For many years, I’d watched, shy and silent, from Les’ fence, intent on capturing every detail of his training methods and their results. Once I was sure I understood, I’d practice on Dad’s ponies until I could duplicate the tricks and performances. Les, also a person of few words, didn’t seem to mind his quiet disciple. He never asked me to leave and sometimes appeared to exaggerate his cues so I’d be sure to learn them. Shortly before Les asked me to work with Pumpkin, he remarked on a favorite small horse, Diamond, I trained. “Whoever trained that pony did a great job.” Higher words of praise could not have been spoken. They ring in my ears even today.
Cueing movie horses is an art in itself. The cues must be subtle and yet visible from a distance so the trainer and his shadow remain out of camera range. Movie horses are always focused on the trainer. If the trainer is in the wrong place behind the camera, the horse appears to be looking in the wrong direction on screen. To keep the apparent focus right, Les had to be able to work from every angle and from behind huge lights and other bulky equipment. Cues also must be silent, contained in hand and body gestures rather than words. Stars like Ed must be able to work at liberty, with no restraints from bridles, halters and ropes.
Les was a gentle, methodical trainer. He communicated well with horses and understood what inspired them to excel. He started his horses with word commands and body movements designed to excite the horse into doing the desired action. As soon as they responded even slightly, he’d stop and praise them, sometimes using carrots as a reward. This encouraged them to try again, becoming bolder in their response each time they were rewarded. Once they knew the trick or sequence thoroughly, Les began replacing the word commands with physical cues. Les used whips as cues but never whipped his horses. The whips were an extension of his arm, indicating which way to look or move. They were also used to tap the horse in the beginning stages of a trick. This led the horse to understand that a whip pointing at his leg would mean to move the leg. Specific movements meant specific things. A whip suddenly raised high meant to rear. A whip held to the left, with the tassel shaking, meant to look to the left.
A Saddlebred-Arabian cross, Ed was foaled in El Monte, California, a son of Chief Tonganozie and a grandson of The Harvester, a founding sire of The Palomino Association whose distinctive silvery tone shimmered through his golden coat and was passed to each of his descendants, including Ed. His dam was Zetna, who was imported from Poland, as was her sire, Antez. Pumpkin’s gold was slightly darker, the color of a newly minted gold coin. However, the most notable difference between Ed and Pumpkin, a registered American Quarter Horse, was the golden pumpkin in the center of Pumpkin’s blaze. When he was standing in for Ed, this moon was covered with white make-up. Years later, Pumpkin starred in the Snak-Pak commercials as a talking horse–a direct result of his training by Les. In the Snak-Pak commercials, his golden pumpkin was fully visible. He also played a horse who claimed to be TV”s “Mr. Fred” in a 1969 Green Acres episode. Filmways Productions produced both Green Acres and Mr. Ed.
One of the most frequently asked questions is: How did Ed talk? That was a closely guarded secret so as not to disillusion the public. I know Les would share the secret if he was still alive, but even though it’s been more than forty years, I still feel uneasy breaking the pledge I made to Les. However, it is time for others to know how this gentle man worked this magic. It wasn’t with peanut butter, as is often imagined. Peanut butter would make a horse use his tongue excessively but would not affect his lips, much like a person trying to get peanut butter off the roof of their mouth. If peanut butter was placed under his lip, it would have been visible on camera because Ed’s lips were very agile, a trait often found in Arabian horses.
Les first trained Ed to move his lips on cue. This took patience and rewards. Ed liked the attention so much that he wouldn’t stop “talking” on cue. He’d keep going until Les walked away. To overcome this, Les had to devise another method. Fans have noted that Ed always appeared wearing a halter. Some fans even spotted a slender line running from the halter to a place off-camera. They interpreted that line as a cue to move his head. The line had another purpose. It ran from halter ring to halter ring, passing under Ed’s upper lip. Les would gently wiggle the line to cue him to talk and stop talking. It was hard to spot on camera, although not impossible as those alert fans proved.
Ed was virtually unflappable by noise and commotion.This was important on the movie set where crews would be dragging equipment and cables virtually under his feet. One of Ed’s best qualities was his ability to concentrate despite the confusion and noise on the set. Before the camera rolled, Les would practice the scene with Ed. Once the cameras were rolling, Ed would perform as directed, usually only needing one take.
