Throughout the history of television and the movies there have been famous palomino horses that have been much loved by both the audience and the stars. One of the first and probably the most famous of the show horses that were palomino in coloration was Trigger. Trigger was ridden by Roy Rogers in almost all his western movies starting in 1938. Trigger, originally named Golden Cloud, was sired by a Thoroughbred stallion and an unregistered grade palomino mare. Although Golden Cloud was originally a movie rental horse, Roy Rogers first saw him in 1938 and immediately bought him and then renamed him Trigger. It is reported that Trigger was renamed from Golden Cloud due to his lightening fast ability to learn new tricks and his almost human ability to understand what Roy Rogers wanted. At demonstrations and events Trigger could complete over 60 different tricks and was able to walk on his hind legs for over 100 steps, requiring amazing strength and balance. Trigger, although a stallion all his life, was never used for breeding so there are no direct descendants of this magnificent horse. After 1965 when he passed away his hide was mounted on a mold of the horse that now is located in Branson, Missouri. At the height of his career Trigger even had his own fan club and comic book. Trigger is one of the few animals to have their footprints, or in this case hoof prints, outside the Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Trigger Jr, the horse that appeared in several movies as Trigger, was also used by Roy Rogers after Trigger reached his senior years and was officially retired. Trigger Jr. was not related to the original Trigger and was a registered Tennessee walking horse. Often there is a lot of confusion about the lineage with many people incorrectly assuming that Trigger Jr was a foal out of Trigger's line.
Mr. Ed was another famous palomino horse that actually had his own television show. Mr. Ed, originally known as Bamboo Harvester, was an American Saddlebred gelding of a beautiful rich palomino color. In this sitcom the Mr. Ed, as a horse, could talk to his owner Wilbur Post. This was one of the first shows that used an animal as a main character and the show was a real hit first in 1961 as a syndicated show and then for the CBS network from 1951 to 1966. The true Mr. Ed was humanely put down at the age of 19 as he was suffering from several healths related conditions. Since then other horses have been used in remakes of the sitcom.
One of the true palomino movie stars is Nautical, featured in the Walt Disney movie "The Horse with the Flying Tail", produced in 1960. This is a true story based on a cow horse that was going to be destroyed because he would jump out of every fence the owner tried to keep him in. Hugh Wiley, an Olympic grand prix rider, discovers Nautical and trains him to compete for the US Equestrian team, going on to win awards and competitions throughout the horse's life.
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