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When you think of legendary horses, names like Seabiscuit and Secretariat may come to mind, or even TV icons like Mr. Ed. Yet, the world of horses is rich with history, and countless exceptional steeds have been forgotten over time. Here are 10 remarkable horses whose stories deserve more recognition.
10. Bucephalus
In addition to being the greatest military conqueror of his era, Alexander the Great is often considered the world’s first horse whisperer as well.
Legend has it that when Bucephalus was first discovered, no one could tame him, not even Alexander’s father, Phillip II of Macedon. Alexander realized that the horse was simply frightened by his own shadow, so he gently turned Bucephalus' head towards the Sun. In an instant, the fierce stallion was calmed.
Another version of the tale claims that at just 10 years old, Alexander was the only one able to get close to Bucephalus. He would softly speak to the majestic horse, who would lower his head, allowing the young future conqueror to mount him.
Bucephalus accompanied the legendary general into numerous battles and was deeply cherished by his master. When a group of Persians kidnapped Bucephalus, Alexander vowed to annihilate Persia and its people unless they returned his beloved horse. They quickly complied.
Depending on the version of the story, Bucephalus either succumbed to battle injuries, old age, or a combination of both. Regardless, he became one of history's first animal icons.
9. Comanche
Comanche was a mustang acquired by the United States Army Cavalry in 1868. He was named after being injured in a battle against Native Americans. The horse let out a scream when struck by an arrow, leading a soldier to remark that he cried out just like a Comanche Indian.
Following the devastating defeat of General George Custer and his troops at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, Comanche was found badly wounded. He spent an entire year recovering at Fort Lincoln in North Dakota. Once healed, Comanche never returned to battle. In his later years, he became a celebrated figure, participating in various ceremonies and parades. He was revered as a symbol of Custer’s legacy. Today, Comanche is preserved and on display at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History.
A key part of Comanche’s legendary status was the belief, up until just a few years ago, that he was the only survivor from Custer’s Last Stand during the Battle of Little Bighorn. However, it is now thought that other horses survived as well. Unfortunately, these horses were likely captured by the Native Americans and were never seen again.
8. Marengo
Marengo was born in County Wexford, Ireland. He is best known for having traveled over 5,600 kilometers (3,500 miles) roundtrip from Paris to Moscow in 1812. During this remarkable journey, he carried none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.
Marengo was said to have been captured during Napoleon’s campaigns in Egypt. He quickly became the French emperor’s favorite steed, carrying him into many famous battles, including the Battle of Waterloo. Marengo is also notable for being rumored to be distantly related to Copenhagen, the horse of the Duke of Wellington, who famously defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
Strangely, Marengo’s fame isn’t particularly significant within France itself. His celebrity was likely propelled by British Lord Petre, who is said to have bought Marengo and taken him to Britain after the Battle of Waterloo. However, Marengo’s name is conspicuously absent from the list of 150 horses Napoleon had registered in his French stables at the time.
Marengo’s story appears to lack historical or nostalgic backing in French records. You would expect a horse so closely associated with a legendary French figure like Napoleon to be regarded as a national symbol in France. Yet, since he is not, there’s reasonable doubt about whether Marengo was ever a real horse.
7. Copenhagen
Copenhagen, on the other hand, was very much real and had quite the fiery temperament. He was so surly that after returning from Waterloo, Wellington gave Copenhagen a celebratory pat on the rump—only for the horse to attempt to kick him in the head in response. Fortunately for Wellington (and probably for Copenhagen as well), the horse missed. Imagine surviving a brutal day of gunfire and cannon blasts, only to be knocked out by a kick from the very horse that brought you to safety.
Copenhagen seems to have mellowed in his later years, as he became an absolute favorite in retirement. He would happily approach strangers hoping for some bread and treats, and allowed ladies to gently pull out his mane and tail hairs to make bracelets. After his death, one of his hooves was stolen, but it was soon returned and transformed into an inkstand. Copenhagen was so admired that his head was cast in bronze and displayed at Wellington College.
Now that’s how you honor the famous horse of a legendary military figure.
