List of historical horses

This list includes actual horses that exist in the historical record.

Acting and performing horses

Bamboo Harvester, portrayed a talking horse in the title role of the television series Mister Ed
Buttermilk, Dale Evans' horse used in films
Champion the Wonder Horse, portrayed on film with Gene Autry
Clever Hans, horse that performed math tricks
Gunrock, mascot for the University of California, Davis
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
Popcorn Deelites, the horse actor in the film Seabiscuit
Rex, Morgan stallion who starred in films and film serials in the 1920s and 1930s
Trigger, palomino trick horse for films with Roy Rogers

Famous bloodlines

Byerly Turk, a foundation sire of the Thoroughbred breed
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
Hollywood Dun It, all-time leading reining sire and American Quarter Horse
King, a foundation sire of the American Quarter Horse breed
Zippo Pine Bar leading Western Pleasure sire of Quarter Horses, inducted into American [Quarter Horse Hall of Fame] and National Snaffle Bit Association Hall of Fame

Famous owners

Burmese, favourite mount of Queen Elizabeth II; a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Incitatus, favorite horse of Roman Emperor Caligula
Matsukaze, personal horse of Maeda Keiji
Old Bob, a driving horse of Abraham Lincoln
Yanardag, Akhal-Teke horse owned by Saparmurat Niyazov

Military horses

Babieca, warhorse of El Cid
Bill the Bastard, legendary Australian warhorse in World War I
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 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 during the American Civil War
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
Dhūljānāḥ, the horse of Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala
Favorito, the personal horse of Charles Albert of Savoy, King of Sardinia, ridden during the campaigns of 1848
Ikezuki, ridden by Sasaki Takatsuna throughout the Genpei War
Kasztanka, mare that belonged to interwar Poland's leader, Marshal Józef Piłsudski, that he used during World War I
Marengo, Napoleon's warhorse which was captured by the British, and outlived Napoleon by eight years
Nelson, one of Washington's two primary mounts during the American Revolutionary War
Old Whitey, Zachary Taylor's horse during the Mexican–American War
Palomo, main horse of Simón Bolívar during his campaigns of national liberation
Reckless, became a decorated U.S. Marine for carrying supplies and ammunition into battle during the Korean War
horse owned by the warlord Lü Bu, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China
Sakarya, personal horse of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, named for the Battle of the Sakarya
Saluzi, warhorse owned by Emperor Taizong of Tang
Sefton, British Army horse that survived the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings in 1982
Shadowless of Cao Cao, attested by an annotator to the Book of Wei
Streiff, horse of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden at the Battle of Lützen (1632)
Surusumi of Yoritomo was bestowed to Kajiwara Kagesue
Tencendur, warhorse of King Charlemagne
Traveller, Robert E. Lee's horse during the American Civil War and beyond
Veillantif, horse of Roland, a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne
Warrior or Old Warrior, the mount of General Jack Seely in World War I; 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. After its death, the horse was mounted and is preserved at the Royal Stables in The Hague.

Non-racing competition horses

For racehorses, such as Secretariat and Man o' War, see List of racehorses.

Big Ben, Canadian international and Olympic-level show jumper
Brentina, American international and Olympic-level dressage horse
Halla, German show jumper that carried her injured rider to gold medals in the 1956 Summer Olympics
Hickstead, Canadian international show jumper and Olympic individual show jumping gold medal winner
Huaso, Chilean show jumper which set the high jump world record in 1949, one of the world's longest unbroken sport records
Midnight, a bucking horse inducted into several halls of fame
Milton, British showjumping gelding ridden by John Whitaker, won several world championships
Noble Flaire, Morgan horse who was the first to win three park harness world championships at the American Morgan Horse World Championship Horse Show
Rugged Lark, a very successful show competition quarter horse inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
Scamper, a champion barrel racer that won the Women's Pro Rodeo world championship ten years in a row, and many other top competitions. Scamper, a gelding, was cloned and his offspring stood at stud.
Seldom Seen, a small Thoroughbred-Connemara honored by the United States Dressage Federation in 2005 for its competition achievements, talent, and being an ambassador for the sport.
Snowman, won the 1958 National Horse Show Open Jumper championship; twice named the American Horse Shows Association Horse of the Year; enormously popular with audiences, making television appearances and inspiring books
Totilas, Dutch Warmblood stallion, first horse to score above a 90 in dressage
Touch of Class, Thoroughbred show jumper, won two gold medals in the 1984 Olympics
Valegro, 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

Racehorse

See List of racehorses and List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses

Record setting horses

Big Jake, former world's tallest living horse
Brooklyn Supreme, said to be the largest horse in history
Old Billy, longest-living horse verified ever
Sampson, tallest horse, a Shire horse standing high

Science and medicine

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
Occident, the trotting horse in the early motion photography study of 1878
Prometea, the first cloned horse and the first to be carried to term by its genetic donor