List of historical horses
This list includes actual horses that exist in the historical record. Racehorses are listed at List of racehorses.
Racehorse
[edit]See List of racehorses and List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
Famous horses
[edit]- Bamboo Harvester, portrayed a talking horse in the title role of the TV series Mister Ed, retired in Shasta County
- Brooklyn Supreme, said to be the largest horse in history
- Burmese, favourite mount of Queen Elizabeth II; a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Buttermilk, Dale Evans' horse
- Byerly Turk, a foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed
- Clever Hans, reputedly smart horse
- D'Arcy Yellow Turk, early foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed
- Darley Arabian, a foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed
- Figure, the foundation sire of the Morgan horse breed
- Godolphin Arabian, a foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed
- Gunrock, a thoroughbred stallion used in the 1920s to breed horses for the US Cavalry, and became a mascot for the University of California at Davis
- Hollywood Dun It, all-time leading reining sire and Quarter Horse
- Incitatus, favorite horse of Roman Emperor Caligula
- Jim, a horse used to produce diphtheria antitoxin but which contracted tetanus, causing contamination of some of the samples and resulting in several human deaths, leading to the Biologics Control Act of 1902
- King, a foundation sire of the Quarter Horse breed
- Marocco or Bankes's Horse, a late 16th- and early 17th-century English performing horse
- Muhamed, German horse allegedly capable of reading and performing arithmetic
- Occident, the trotting horse in the early motion photography study of 1878
- Old Billy, longest-living horse verified ever[1]
- Old Bob, a driving horse of Abraham Lincoln
- Popcorn Deelites, the horse actor which played Seabiscuit in the 2003 film
- Prometea, the first cloned horse (2003) and the first to be carried to term by its genetic donor
- Rugged Lark, a very successful show competition quarter horse inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
- Sampson, tallest horse, a Shire horse standing 21.25 hands (86.5 inches; 220 cm) high
- Trigger, Roy Rogers' palomino trick horse for films
- Zippo Pine Bar, show horse and sire of western pleasure horses, inducted into American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and National Snaffle Bit Association Hall of Fame
Military horses
[edit]- Autumn Dew, horse owned by Emperor Taizong of Tang
- Babieca, horse of El Cid
- Bill the Bastard, legendary Australian war horse
- Black Jack, the last Quartermaster-issued U.S. Army horse, died February 6, 1976
- Blueskin, one of Washington's two primary mounts during the American Revolutionary War
- Bucephalus, favorite horse of Alexander the Great; one of the most famous horses of antiquity; following his death after the Battle of Hydaspes in 326 BCE, Alexander promptly founded the city of Bucephala upon the spot in his memory
- Chetak, war horse of Maharana Pratap of Mewar in India; died defending its master in 1576 during the Battle of Haldighati
- Cincinnati, one of Ulysses S. Grant's horses
- Comanche, only documented survivor of General Custer's 7th Cavalry detachment at the Battle of Little Big Horn
- Copenhagen, the Duke of Wellington's favourite horse, which he rode at the Battle of Waterloo
- Çankaya, one of the two personal horses of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey[2]
- Dhūljānāḥ, the horse of Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala
- Favorito, the personal horse of Charles Albert of Savoy, King of Sardinia from 1831 to the king's death in 1849
- Kasztanka, mare that belonged to interwar Poland's leader, Marshal Józef Piłsudski
- Llamrei[* 1], horse of King Arthur
- Marengo, Napoleon's horse which was captured by the British, and outlived Napoleon by eight years
- Matsukaze, personal horse of Maeda Keiji[4]
- Nelson, one of Washington's two primary mounts during the American Revolutionary War
- Old Whitey, horse of soldier and U.S. President Zachary Taylor
- Palomo, main horse of Simón Bolívar
- Reckless, became a decorated Marine for carrying supplies and ammunition into battle for the US Marine platoon in the Korean War
- Red Hare (Chitu) of Lü Bu (d. 199) according to 3rd century Records of the Three Kingdoms[7] inspired the phrase "Among men: Lü Bu. Among horses: Red Hare"
- Sakarya, One of the two personal horses of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, inspired by the battle which he commanded of the same name[8]
- Sefton, survivor of the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings in 1982
- Shadowless[9] (Jue ying) of Cao Cao, attested by an annotator to the Book of Wei (5th cent.).[11]
- Streiff, horse of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden at the battle of Lützen (1632)
- Tencendur,[* 2] warhorse of King Charlemagne
- Traveller, Robert E. Lee's horse
- Veillantif,[* 3] horse of Roland (d. 778), a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne
- Warrior, "Old Warrior", the mount of General Jack Seely in the First World War from 1914 to 1918; awarded the Dickin Medal in 2014
- Wexy, the war horse of the then Prince of Orange, Prince Willem Frederik of Orange, the later King William II of the Netherlands which he rode during the Battle of Waterloo. The horse was wounded during the battle as was the Prince. After its death the horse was mounted and till this day is one of the oldest mounted horses in Europe which is still being preserved at the Royal Stables in The Hague.[12]
Competition horses
[edit]For racehorses, such as Secretariat and Man o' War, see List of racehorses.
