One of 2 Broke Girls’ most memorable (and sometimes panned) storylines involved series lead Caroline Channing (played by Beth Behrs) and the horse she brought with her when she came to live with Max Black (Wandavision star Kat Dennings). The plotline was ludicrous given the two women lived in a Brooklyn neighborhood, but it was also one of the most enduring facets of the sitcom, spurred on by the fact that in real life the actresses really loved the horse.
In fact, when 2 Broke Girls was initially canceled back in 2017, it was Behrs who responded to the news by thanking none other than the horse:
Goodbye Chesnut. Thank you for being the catalyst for my love affair with all things horses. We'll miss you the most.
... She probably wasn't in a thankful mood toward CBS given the surprise 2017 cancelation of the series. But what happened to Chestnut after the CBS sitcom ended?
Who Played Chestnut? Nina Tassler Actually Fired The Original Horse
Nina Tassler, the head honcho at CBS when the sitcom was first making its way onto the airwaves (and who was also around when How I Met Your Dad was originally halted), was not a fan of the original horse hired to play Chestnut. When the series was first coming together, the show had apparently hired a “blond buckskin” to play the character, but Tassler wasn’t happy with the original horse when she did a walk through on the set of the series.
It was nothing against the original Chestnut, but Tassler noted in a THR profile that type of horse was usually seen in Westerns and not in stables in New York City, where the character of Caroline hailed from. Producer Michael Patrick King would later joke that “Nina had the balls to fire a horse.” Eventually a brown horse would be cast.
Meanwhile, multiple horses would eventually take on the duties of Chestnut. Originally, a horse named Rocky portrayed the character, though in later interviews Behrs mentioned another horse, Gunner, who eventually took over the role on the small screen. In 2014, while filming an episode, Dennings and Behrs both shared a picture of themselves with the horse.
Chestnut Developed A Special Connection With Stars Beth Behrs And Kat Dennings
Speaking at a TCA function for the series, both Dennings and Behrs admitted they loved Rocky, the horse that early on portrayed Chestnut on the hit sitcom. The two confirmed they were “so close” to the horse before Dennings admitted:
We really have [gotten close]. I’ve had a few monologues to Chestnut. His real name is Rocky and it’s so easy for me to get emotional looking at him because he is almost like a puppy. In the secret ingredient episode, we’re sitting on something and I refer to him, ‘Right, Chestnut?’ And he turns his head and made a noise. You could teach him but he did that on his own. That wasn’t even supposed to happen.
The two touched on how Rocky really was whip-smart and could sense their emotions, with Behrs saying Rocky was “highly protective,” particularly if a guest star got “too close.” Dennings mentioned another memory from set in which she got more emotional than anticipated and Rocky/Chestnut was there for her.
We were rehearsing one of those monologues and I was supposed to get emotional in the scene, and it was just a writer/producer run through, but I found myself really starting to cry. Rocky put his head up and he just touched my face with his mouth, just gave me a little kiss. And then I lost it even more.
After Gunner took over duties, Behrs admitted that it was 2 Broke Girls that led her to a love of horses, and helped her to learn to “live in the present,” telling People:
I noticed that when Gunner was on set, that’s the horse that plays Chestnut, Kat (Dennings) and I would always feel calm and happy. Now that I have learned about horses, I know they are nonjudgmental, and because of their mentality, they only respond to truth. They really teach you to live in the present, you have to be authentic and vulnerable around them.
What Happened To Chestnut After 2 Broke Girls Ended?
Following the ending of 2 Broke Girls Beth Behrs admitted that she made some movies hoping to take home Chestnut herself. By then, Behrs was a lover of horses and someone actively involved in rescuing them (more on this later). She'd had a dream for Chestnut, but she said it didn't pan out how she'd hoped it would.
I miss him every day. He’s with Scott, our lovely horse trainer, but don’t think I didn’t try to buy him after that show. I tried really hard to get him. I wanted to let him go on a rescue ranch I know of with 90 acres and run. I begged, but I didn’t get him, and that’s okay.
The actress had previously told THR that said trainer actually had a ranch she'd called "beautiful" in Ventura County. While the show was still running, she'd go and ride Gunner sometimes, so while she'd hoped to nab the horses, in some ways Gunner was already home.
How 2 Broke Girls Led Beth Behrs To Horse Activism
The actress has said that it was Whitney Cummings -- who co-created 2 Broke Girls with Michael Patrick King -- who was a catalyst for her love of owning horses. (This also probably explains Chestnut being a part of the show in general.) She spent a lot of time on Cummings' show riding a horse on the lot, and it was during her time on the sitcom that her obsession and activism developed, and that love has continued even as she went on to star in another CBS multi-cam comedy The Neighborhood.
In fact, she told Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer in a YouTube interview that the trainer during her sitcom days gets a little of the credit, but that she and her husband have gone all in on horses since then, adopting Belle and Rosie, who stay in a stable in the Valley outside Los Angeles.
There was always a horse on the show and I would ride it around a lot with the horse trainer. And then kind of just decided on a whim to adopt one. I had never been a horse owner. I loved them as a little girl. And now I’m obsessed. My husband just adopted a huge draft horse named Rosie, so I’ve turned him into the cowboy of my dreams. We’re both obsessed. My whole house has horse memorabilia now. My husband says we have to stop.
The actress always had a love of horses, but the show inspired her to adopt and she also mentioned to People the ASPCA helped her on the journey, noting there are a lot of misconceptions about helping horses.
Adopting a horse is just as good, if not better, than buying one because you are saving this animal’s life and you are making room for another animal to come in and get rescued, too. People also think that you always have to ride a horse. But you can get just as many benefits, if not more, just doing the ground work. You can groom and hand walk. Just being outdoors and around them is just as important as actually riding. If you don’t know how to ride, you can still have this beautiful bond.
So, there you have it. It's been years since Two Broke Girls unceremoniously ended before it was able to wrap up its story on CBS, but the legend of Chestnut still lives on and even became an inspiration for one of the women who led the show.
