by Leigh Ann Matthews
Johnny Blasier of Coyle, Oklahoma, never considered himself a horse trainer, although he enjoyed horses and owned several. But when a certain filly entered his life, everything changed. She captured his heart and his life with her exceptional personality, resulting in countless hours of trick training. Eventually the two were featured in national magazines and made several television appearances, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Pet Stars, and Crook & Chase. The filly became known as Ice the Wonder Horse.
Ice was no ordinary horse, and she was a beloved member of the Blasier family throughout her 32 years (April 3, 1992–January 6, 2024). To honor Ice, the Blasiers recently placed a statue in their yard over Ice’s grave. They have assembled a collection of memorabilia in a small museum on their property.
Ice Develops Her Talents
The filly was born by a grade sorrel mare that Blasier owned and a gray race-bred stallion owned by a relative passing through who needed a place to leave a stud for a few days and offered the stud service.
Blasier soon noticed Ice’s remarkable personality, incredible intelligence, and very inquisitive nature such as he had never seen before. The two became practically inseparable. Ice would leave her mother and run to Blasier as he drove up the driveway after work. She wanted to play constantly, so he taught her simple tricks, which she picked up with ease. They both became “hooked on it” and spent time daily “playing and learning.”
Blasier’s dad commented, “Son, there’s no need in you telling people about her because they’ll never believe you.”
One of the first things that Blasier and Ice did together was sit on the pond bank and fish. Blasier taught Ice to hold a special fishing pole he had made for her. She would watch the cork in the water and jerk the pole when Blasier said, “Get it!”
A friend contacted Western Horseman magazine, declaring “You’ve got to let people see this.” Soon after, Ice and Blasier were also featured in an issue of Horse Illustrated.
Ice began to perform a variety of tricks. According to Blasier, “I just helped her learn. She did everything almost like she completely understood exactly what I said.”
She played the guitar, piano, and harmonica, with the latter being fairly unusual because she had to blow through her nose. She nodded “yes” and shook her head “no” in response to questions. She could remove a blindfold from Blasier, untie his hands behind his back, and remove a saddle blanket from her own back as Blasier reached for the saddle. With Ice lying down, Blasier would lie beside her and cover up with a blanket, which she expertly removed from him to cover herself.
Painting was another talent of this amazing horse. She held a paintbrush in her mouth and skillfully painted with up-and-down strokes, creating her masterpieces on paper mounted on an easel. Blasier also had her paint some of the shirts he wore for performances, each one a unique work of apparel art.
Ice Becomes Famous
Ice started her stage career performing at schools and other places fairly close to home. She was featured on KFOR Channel 4 on the show Is This a Great State or What? Her reputation grew, presenting more opportunities to travel and perform.
Blasier explained, “Wherever I went, she went with me. Crowds and lights didn’t bother her, and she was in some pretty tight spaces over the years and did great. She was OK with everything we did, including walking up steps to a stage.”
News about Ice made it to Hollywood, and she was asked to appear on The Tonight Show. Purina Mills got on board and sponsored the duo, so for years, Blasier and Ice loaded up almost every weekend and traveled to perform shows. Zebco also contributed and supplied her blankets.
Blasier took Ice in his trailer on every trip except the last two to Hollywood. Instead, a driver, truck, and trailer were sent to pick up Ice so Blasier and his wife, Cheryl, could fly to the filming.
Blasier commented, “Ice wasn’t fond of this arrangement at all, and both times, she looked at me as if I’d completely abandoned her as they drove off. The first time when I arrived in Hollywood and reunited with her, she turned her back toward me and wouldn’t even look at me. I tried to go around to her head, and she moved to block me. I wound up giving her extra treats and doing everything I could to make her OK again because the show was the next day. I had to get her over this.”
The Blasiers’ museum includes a large collection of photos from various performances with a variety of celebrities that Blasier and Ice met in their travels, including Henry Winkler, Mario Lopez, Billy Dean, and Cindy Williams (from Laverne & Shirley). The props used during Ice’s shows are also displayed, including her fishing pole, guitars, keyboard, harmonicas, blankets, miscellaneous supplies, and paintings, along with magazine and newspaper articles.
Blasier said, “Ice was one of a kind, and I was very blessed by her.”
For information about visiting the Ice museum, contact Blasier at (405) 385-3148.
