Mike Jackson’s Hartland Photos:
White Western Horses

Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2009


White 800 Series Horses seem to have the most variety of all the Western horses. Some of the differences are quite subtle, but usually have some sort of historical dating significance. I have included many of the light Dunn colored horses on this page, too.
White Champ with black tack: Silver and others
It seems that several of the Cowboys and Cowgirls rode this horse. It is most commonly found with a Champ style Lone Ranger set.
White Champ with silver tack: Silver and others?
We haven't been able to accurately pin down the dates or specific rider for this one, but many seem to think it was one of the first variations used for the Champ style Lone Ranger set. On TV, Silver always had fancy black tack and possibly that is the reason for the change. Other Champ style Cowboys and Cowgirls might have also been combined with this horse, but I really don’t know for certain.
White Champ with small tail and black tack:
Quite possibly, this horse may have been the earliest versions of the champs with the shorter tail. There is also a black version of the horse near the bottom of this page. This horse also lacks any paint on the hooves. In my collection, I have him paired with a solid Black Champ Cowboy which is equally rare. Another was paired with a red and white Champ cowboy, mint in the cardboard shipping box recently on eBay.

Walking White Stallion with full wavy tail, black tack:
This horse is normally combined with the Clayton Moore Lone Ranger mold, however quite a few of the early Champ style Lone Ranger shows up on this horse mold along with an earlier Champ Style saddle. It could have either chain reins or black leather.

Silver was also sold separately along with his normal saddle.

White Stallion with black tack, slender tail:
This is the second walking version of Clayton Moore’s Lone Ranger mold. This one is less common than the wavy tail mold because they switched him over to the full rearing horse shortly after moving him to his version.

Silver was also sold separately along with his normal saddle but I believe is was most often shipped with the full wavy tail.

Walking White Stallion with wavy tail, black bridle and cropped mane: Ajax
Ajax was George Washington’s main (if not only horse) Some early line drawings show Washington on a semi-rearing horse. I do not have this style horse with a slender tail, if it is even out there. Ajax does not have a martingale.

