Ben K. Green

Ben K. Green (1912–1974) was an author who wrote about horses and the post-World War I American West. His books consist of anecdotes drawn from his own experiences in the Southwestern United States. He was born in Cumby, Texas and raised in Weatherford, Texas. Before he was twenty years old he had successfully earned a living trading horses and mules and raising cattle and sheep. The common trading practice – "cheat or be cheated" – is reflected in his stories, told using the language and humor of the area and not excluding himself from either outcome. It is often said that he studied at Cornell University and in England but Cornell University has no record of this, and he did not ever become a certified or licensed doctor of veterinary medicine according to records from the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. He was persuaded to settle in Fort Stockton, Texas and practiced in the entire Trans-Pecos Region. A large part of his work involved identifying plants which grew in that alkali soil and contained substances poisonous to horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs (lechuguilla, yellow-weed, pinguey, locoweed).