The Far Side Loves Horses, And These 10 Comics Shows Why

The horses in Gary Larson’s The Far Side are incredibly underrated. While they may not appear as often as the iconic cows that have become a staple of the strip, they still deliver plenty of laughs. In fact, horses have starred in some of the funniest Far Side comics, easily earning their place in Larson’s bizarre animal universe.

Whether they are helping put Humpty Dumpty back together or passing life-changing legislation, the horses of The Far Side have certainly left their hoofprint. They also headline some of Larson’s darkest comics, which might elevate their status even further in the eyes of longtime fans. So, saddle up for some of the most hilarious horse-starring comics in the Far Side catalog.

10

There’s a Reason You’ve Never Heard of “Horse Hospital”

When the Cure Comes in a Shotgun Instead of a Shot

Warning: this comic will only land with those who have a truly wicked sense of humor, as Larson shines a comedic light on a tragic reality in horse life. When a horse breaks its leg, the ‘treatment’ is often grim: euthanasia by gunshot. It’s a brutal truth Larson dares to make funny through his signature dark twist.

In this comic, Larson imagines what a “Horse Hospital” might look like, and the result is as dark as it is hilarious, depending on your sense of humor. Two injured horses nervously sweat after hearing a gunshot off-panel, only to see a doctor soon approaching with a shotgun. It’s a punchline that’s morbid and wildly clever.

9

The Far Side Comic That Perfectly Captures Having the Worst Ride

This Cowboy’s Horse Is the Wild West Equivalent of a Total Clunker

Not everyone has lived this, but many remember owning at least one “beater” of a car (the kind no sane person would envy). Pulling up to school or social events in that eyesore often came with embarrassment, especially when parked next to someone with a ride that was clearly more polished and, let’s be honest, less humiliating.

Larson pokes fun at that shared experience with a wild twist. Instead of cars, he uses horses, showing a cowboy roll in on a junker steed made of springs, planks, and wobbly wheels. Compared to the noble horses ridden by others, his ride is hilariously awful. If you’ve ever driven a clunker, take comfort, you’re still better off than this Far Side cowboy.

8

Larson Replaces Bumper Stickers with “Rumper Stickers”

A Wild West Twist on Bumper Stickers

Bumper stickers are a huge part of car culture. These quirky decals are often used to express personality, humor, religious or political beliefs, or just give a laugh to whoever’s tailgating us that day. Naturally, Larson finds a way to make this ordinary detail hilarious, shining his signature comedic light on a surprisingly relatable part of modern life.

Replacing cars with horses, Larson gives us “rumper stickers of the Old West.” Instead of bumpers, slogans are slapped on the backsides of horses, each joke tailored to a Western setting. From “Just Say Woah” to “Save the Horned Toads,” the absurdity is spot-on. It’s a perfect collision of old-timey aesthetic and modern bumper sticker sass.

7

The Far Side’s Take on the Untamable Horse Trope

Big Red Takes Untamable to the Next Level

This horse-starring comic sees Larson making fun of a common Western trope that has long since become a cliché: the boy gets to keep the untamable horse if he can tame him. The strip’s caption reads, “Well, there he is, Billy. Big Red. Sure, he’s tough, but if you can ride him, he’s yours.”

The dialogue follows every Western ever made using this trope. However, the humor comes from Larson’s absurd visual twist, depicting a horse covered in lethal spikes, taking the “untamable/unrideable” part of the trope to absurd extremes. It’s the kind of humor our grandfathers would undoubtedly appreciate.

6

The Wild West Version of Tire Theft

How Gary Larson Turns a Classic Crime into Comedy Gold

Everyone, especially Batman, knows that if you park your car in a bad part of town, then when you come back, its tires may be gone. Larson takes this common experience and trope and turns it into comedy gold as he applies this to what it might look like in the Wild West, where the main mode of transport are horses instead of cars.

While one would assume this means just taking the horse, Larson applies his comic-defining absurdity by imagining the horse’s legs having been stolen, and depicts the horse now legless with its body resting on cinder blocks, much like how a car would rest after its tires were stolen.

5

When Nursery Rhymes Meet Far Side Logic

Gary Larson Gives the King’s Horses a Shot at Humpty Dumpty

Most of us are familiar with the classic nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.” If you were a sharp child, you may have giggled at how horses fixing a broken egg makes absolutely no sense.

And it’s clear Larson also found this part of the rhyme absurd, which naturally made it perfect for him to twist and poke fun at in The Far Side, where he shows the king’s men finally giving up on reassembling Humpty Dumpty and instead suggesting they let the waiting horses have a go at it.

4

When You Crash Dad’s Horse into a Tree

Larson Nails Western Teen Angst, With a Cameo From the Nerdy Kid

This Far Side comic puts another Western twist on a human experience that hopefully not many of us have had: wrapping dad’s car around a tree. But since it’s the Wild West, it isn’t a car that’s crashed, it’s a horse, with the rider’s brother ‘helpfully’ asking, “What are you going to tell Dad?”

This comic also gets bonus points for including an Easter egg that some might miss with just a quick glance: The Far Side’s unofficial mascot, the Nerdy Kid. He isn’t the one who crashed the horse, but his inclusion is a fun yet subtle nod to one of Larson’s most iconic and recurring characters.

3

When Horse Wisdom Meets Bar Humor

But Can You Make Him Drink?

Most of us have heard the saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” meaning you can offer someone help, advice, or opportunity, but you can’t force them to take it. Larson takes this well-known phrase and gives it both a literal interpretation and an absurd twist.

The humor in this strip lies in both the caption and the visual, where a horse sits at a bar with a long face, while one human patron says to the other, “Sure, but can you make him drink?” It’s a clever play on a saying so familiar that it’s practically become a cliché, one Larson revives with perfectly dry wit.

2

A Historic Vote in the Horse Parliament

What Does the Horse Say?

What sound does a horse make? Neigh. This is a question even a small child could answer, and it’s vital to remember that to catch the exceptionally clever humor of this Far Side strip, where a parliament of horses has gathered to vote, only this session stands out as the first time one of the members voted “aye.”

What’s the opposite of the affirmative “aye”? Nay, which sounds just like “neigh.” The humor here lies in the fact that the horse parliament has always voted in the negative, simply because that’s the sound horses make. So for one of them to vote “aye” is a shocking and hilarious twist in the Far Side universe.

1

When Horse Medicine Takes a Dark Turn

WARNING: Horse Lovers Should Skip This One

To end this list, we are tapping back into Larson’s incredibly dark humor, where he revisits horse medicine practices. Here, the caption reads: “Like most veterinary students, Doreen breezes through chapter 9,” the chapter focusing on horse medicine, where it lists various ailments and injuries, followed by the best practices in treating said issues.

The dark humor comes from the fact that the treatment for each diagnosis is simply “shoot,” meaning the horse should be shot dead with a gun. Here, Larson is making fun of the grim go-to response often taken when a horse injures itself: euthanasia by gunshot. It’s definitely a dark joke, but The Far Side manages to pull it off.

Writer

Gary Larson

Colorist

Gary Larson