Several collectors report owning this horse with a slender tail but I do not own one at this time.
White Stallion with black bridle, slender tail:
This horse seems to be a temporary mount for Brave Eagle. Evidence indicates there was a problem getting the semi-rearing wavy tail horse ready in time, causing a ripple effect through the product line. Brave Eagle does not set very well on this horse as he is leaning over shooting his bow. The box also shows Brave Eagle on a Semi-Rearing horse.
Walking White Horse with wavy tail, black points. Black tack:
Traveler is the normal mount for General Lee. Some would have shipped with chain reins while later ones might have had black leather reins. Later mold variations include the slender tail version and also a slender tail version lacking the martingale. Some later Lees were shipped on the head down Prancer. Traveler
Walking White with black points, slender tail, black tack:
General Lee’s standard horse in the later years. His first one would have been the same walking version with the wavy tail. At the end, he was moved to a Head Down Prancer. Somewhere in the meantime, he did the get horse shown below without the martingale. This horse is named “Traveler".
Walking White with black points, black bridle:
This a quite unusual horse for General Lee. I have no idea why they dropped the martingale on a few of the sets and they are farily rare. This horse is nameed “Traveler".
Semi-Rearing mane up, full wavy tail, mane, and black tack:
Around 1961, Hartland substituted semi-rearing horses for the full rearing horses they had been using for a while, except for Oakley. This Lone Ranger combination has been fairly well documented and it shows up fairly often. The full rearing and walking versions are much easier to find. There is also a slender tailed version of this horse from about the same time period.
White Semi-Rearing mane up, smooth tail, and black tack:
Around 1961, Hartland substituted semi-rearing horses for the full rearing horses they had been using for a while, except for Oakley. This Lone Ranger combination has been fairly well documented and it shows up fairly often. The full rearing and walking versions are much easier to find.
Semi-Rearing mane down with black tack:
Hartland did switch from rearing to semi-rearing horses for a while around 1961, based on Christmas Catalogs and the Lone Ranger did get a semi-rearing horse. However, the mane up version of the semi-rearing horse is much more common than this mane-down version.
White Semi-Rearing with full wavy tail, black bridle and black painted hooves:
The early 1957 brochure shows Brave Eagle on a Semi-Rearing horse with black hooves. This one does look like the factory did it, so I assume there are more of them around but this in the only one I own out of roughly nine Brave Eagle horses. Possibly this was from the first round of the production pieces and they simply eleminated the step. The earlier walking version had painted black hooves, also.
White Semi-Rearing with full wavy tail, black bridle and unpainted hooves:
This is the most common version of the Brave Eagle horse which replaced the temporary walking horse mold. This set was introduced in 1957.
White Semi-Rearing mane up, smooth tail:
Brave Eagle was the only figure to be used with this horse, however he also rode a similar horse with the wavy tail for a while prior to this one. They seem about equally common, although this slender tailed one might be a bit harder to find.
White with black tack:
The Clayton Moore Lone Ranger was paired with this horse in later years following years of production using a walking horse. It is less common than the walking horse but generally not that rare.
Semi-Rearing Pinto with mane up and full tail:
This is the horse associated with the Warpaint Chief Thunderbird set. The full wavy tail version is the most common with a small percentage having the thinner tail. I don’t recall ever seeing any of them with black hooves and none of mine have them. The light blue decorations are on the right side and red accents are on the left side of the horse.
Semi-Rearing Pinto with mane up and slender tail:
The Warpaint Chief Thunderbird shipped with this horse at times in the later years with the tail being the only real difference. I have seen an Alden’s Christmas Catalog with a Warpaint horse like this and a bag of candy taped across his back. That could explain the occurance of more of the horses around than the figure. I can not tell in the photo whether it is the full wavy tail or the more slender one from the photo.
White Semi-Rearing mane up, wavy tail, black points:
This one is used with Paladin during the earlier years. He also has a slender tailed version and a mane down semi-rearing horse. This horse is sometimes mistaken for the mane up Semi-Rearing Dillon horse if it ages and turns deep yellow. This one is slightly transparent if held to the light, while the real Semi-Rearing Dillon horse is very opaque.
Semi-Rearing mane up, black points and slender tail:
This one is used with Paladin during the later years. He also has a full wavy tailed version and a mane down semi-rearing horse.
Semi-Rearing mane down, black points:
Another uncommon horse variation. This one is used with Paladin on occasions for whatever unxeplained reasons Hartland did what they did!
White (dunn) Head Down Prancer with black points:
A dealer called me one time wanting to sell me one of a dozen mint in the box Lee sets with this horse. They were from a crate saved by one of the Hartland employees or owners, so I know this combination exists. Lee normally shipped with a walking horse with similar trim.
Light Dunn Chubby with brown points, brown molded bridle:
When this horse mold became available, Dale Evans got her final horse mold for Buttermilk. This horse was used for the rest of her production, even when they offered the Purple Dale version and also in the re-released Stevens version of Dale Evans.
Light Dunn Chubby with brown points, brown painted on bridle:
When Hartland decided to produce Dale Evans to go with Roy Rogers, they changed the color of their Champ Cowgirl and put her on a Champ Style horse. This horse is from the earlier Chubby mold which did not have a molded bridle. They simply painted the bridle on the horse. I believe you might find either the Early Champ style Dale or the later official Dale on this horse for a while.
Light Dunn Champ with brown mane, tail, stockings and tack: Buttermilk
This horse didn’t seem to show up until the release of the early Dale Evans sets and the colorization matches that of the later Chubby style Buttermilks. It was probably always paired with the earlier Champ style cowgirl painted with the olive green Dale colors.
Stevens Plastics 1993 Buttermilk
This horse was recast in 1993 by Stevens Plastics in Hermann, MO from original molds for the Dale Evans set. It feels more like Styrene to me and is not as glossy as older Hartland sets. The brown is a shade lighter and redder and there is an abrupt line where the stockings end, where the older sets were smoother in the airbrushing.
Stevens Plastics 1993 Traveler:
Also recast in 1993 or 1994, Lee was placed on a white Chubby horse with black stockings, mane and tail instead of his normal walking horse. The plastic might be acetate but it feels more like styrene to me and some paint had chipped off the horse’s hooves with little or no use or abuse. The old Hartland company never painted a Chubby horse with these colors for a production run.
Stevens Plastics 1993 Ajax:
Of all the Stevens Plastics recast horses, this one is probably the most accurate when compared to the earlier Hartland sets.The one I have open does seem to be glossier plastic than the two Chubby white horses for Evans and Lee. This horse will be about 1/4" taller than the old sets when compared side by side and are probably a little more white than any old stock.
If you have, or know of any other 800 series White horses, please let me know!