What Happened To Chestnut After 2 Broke Girls Ended? Beth Behrs And Kat Dennings Loved The Horse A Lot

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.

Kat Dennings feeds Chestnut, played by Gunner, on CBS’ 2 Broke Girls.