that would be to the Whithers or Shoulders of the Horse. :rolleyes:


    If you would say that the Horse was 14 Hands or smaller that would be a Small Horse, <_< and if you would say the Horse was 16 Hands or more, that was a Tall Horse, and because Duke was a Very Big Man He liked a Tall Horse!!! :D


    Chilibill :cowboy:


  • Hi Bill,
    You always bring some important and interesting information not only about Duke but about the horses size as well. I was always thinking about the meanings of that Hands and inches.
    Here were the most horses are bred for sport 16 Hands don't seems too much. It is the middle sized horse, tall is about 17. Even trotters nobody would like to bay less than 16 hands high (I like that way to say about horse size in hands).
    What horses have you bred on your ranch? I myself thinking about breeding trotters, but haven't started yet. If I start it will be only one breeding mare.
    Regards,
    Vera

  • Vera;


    Thirty years ago on my ranch in California, I was raising Hereford Cattle and Arab Horses. After a few years it was very clear that it was a very Expensive thing to be in Raising Arab Horses. :fear2: We had 27 Horses, Mostly Mares and One Arab Stud to service the Mares. :) Lightning Hit the Stud Horse and Killed him, and that is when I sold all but one of the Mares for my Wife Martha and One Gilding for me to use on the Ranch. :( If you want to read a little more on the Ranch you can go to Horse Ranch


    I will talk to you next week, I am leaving for a few more days at Duke's 26 Bar Ranch with my Son. :) This time we are going to Ride up to the Line Shack up in the High Country to get some more Video for the Promo that we are doing for the Ranch. :)


    Chilibill :cowboy:

  • Hello All
    Hi Chilibill - nice storey about the ranch. Speaking of horses JW rented 1600 for the filming of the Alamo. ( according to Roberts and Olson book JW American ) Hi Colorado thanks for the reference I have to agree with you that Gary Wils seems to have a lot of negative things to say about JW Kilo

    Greetings from North of the 49th

  • The horse's name is DOLLOR...!!!!</span>


    M & A
    Can we merge the two horse topics? One "Duke's horses" in "General Discussions" and one in "Off Topic Discussions" called "Dukes Rides { Horses }"


    Horse Timeline
    Can we start a timeline for the horses? Something like this.


    1930-1941: Duke
    1942-1952: Banner
    1953-1968: Beau
    1968-1978: Dollor


    Put in the main horses and any other subs, like the ones Hawks insisted on.


    The Quiet Man
    Did anyone find out about the horse in "The Quiet Man"? They didn't ship a horse all the way to Ireland for basiclly one scene did they?


    Don


  • Hi Chilibill,
    I have read about your ranch with great interest. You are right that it is difficult to make money on Arabian horses. Good friends of mine started a farm near St.Petersburg more than 10 years ago. I must add that horse breeding became possible for private persons in Russia only in 90-es. Now they have a big number of horses, about 1/3 of them _Arabian, others raised for the sport. Their arabian horses participate in races and also in the Show for Arabian horses, which became quite popular in the last years. They didn't make much money but somehow they keep the farm. But all hey is their own.
    I hope your visit to the Dukes ranch will be successful. Hope to hear from you again,
    Regards,
    Vera :)

  • I'm pretty sure this question has already been asked, but in going through the past posts, I can't seem to find the thread. Does anyone know the names of the horses that John Wayne rode in his films, and what horses in what films?
    Thanks for the help,
    Best,
    Colorado Bob

    "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them" It may be time worn, but it's the best life-creed I know.

  • This has been up, but I can't find the discussion either, so, the two most famous ones are Duke and Dollor. Duke is the pure white in some 30's westerns - it had some other name earlier but was renamed after its rider. Dollor is seen for the first time in the final scene of the True grit, the "another tall horse" Rooster had bought. And in several films after that.
    Here's Suburban Chicago a small article about Dollor

    I don't believe in surrenders.

  • I wonder if Dollor is still alive? He'd be almost 40! :o

    Tbone



    "I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please."

