The West Old & New Vol. III Issue IV April 2014 | Page 15

happy with their horses, because the main purpose was to carry the rider and were cast just for this part.
Because the show was filmed in color and because the different personalities of the Cartwrights, the horses that were selected
would be distinct before the cameras and still relate to their riders. The horses weren't owned by the actors. They were rented from
Fat Jones Stables in North Hollywood. The firm specialized in renting horses and horse-drawn rolling stock to movie and TV productions since 1912.
In 1970, the stable sold off a good deal of their livestock, which included the Paint horses rode by Michael Landon, for a sum of
$19,000 dollars. He was supplied with new mounts for the final three seasons of the series. The era of Western films was coming
to a final curtain. Fat Jones Stables closed their business in 1975.
Michael Landon once related in an interview on The Tonight Show, that Lorne did not like horses and could be heard mumbling in disgust when he had to mount or ride one. On many occasions, Lorne would say, "Whoa, you son of a bitch", when he
would bring Buck to a dead halt.
The real names of the horses the Cartwright sons rode were Streak, Slippers and Tomahawk.
Michael Landon selected a beautiful Paint horse for his new mount, in the show he is called Cochise, named after the famous
Indian. He stood 15. 3 hands high and weighed 1,150 pounds. Michael rode Cochise the first six years of Bonanza, who had two
stunt Paint horses double him, the first season, in June-July 1959 at Sand Harbor and Tahoe Meadows, and the second Paint double used in the fourth season at Truckee and Iverson Ranch in 1962, fifth season again at Iverson Ranch in 1963, and seventh season at Red Rock Canyon, California in 1965.
During the sixth year in October 1964, a deranged intruder broke into the Fat Jones Stable when everyone was asleep and stabbed
the Paint and a few of the others horses very badly. Some of the other horses the vet was able to save, but the Paint and the others
had to be euthanized. Michael was very saddened by this and put out a reward, but the authorities never apprehended the killer.
Lorne Greene was also shaken and said if this had happened to Buck, he didn't know what he would do if anything happened to his
horse.

An acrylic painting by Jim Erickson of Hot Springs, Montana.
The West Old & New Page 15