After Letterman retired in 2015, O’Brien penned a heartfelt tribute to his fellow comedian in Entertainment Weekly, which Letterman greatly appreciated, so much so that he told O’Brien he would get him a gift.
Telling the story to Letterman’s replacement Stephen Colbert last week, O’Brien described how the next day, two cowboys arrived an hour before he went on hour with a horse, named Dave.
In a hilarious interview he went on to describe to cost and logistical difficulties of owning a horse, eventually donating the animal to a training centre for horse masseurs.
But on Kimmel a few days later, Letterman revealed he had only sent the horse as a joke, that he was supposed to ‘take a dump’ on Conan’s show and that he would then send him back.