  • Quote

    Originally posted by Tbone@Jul 26 2006, 09:45 AM
    I wonder if Dollor is still alive? He'd be almost 40! :o

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    It seems to me that I read somewhere a while back that Ol' Dollor passed away. Thanks to everyone for helping me out. The subject came up between myself and another John Wayne fan one day while we were at work, and we were trying to come up with the names of the different horses Duke rode and in what films. The topic kinda stuck in my head, so I've been researching it. Since I know the best John Wayne authorities and experts are right here at the JWMB, I kinda figgered I'd start my research right here. I knew y'all wouldn't let me down, and ya didn't. If I come with anything else, I'll let y'all know.
    Thanks again,
    Colorado Bob

    "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them" It may be time worn, but it's the best life-creed I know.

  • Thanks for the links, ejgreen, very interesting reading, especially Quirt's posts.


    Everybody says that Dollor is in all the films after True grit, except for the mule in Cahill. I watched bits of them yesterday, and it is definitely Dollor in the Undefeated, Chisum and Rio Lobo - large blaze, almost bald face, white under the muzzle too, and three white legs, left front sorrel. Very long legs.
    The horse in Big Jake and after looks different: narrower blaze, only two socks, in the hind legs and not so long legs. Ok, it may be have become sturdier when older and so the legs seem relatively shorter, but what about the markings? Is it masked in the same way in all the later films?

    I don't believe in surrenders.

  • I put up a little Picture Site of some of the Duke's Film Horses but not all :( . I do not have pictures of all of them yet but I am going to find them. :D I think I remember some of them from the early days as


    DUKE the White Horse
    STEEL
    ALAMO
    BANNER
    BEAU or BO
    DOLLAR or DALLOR or DOLLOR


    You can go to


    DUKE'S HORSES


    Chilibill :cowboy:

  • Howdy All,
    Well so far, what I have come up with regarding the horses John Wayne rode is this:


    He rode Duke the Miracle Horse (real name Sheik) in:
    Haunted Gold
    The Telegraph Trail
    Somewhere in Sonora
    The Man from Monterey
    The Big Stampede
    Ride Him Cowboy


    He rode Starlight in:
    Pals of the Saddle
    Overland Stage Raiders
    Sante Fe Stampede
    Red River Range
    The Night Riders
    Three Texas Steers
    Wyoming Outlaw
    Riders of Destiny
    Westward Ho (possibly)
    The Sagebrush Trail (possibly)


    He rode Banner in:
    Angel and the Badman
    Hondo
    She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
    Three Godfathers


    He rode Sammy in:
    A Lady Takes A Chance (although this may be Banner)


    He rode Steel in:
    The Conqueror
    Tall in the Saddle


    He Rode Alamo (owned by John Wayne) in:
    The Alamo
    McLintock!


    He rode Beau (owned by John Wayne) in:
    True Grit
    The War Wagon (possibly)
    The Comancheros (possibly)
    The Sons of Katie Elder (possibly)


    He rode Zip Cochise (owned by Howard Hawks) in:
    El Dorado


    He rode Dollor in:
    True Grit (his first film with John Wayne. He was 2 years old)
    Big Jake
    The Cowboys
    The Train Robbers
    Rooster Cogburn
    The Shootist (possibly)


    I'm still looking and researching. Watching movies and comparing known photos with the films. I don't why this thing has stuck in my craw the way it has, but I'm having fun doing it! Hope I'm not boring y'all with my prattlin' on, but thought I'd share what I've learned. Once this thing has run its course, if I come up with any more info, I'll let ya know. And by the way, thanks to Bill and ejgreen77 and etsija and ethan for helping me out with this.
    Best to all,
    Colorado Bob

    "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them" It may be time worn, but it's the best life-creed I know.

  • Bob,


    I've always thought the horse JW refers to as "Sammy" in A Lady Takes A Chance was Steel, the horse he rode for his RKO films. I haven't checked it out carefully, though.


    Quote

    "I am not intoxicated - yet." McLintock!