- Big Ben (1976–1999), Canadian international and Olympic-level show jumper
- Brentina (1991–2021), American international and Olympic-level dressage horse
- Halla (1945–1979), German show jumper that carried her injured rider to gold medals in the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Hickstead (1996–2011), Canadian international show jumper and Olympic individual show jumping gold medal winner
- Huaso (1933–1961), Chilean show jumper which set the high jump world record in 1949, one of the world's longest unbroken sport records[a]
- Midnight (1916–1936), a bucking horse inducted into several halls of fame
- Milton (1977–1999), British showjumping gelding ridden by John Whitaker, won several world championships
- Noble Flaire (1984–2006), Morgan horse who was the first to win three park harness world championships at the American Morgan Horse World Championship Horse Show
- Scamper (1977–2012), a champion barrel racer that won the Women's Pro Rodeo world championship 10 years in a row, and many other top competitions. Scamper, a gelding, was cloned and his offspring stood at stud.
- Seldom Seen (1970–1996), a small Thoroughbred-Connemara honored by the US Dressage Federation in 2005 for its competition achievements, talent, and being an ambassador for the sport.
- Snowman (1948–1974), bought cheaply off a slaughter truck but became a talented show jumper; won the 1958 National Horse Show Open Jumper championship; twice named the American Horse Shows Association Horse of the Year; enormously popular with audiences, including making TV appearances and having books written about him
- Totilas (2000–2020), Dutch Warmblood stallion, first horse to score above a 90 in dressage (90.75 in 2009 and 92.3 in 2009)
- Touch of Class (1973–2001), Thoroughbred show jumper, won two gold medals in the 1984 Olympics
- Valegro (2002–), Dutch Warmblood gelding with four Olympic medals in dressage; broke Totilas' world records with a score of 93.975 in 2013, then 94.3 in 2014
See also
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Famous horses.
- American Horse of the Year § Honorees
- Equine recipients of the Dickin Medal
- Old Friends Equine § Notable residents
- Wonder Horses
- Horses of Elizabeth II
- List of horses in mythology and folklore
- List of fictional horses
- Category:Individual horses
Notes
[edit]- ^ As of 2025, this 76-year-old record has not been surpassed
Pseudo-historical horses
[edit]- ^ Llamrei in the 12th century(?) Welsh romance Culhwch ac Olwen is not otherwise attested in historical writings. Arthur's dog Cavall is attested by the continuator[s] who added the Mirabilia section to the 9th century Historia Brittonum.
- ^ Pseudo-historical. The horse Tencendur, like the king's sword Joyeuse appears in 12th century Song of Roland which is not a historical record attestation.
- ^ Pseudo-historical. The horse Veillantif, like the sword Durendal appears in 12th century Song of Roland which is not a historical record attestation.
References
[edit]- ^ Bibby, Miriam. "Old Billy the Barge Horse". historic-uk.com.
- ^ "Atatürk'ün Atları Sakarya ve Çankaya - Binicilik Okulu" (in Turkish). June 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ Takimoto, Seiichi [in Japanese]; Mukai, Shikamatsu [in Japanese], eds. (1926). "Meiba kō" 名馬考 [Considerations on famed horses]. Nihon sangyō shiryō taikei 日本産業資料大系 第1巻 第一篇農林業. Chugai Shogyo Shinposha. https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1020345/1/199.
- ^ Attested by Miura Jōshin (d. 1644) in Kenmonshū.[3]
- ^ Zhōngguó lìdài jīngdiǎn bǎokù 中國歴代經典寶庫 [A treasure trove of Chinese classics] (in Chinese). Vol. 27. Taipei: China Times Publishing Co. 1981. p. 260.
- ^ Wu Cheng'en (1977). Saiyūki 西遊記 [Journey to the West] (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Translated by Ono, Shinobu [in Japanese]. Iwanami Shoten. p. 294.
- ^ This man's biography: "Lü Bu dian 呂布傳", "Book of Wei", Records of the Three Kingdoms[5][6]
- ^ "Turkish Military Academy". kho.msu.edu.tr. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ Lai, C. M. (2003). "The Craft of Original Imitation: Lu Ji's Imitations of Han Old Poems". In Kroll, Paul W.; Knechtges, David R. . (eds.). Studies in Early Medieval Chinese Literature and Cultural History: In Honor of Richard B. Mather & Donald Holzman. Provo, Utah: Tʻang Studies Society. p. 138. ISBN 9780972925501.
- ^ Qian Zhongshu (2007) [1979]. Guǎn zhuī biān 錢鍾書 [Limited Views] (in Chinese). Vol. 3. Zhao Xiuting. Iwanami Shoten. p. 1593.
- ^ Book of Wei, quoted in the annotation by Pei Songzhi to the "Annals of Emperor Wu", "Book of Wei", Records of the Three Kingdoms (3rd cent.).[10]
- ^ "Wexy". Koninklijke Verzamelingen (in Dutch). Retrieved October 16, 2024.
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