I just found this interesting info. on Ben Cartwright's horse...

When “Bonanza” aired in 1959 it was the first color western on television. One of its primary reasons for existence was to sell color TV’s for RCA Victor, one of “Bonanza’s” early sponsors. Along with the spectacular scenery of the location shots around Lake Tahoe and other parts of the west, the horses that the stars rode stode out for their color too. Most horses in TV westerns of the time were brown or dark; they didn’t call attention to themselves leaving the western stars (the actors) to shine. The only time a horse stood out was when he was part of a unique team such as the lovely Trigger with his golden color and flowing blonde mane and his co-star Roy Rogers. Another outstanding horse in the color department was Silver for the Lone Ranger, a pure white horse who had a Pinto sidekick in Tonto’s horse “Scout”. The Cartwrights like all good western stars also had colorful horses to go with their new color western. Little Joe rode a flashy pinto, Adam on a carrot red spirited chestnut, Hoss rode a rich black horse with white socks and a blaze and Ben… Ben rode an all American breed, the buckskin.

Cast in 1959 as a mount for Lorne Greene because of his gentle temperament and smooth easy gaits he stayed with the show until its end in 1972. Lorne Greene was not a horseman and is rumored to have hated the beasts whenever he had to do anything with them. Michael Landon entertained viewers of the Tonight Show when he frequently appeared as a guest with tales of Lorne’s explicatives whenever he and “Buck” had to appear together. It has been reported Lorne Green bought the horse after the show ended as a pet. Seems unlikely since he was well known around the set with the cast and crew for not being to terribly fond of horses. It is said the horse was then later donated to a therapeutic riding school for disabled riders. A nice end for the kind and gentle animal he had to be. Mr. Greene’s hormanship would make even a novice cringe and “Buck” should certainly be given many kudos for patience. He always made Ben Cartwright look good, with his soft gentle gait and flashy silver bridle. “Buck” started his TV career on “Gunsmoke” as the mount for Marshal Dillon. The report that “Buck” was only 15.1 hands high must surely be in error as James Arness was 6’6’’ and Lorne Greene over 6’2”. A horse only 2” taller than a pony could not have carried these two men with such ease and dignity.

The most unusual thing about this horse was not the confusion on his size, or how he managed to carry Marshall Dillon around the Kansas prairie and Dodge City and then hurry over to the set of Bonanza and carry Ben around the Ponderosa and then rush back to Dodge City to chase after the bank robbers (still want to know how this one little horse did all that in a work day) it was what was reported to be his remarkable age. Said to be 12 in 1959 when he was cast as Lorne Green’s mount, he was reported to have died at the age of 45 in 1992. (If you do the math he is 47). Any expert on horses will tell you horses do not live that long. 30 is exceptional but 45 or 47 is almost unheard of. Even the Guinness Book of facts had a hard time with this number. So who was the mysterious “Buck”? He was a lovely Siamese cat colored horse who carried a reluctant rider around for 14 years and made him look good. He starred in two top TV Westerns and died at a ripe old age. Not a bad life for a simple American bred horse, which was really named “Dunny Waggoner.”

Hi Gina

Thanks for that info. Ben Cartwright's horse was very striking and I'm glad he lived a good long life. Trampas in The Virginian also rode a Buck horse and called him believe it or not 'Buck". Sometimes I heard Lorne Greene call his horse 'Buck' as well. But the horses belonged to different studios.
Some of the original 'Bonanza' horses died in a stables fire in the mid sixties including one of Little Joe's horses.

Okay, I know I said I wouldn't be back for a while! Give me a break!

I just have to say that I will not only eat my hat, but everyone else's hat if Buck really died at that age. I do not believe that for one moment.

Secondly, he didn't ride back and forth between sets like it says in the article. When he started on Bonanza he was gone from Gunsmoke for good, and James Arness, who was 6'8", not 6'6", got a new horse.

It makes me wonder who wrote this article. Obviously not anyone involved in the cutter horse crowd. 15 hands is not a giant, but it's plenty of horse. I have no doubt Buck was closer to 16 hands, if not over, but even if he weren't, 15 hands is a dang large pony! Still, the reason I believe Buck was much larger is just what the article said: he didn't make Arness and Greene look like a couple of big doofuses, and I firmly believe if he was that short he would have. And there were two actors who would not have stood for a horse making them look like doofuses!

Kirby