What breed of horse was Mr. Ed? I remember reading a few years ago that he was either an American Saddlebred or a Tennessee Walking Horse. My e-mail address is: myant@aol.com

Palomino.

I read that Mister Ed was part Arabian. Palomino is a color, not a breed. A palomino can be found in just about any breed of horse; for example, Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, Arabian, Saddle Bred......
:cool:

Hmmm...I always thought that Palomino was a breed.
In any case wasn't Mr.Ed the same breed as The Lone Ranger's
Silver?

Part of the time Mr. Ed was actually a zebra.

You are both right, palomino is both a breed and a colour.

Isn't a palomino like a golden color? So black or white regardless Mr. Ed couldn't be a zeebra.

Hmmm...I always thought that Palomino was a breed.
In any case wasn't Mr.Ed the same breed as The Lone Ranger's
Silver?
Mister Ed (real name: "Bamboo Harvester") was a palomino, the same as Roy
Rogers' famous horse Trigger (billed as "the smartest horse in the movies").
Palaminos are always golden in color. (Unfortunately, the show MISTER ED was
filmed in black-&-white.)

The Lone Rangers' horse Silver was a white stallion.

I actually was looking for a definitive answer on his breed, as well. I thought I heard he was a tennessee walker, but was unsure. Judging by his conformation, I'd have to say he is definitely NOT a saddlebred.

Palomino is NOT a breed, but a color. There is a REGISTRY for palominos, but it is a COLOR registry, not a breed. Any horse that is palomino, regardless of breed (and they can be registered as a breed, as well) can register as a palomino.

The same gene that creates a buckskin creates a palomino. It is called the dilute or cream gene. It lightens the RED coat color....body and mane/tail of chestnut/sorrel horses, and just the body color of bays, leaving the points black (creating the buckskin).

The cream gene is also responsible for most "white" horses. If a horse receives two of these genes, they become almost pure white. In fact, you don't see any color unless you get REALLY close to them, and even then some have no color to their coat at all. Their eyes are light (though not true blue), and their skin is nearly pink. A horse that would be a palomino is called cremello, and a buckskin, perlino. Telling the difference, without knowing the parents or genetics, can be nearly impossible.

There is another gene called the champagne gene which also affects the skin, which creates a kind of pinkish/mauve skin (think of red pit bulls or red doberman pinschers). Often the coat has a metallic sheen, and truly looks like gold. It is a beautiful color, and rare, though it is becoming more common as people breed for it. I don't think either Mr. Ed, nor Trigger were this color (it is often confused with palomino, and before genetics was just considered an odd version of the color).

The cream gene is NOT present in all horses. Purebred Arabians can NOT be palomino or buckskin, though some people may try to tell you this. There are some purebred arabians which are a very light chestnut with a flaxen main and tail that appears white ("flaxen" means the mane and tail of a chestnut is lighter than the body color, and is what creates white mane and tails in "classic" palominos), but genetically they are NOT palomino. I'm sure there are other breeds, esp. older breeds, but they don't come to mind at the moment.

Probably more than you ever wanted to know about palominos, but there you are. :crazy: Yes, Mr. Ed was a palomino, but that was not his breed. I think he WAS a tennessee walker, though.

Michelle
(20+ year owner and breeder of arabians, horse color genetic enthusiast, and a HUGE fan of palominos)

From the internet movie data base: "Mister Ed, a Palomino horse officially named Bamboo Harvester, was a show and parade horse who was foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California. His parents were The Harvester (Sire), a Saddlebred owned by Edna and Jim Fagan; and Zetna, (Dam) who was sired by Antez, an Arabian imported from Poland."