Jessie, Honeybee, and others,
John Wayne – Hollywood’s Greatest Cowboy – WARHorses
Here's a link to a site where I found some other info tonight while trying to find an article I read many years ago, about Cochise, the horse that JW rode in El Dorado.
I noticed that someone had already posted some info on Zip Cochise (I had never heard him called anything, but Cochise.) and the man who actually owned him.
I read many years ago that the producer and director, Howard Hawks owned, Cochise and wanted JW to ride his horse in the movie.
I don't remember the full story, but I do remember something about how it took great strength for JW to back the horse up in the scene where he meets Bart Jason and returns his money.
I see that Quirt has also posted something about this same scene. "The horse Cochise from El Dorado was owned by Howard Hawks. Duke said that it took a lot of arm muscle to back him out of Ed Asner's ranch."
I agree with those who say that Cochise was way too small of a horse for JW.
I had often wondered how Cochise's owner convinced JW to ride his horse. I didn't know that the owner was also the director and producer of the movie. - You learn something new every day, or at least you should.
One last note. In El Dorado, Josephine (Joey) also rides an appy.
Here's the part of the article (Telling of JW's horses) that I found to be interesting!!!
"In the 1930s Wayne was paired with a majestic white parade horse with a long, flowing mane and tail. The horse was called Duke, after the actor’s nickname. “It was kind of an inside joke,” Mitchum says.
During the 40’s and 50’s The Duke’s favorite mount was a large bay named Banner, supplied by the Fat Jones stables. “He was intelligent and had an instinct for this business,” Wayne once said of Banner.
In such films as Tall in the Saddle and The Conqueror, Wayne rode a stallion named Steel, one of the most famous horses of his era.
Occasionally Wayne would take the reins of Cocaine, the stunt horse used by Chuck Roberson, who was Wayne’s double in more than 30 movies.
In El Dorado The Duke rode Zip Cochise, an Appaloosa that was so small, Wayne appeared to be riding a pony.
Then there are the horses Dollor and Dollar which have confused movie buffs at infinitum. Dollor, with an “o”, had a much wider blaze on his face and different stockings on his legs than Dollar, with an “a”. Wayne rode Dollor (o) in the charging scene in True Grit. Wayne rode Dollar (a) in the sequel, Rooster Cogburn, as well as in his final film, The Shootist."