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Cass Ole

Cass Ole
Cass Ole (The Black Stallion).jpg
Cass Ole in The Black Stallion
Breed Arabian
Sire Al-Marah Cassanova [1]
Grandsire Rapture
Dam La Bahia
Maternal grandsire Hanrah
Sex Stallion
Foaled March 6, 1969
Country United States
Color Black
Breeder Donoghue Arabians
Owner San Antonio Arabians
Last updated on: January 13, 2008.

Cass Ole (March 6, 1969 - June 29, 1993) was a Texas bred Arabian stallion. Originally bred to be a show horse, he was National Champion in Arabian Western Pleasure in 1975, National Reserve Champion Arabian Ladies Side Saddle in 1976, and U.S. Top Ten Arabian English Pleasure in both 1975 and 1976. He won over 50 championships and over 20 Reserve Championships in his seven-year show career and was high point winner of the King Saud Trophy of the American Horse Show Association (now United States Equestrian Federation). He is best known for his role as The Black in the films The Black Stallion and The Black Stallion Returns, in which he is credited as Cass-Olé.

Horse trainers Glen Randall and his sons J.R. and Corky Randall began their international search for a black Arabian to play The Black in the upcoming film. They found Cass Ole at his ranch in San Antonio, and his temperament and appearance suited him for the role. His owners stipulated that he was not to be used in the running or swimming scenes, so three other horses were obtained for use in those shots, as well as for stunts. Cass Ole and his fellow horse actors trained at a California ranch for several weeks before filming began. He had sessions with the young actor in the lead role, Kelly Reno, so the two could become familiar and get used to working with one another.

Cass Ole was naturally a black-colored horse, but he had white markings on his pasterns and a white star on his forehead which were dyed black for his screen time. (In the 2003 IMAX film, The Young Black Stallion, the horse cast for the role was actually a bay and his entire coat was dyed black.)

His mane as seen in the two movies was partially enhanced. Like many American horses, Cass Ole had his mane trimmed into a bridle path. While he did have a long mane typical for his breed, its natural length was about equal to the width of his neck, which is the average maximum length that a horse's mane will grow when not specially groomed. Therefore, to hide his bridle path trimming and to create the long flowing mane that was seen in the movie itself, hair extensions were stitched into his mane to provide a fuller and longer look on camera. To grow a mane past its natural length requires it to be kept in braids, regularly conditioned, takes at least a year's time to achieve significant length, and, like humans, some horses' manes simply will not grow beyond a certain length.


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