6. Sergeant Reckless
Many United States Marine units have a live animal mascot, but Sergeant Reckless was something far more extraordinary. During the Korean War, a girl stepped on a landmine and lost her leg. To afford her a prosthetic, her brother sold a chestnut Mongolian mare named Flame-in-the-Morning to the local Marine unit for $250. The Marines renamed her Reckless after the term they used for their weapons: “reckless rifles.”
Reckless proved invaluable to her new owners by carrying antitank ammunition to the front lines, which earned her a permanent place in history and the hearts of the Marines. Fearless in the face of gunfire and artillery, Reckless was trained to lie down and even avoid tripwires. During the Battle of Outpost Vegas, Reckless hauled 4,100 kilograms (9,000 lbs) of ammunition to the front lines, completing an incredible 51 round trips—all in a single day!
Beloved and respected by the Marines in her unit, Reckless indulged in scrambled eggs, pudding, soda, and beer, often behaving just like any other soldier. The Marines held her in such high regard that they promoted her to Staff Sergeant. After a story about Sergeant Reckless was published in the Saturday Evening Post, she was brought to the United States and retired at Camp Pendleton in California. A bronze statue of her now stands at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia.
5. The Byerley Turk
Among the three Arabian horses from which all modern thoroughbreds trace their ancestry, one was known as the Byerley Turk. While the horse racing community is notoriously meticulous about preserving pure bloodlines, it remains uncertain whether the Byerley Turk was genuinely a purebred Arabian or not.
In 1688, the British had just triumphed over the Turks at the Siege of Buda. Among the spoils of war was a majestic stallion seized from a Turkish officer by British Captain Robert Byerley. Due to the chaotic nature of the battle, Byerley had no way to confirm the horse’s lineage. It’s simply a reasonable assumption that the Turk was likely a purebred Arabian.
As a warhorse, the Byerley Turk remained a loyal companion to his new master for many years. Upon retiring, he was put to stud and bred with some very fine mares. Over time, he fathered numerous great racehorses who, if the story about Byerley’s questionable bloodline is accurate, may not be as well-bred as their owners would like to think.
4. Pinto
Pinto holds the unique distinction of being the only horse known to have traveled the entire length of the continental United States, covering a staggering 32,753 kilometers (20,352 miles). This feat is considered the longest recorded journey of the 20th century.
In 1912, five men from Shelton, Washington set out to make history by riding horseback to each state capital in the United States. Led by expert horseman George Beck, they formed the Overland Westerners. Their ambitious plan was to finish their journey at the 1915 World’s Fair in San Francisco, hoping for instant fame and fortune from their remarkable feat.
Pinto, Beck’s reliable horse, was both strong and resilient. Despite this, the group endured three years of discomfort, battling cold, hunger, and fatigue. Beck occasionally earned a little money by performing exhibitions with Pinto or trading horses for food and water. Otherwise, they were perpetually broke.
At long last, on June 1, 1915, the group reached San Francisco. Sadly, their aspirations of fame and recognition did not materialize. They couldn’t convince anyone to cover or promote their story. In hindsight, their greatest misfortune was living 100 years too early. Had their journey occurred today, Pinto the Wonder Horse would have easily become a viral sensation, with websites, blogs, and countless videos dedicated to chronicling his incredible adventure.
3. The Talking Horses Of Elberfeld
Around the same time as Beautiful Jim Key, there was a German horse named Clever Hans who was believed to possess the ability to count, read, spell, and tell time. Experiments later revealed that Hans was simply responding to unintentional physical cues from his owner, Wilhelm Von Osten, who unknowingly trained Hans to perform these human-like tasks.
After Von Osten's death, Clever Hans was taken in by a scientist named Karl Krall. Krall also cared for a Shetland pony called Hanschen, a blind stallion named Berto, a horse named Amasis, and two Arabian colts named Muhamed and Zarif. These horses were all supposedly able to read, solve math problems, and even communicate. Together, they became known as the Talking Horses of Elberfeld.
