Black Beauty is a handsome, well-bred black horse with a gentle disposition and high intelligence. Having received early training rooted in kindness and patience, he is determined to always do his best and please his masters. Throughout his life, he works in various capacities, from pulling elegant carriages on country estates to hauling cabs through busy London streets. He observes the human world closely, developing a keen sense of justice regarding the treatment of animals.

Ginger is a tall, well-bred chestnut mare who works alongside Black Beauty. She frequently bites and snaps at humans and other horses, behavior stemming from the physical abuse she endured while being forcefully broken in. Despite her aggressive exterior, she responds positively to kindness and slowly learns to trust the gentle staff at Birtwick Park.

John is the skilled coachman and head groom at Birtwick Park. Orphaned at a young age and taken in by Squire Gordon, John possesses a strong work ethic and a deep sense of moral integrity. He refuses to use cruel methods on horses, strictly forbids smoking near the stables, and believes that ignorance can be just as dangerous as active malice.

Jerry is an independent cabdriver working the busy streets of London. He is a devoted family man who treats his horses with the same respect he shows his wife and children. Having overcome a severe drinking problem in his past, Jerry is strictly sober and refuses to compromise his values for extra money, notably declining lucrative contracts that would require him to work on Sundays.

Duchess is Black Beauty's mother, a well-bred horse who imparts crucial advice to her son. She emphasizes the importance of hard work, good manners, and maintaining the honor of their family line, urging Beauty never to learn bad habits.

Squire Gordon is a wealthy landowner who lives at Birtwick Park. He manages his estate with fairness and compassion, treating both his human employees and his animals with respect. He frequently speaks out against the widespread abuse of horses, rebuking even men of his own social class for using bearing-reins or whipping their animals.

Lady Gordon is Squire Gordon's wife. Though she suffers from fragile health, she is deeply compassionate and frequently stops her carriage to politely but firmly ask drivers to stop mistreating their horses.

Merrylegs is a plump, cheerful pony at Birtwick Park who primarily serves the children of the estate. He is extremely gentle with young children but will deliberately toss older boys off his back if they treat him like a machine rather than a living creature.

James is a reliable and capable stable boy at Birtwick Park. He loves horses and treats them gently, demonstrating immense bravery when he leads Black Beauty and Ginger out of a burning stable by blindfolding them and speaking calmly.

Joe is a young boy hired to help in the stables at Birtwick Park. While well-meaning, his early lack of experience leads to a dangerous mistake when he gives an overheated Black Beauty cold water to drink. He learns from his errors and grows into a responsible young man who reports animal abusers to the authorities.

York is the experienced coachman at Earlshall. While he personally dislikes forcing horses into unnatural postures, he capitulates to his employers' demands to use tight bearing-reins to maintain a fashionable appearance.

The Earl is a wealthy nobleman who values the outward style of his estate over the comfort of his animals. When horses under his ownership are injured through human negligence, he is quicker to lament the financial loss than the animals' suffering.

The Earl's Wife is an imperious woman obsessed with aristocratic aesthetics. She aggressively insists that her carriage horses wear painfully tight bearing-reins so she can appear fashionable in public.

Lady Anne is the Earl's daughter, a confident horsewoman who enjoys riding. Her overconfidence leads her to ride a nervous mare named Lizzie, resulting in a dangerous runaway incident.

Reuben is a highly capable groom with a severe alcohol addiction. When sober, he is an excellent caretaker, but his relapses lead him to make reckless decisions that endanger the horses.

Mr. Barry is a well-intentioned man living in Bath who buys Black Beauty to use as a job-horse. He lacks basic knowledge of horse care and relies entirely on hired grooms, leaving him blind to the fact that his animals are being stolen from and neglected.

Filcher is a dishonest groom who steals Black Beauty's oats and corn to sell for his own profit, leaving the horse undernourished and weak.

Alfred is a vain groom who cares far more about his own appearance than his duties. He makes sure the horses look good when Mr. Barry is watching, but completely neglects the hard work of cleaning their stalls.

Polly is Jerry's wife, a practical and loving woman who helps manage the family's modest cab business. She firmly supports her husband's principles, preferring to live on less money rather than see Jerry overwork himself on Sundays.

Harry is Jerry and Polly's young son. He learns stable work early and is highly capable of grooming and caring for the cab-horses alongside his father.

Dolly is Jerry and Polly's young daughter. She regularly brings meals out to her father while he works the cab stand and affectionately pets the horses.

Captain is Jerry's older cab-horse. Before coming to London, he served as a war-horse in the Crimean War, surviving heavy fire and the loss of his beloved master.

Sam is an impoverished London cab driver who must rent both his horse and his cab from a cruel boss. The financial pressure forces him to work seven days a week and sometimes whip his tired horses just to feed his own family.

Skinner is a harsh businessman who makes his profit by renting out run-down cabs and horses to desperate drivers. He views horses solely as machines for generating income and works them continuously without rest.

Jakes is a driver who forces Black Beauty to pull heavy carts while wearing a tight bearing-rein. He is not entirely malicious, but caves to the pressure of other workers to overload his carts until a passing lady asks him to remove the restrictive rein.

Farmer Thoroughgood is a kind, elderly man who recognizes the remaining quality in worn-down horses. He purchases animals cheaply in order to rest them in his meadows and nurse them back to health.

Willie is Farmer Thoroughgood's young grandson. He looks past external blemishes to see a horse's gentle nature and takes great joy in providing rest and food to recovering animals.