Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or anything else.

Rodeo star forms a strong bond with the noble horse he took from the wilds and trained. Unfortunately, they end up on different life paths and are separated. When at last they are reunited, the cowboy is appalled to discover that Smoky has become a broken down cart horse with an appointment at the local abattoir. Fortunately the cowboy intervenes and saves the horse from death