Each of these horses was trained to answer questions by spelling out the answers using their hooves. However, Muhamed became most famous for his ability to calculate cube roots of specific numbers. He would tap out the answer with his hooves—one hoof for the number to the left of the decimal point and the other for the number to the right. He could also spell and communicate by using a hoof-stamping code.
Their intelligence wasn’t limited to academics. One report suggests that Muhamed would alert Krall if any grooms were being harsh with the horses. Muhamed also acted as a sort of mentor to the other horses, even scolding Zarif if he became too lazy.
Unfortunately, the ultimate fate of these extraordinary horses remains unknown. With the outbreak of World War I, Krall was forced to disperse his stable. It is believed that Muhamed may have been used as a draft horse, but there is no definitive evidence to confirm this.
2. Incitatus
Incitatus was a bit like a neighing Kim Kardashian—famous not for any particular skill, but for being attractive and having connections. In this case, Incitatus was the beloved pet of the deranged Roman Emperor Caligula. To put it simply, Caligula was like a bad day for Julius Caesar, combined with the cruelty of Hitler and Mussolini, with a dash of Daffy Duck’s madness thrown in for good measure. That’s the kind of ruler Caligula was.
Legend has it that Caligula’s insanity went so far that he planned to elevate Incitatus to the role of Consul of Rome. A Consul was one of the most powerful positions in the empire, serving as both a head of state and a military leader, and executing a variety of decrees. The position was typically held by more than one person at once, and each term only lasted for a year to avoid any one consul from gaining too much power—especially if that consul happened to be a horse.
No one can say for sure if Caligula truly meant to make Incitatus a consul. The historian who first suggested this, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, was born 30 years after Caligula’s assassination. Suetonius didn’t have access to any firsthand accounts of the events, so he may have invented the tale to make Caligula appear even more deranged and evil than he already was.
1. Beautiful Jim Key
Beautiful Jim Key, trained by former slave Dr. William Key at the dawn of the 20th century, became an extraordinary horse. Dr. Key would ask Jim to fetch a card with a specific letter, and if Jim picked the correct one, he was rewarded with sugar. Jim’s abilities grew even more impressive when, after Dr. Key’s wife asked the horse if he wanted an apple, Jim learned to answer with a nod of his head. Dr. Key also attempted to teach Jim passages from the Bible that mentioned horses.
Jim’s skills went even beyond that. Using just his mouth and tongue, he managed to extract coins from vases filled with water, and he even learned how to make correct change from a cash register. Dr. Key and Jim performed countless exhibitions, including one for President William McKinley. They also captured national attention at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.
What stands out most about the bond between Dr. Key and Jim is that Dr. Key never resorted to using a whip on his horse. Instead, he trained Jim with compassion and patience, setting an early example for the humane treatment and training of animals.
Beautiful Jim may not be widely recognized today, but his fame could soon surge—Morgan Freeman has agreed to portray Dr. Key in an upcoming biographical film about the man and his remarkable horse.
+Brighty Of The Grand Canyon
Brighty was a burro that roamed the Grand Canyon during the late 1800s, spending 30 years in the area. He was first discovered near Bright Angel Creek, alongside an encampment with supplies and gear seemingly meant for two men. These men had apparently hiked into the Grand Canyon with Brighty to help carry their supplies, but they mysteriously vanished, and it’s believed they were swept away by the Colorado River while trying to cross on foot.
Brighty became a familiar and beloved figure in the sparse Grand Canyon community. Although he lived alone, he was always willing to help, either by giving children rides along the trails or assisting young boys with hauling water from a spring to tourists on the North Rim.
Rather than enjoying a peaceful life, Brighty’s story took a tragic turn when he unwittingly became involved in a robbery. A criminal, carrying $6,000 in stolen bonds from Arizona, kidnapped Brighty and forced him to help carry him through the Canyon. Unfortunately, a severe winter storm soon trapped them in a remote cabin, with no food, supplies, or means of escape.
Eventually, another man seeking shelter came upon the two, and in desperate circumstances, the two men had no choice but to kill and eat Brighty to survive. When the storm passed, the thief quickly vanished and was never caught.
