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The Global Insight

Do horses actually fall in movies?

Author

Christopher Ramos

Updated on April 20, 2026

If you've seen an action film with horses over the last several decades, chances are you have witnessed the work of a gifted equine actor called a “falling horse.” Falling horses are trained to fall to the ground on cue, giving the appearance of a horse that has been gravely wounded.

How do they fake horse deaths in movies?

According to the A.V. Club, the crew of "Stagecoach" made use of a device that used wires attached to a horse's legs to "yank" their legs out from under them as they ran, forcing them to violently fall. The device resulted in the deaths of several horses.

How many horses died in the making of Lord of the Rings?

Viggo Mortensen has said that two of the three horses that he bought when filming The Lord of the Rings have since died.

Are horses abused in movies?

Western movies often use horses during action sequences, making them rife targets for potential animal abuse investigations. The critically beloved 1939 film "Stagecoach" faced several claims due to the use of a controversial stunt device that has since been banned. According to the A.V.

Did old Western movies hurt horses?

How many horses have been injured during filming of Hollywood Westerns? How many horses have been injured during filming of Hollywood Westerns? Records of animal injuries weren't kept in the early days. During the chariot race in the 1925 film Ben-Hur, up to 150 horses were killed.

The Horses & Stunts of Django Unchained

Are animals really killed in movies?

From cult classics to some of the most high-profile blockbusters of recent memory, some films actually had animals felled during production. (Animals who survived production aren't necessarily out of the woods, either.) Sometimes the passings were unintentional or an accidental by-product of filming.

Do horses ever get hurt in movies?

Unfortunately the treatment of these beloved creatures has not always been humane. Animal Rights have not always been in existence; therefore, many animals have been abused, injured, and killed during the making of movies. Some of the most heinous cases of animal abuse and neglect noted in filmmaking involve horses.

How many horses died making Braveheart?

How many horses died in the filming of this movie? None, although the scenes of horses being wounded were so real it is said that Mel Gibson was investigated by an animal welfare organization.

When did they stop hurting animals in movies?

When it came to Hollywood in 1939, the association drew its power from the Motion Picture Assn., which pronounced the humane association the official industry watchdog. A resolution banning cruelty to animals was added to the Motion Picture Production Code, Pope said.

Were any horses hurt in War Horse?

According to "War Horse" director Steven Spielberg, "Four million horses were killed in World War I and not just from shelling or gunfire, but from malnutrition and exposure." Spielberg depicts that brutal reality in his new film, but despite the harrowing situations they face, the equine heroes of Spielberg's latest ...

How many animals died filming The Hobbit?

Just days before the movie's premiere, there's word that during the filming of director Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as many as 27 animals used in its production died at the farm in New Zealand where they were housed.

Which actor died during filming of Lord of the Rings?

Actor Viggo Mortensen is a household name for his legendary work in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While every Rings fan knows that Mortensen broke his toe while kicking an Orc helmet, not many know that the Ranger had a close encounter with death while filming.

Were any animals harmed in the making of LOTR?

Four animal wranglers involved in the making of The Hobbit movie trilogy told the Associated Press that as many as 27 animals—horses, goats, chickens, and sheep—died during the production of the Lord of the Rings prequel.

Were any horses hurt in the movie bite the bullet?

While Brooks came out and stated that no horses were harmed during the filming, it is not so much the means of the race that is being questioned: it is whether the way one wins should be part of competition and how winners and losers should be viewed during and after the fact.

Does Game of Thrones use real dead animals?

That really was a dead stag

Not only were both animals real, both scenes serve as foreshadowing of things to come. (We'll get to that in the next slide.) For the scene in which Ned Stark and his children discovered the stag and direwolf having killed one another, the stag had been dead for several days.

Did they hurt the horse in power of the dog?

UPDATE: On February 8, Cumberbatch told the New York Times that while he did learn to ride and to castrate a bull, but he did not actually hit the horse in that scene. It was a visual trick where he's lashing out at a camera with reins tired to it.

What movie caused no animals harmed?

On “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” set, 14 horses sustained injuries. And yet, the film received the “No Animals Were Harmed” credit because the organization said “none of the injuries were serious or due to intentional harm.” The AHA dismisses other horse deaths because they were “not work-related.”

What movie started no animals harmed?

American Humane's first "No Animals Were Harmed" end credit was issued at the end of the movie The Doberman Gang in 1972.

Were animals killed in Tarzan the Ape Man?

Some Tarzan scenes were shot in the jungle, but most originated on Hollywood lots, in Los Angeles parks or out by a concrete river in Culver City. On screen, animals were trapped, shot and otherwise exploited, but more often they were revered.

How many horses were killed in Ben-Hur?

During the chariot race in the 1925 film Ben-Hur, up to 150 horses were killed. Yakima Canutt, the legendary Hollywood stunt man (and occasional John Wayne double), created one dangerous procedure involving horses.

Are the horses in The Hobbit real?

Gypsy Royal Stud is a 700-acre property in Canterbury in New Zealand that primarily farms beef cattle and breeds beautiful Gypsy Vanner horses — a breed sometimes called the Gypsy Cob (UK, NZ), Coloured Cob (UK, Ireland, parts of Continental Europe), Gypsy Vanner (US, CAN), Irish Cob, or the Tinker Horse in parts of ...

How many animals died in the making of Milo and Otis?

About 30 kittens were killed during the shooting and the most terrible thing is that most of them were killed deliberately. The famous scene when Chartran (Milo or Otis, in french the kitten name is Chartran) falls from a high cliff needed many kittens, one for each take...

How many horses were killed filming the Charge of the Light Brigade?

Trivia (30) For the filming of the climactic charge, 125 horses were trip-wired. Of those, 25 were killed outright or had to be put down afterward. The resulting public furor caused the US Congress to pass laws to protect animals used in motion pictures.

How many horses died in Josey Wales?

At least 100 horses were killed during the filming of the scene. Without anti-animal abuse laws in place, filmmakers were free to do whatever they deemed necessary to get their action sequences.

Is it illegal to hurt animals in movies?

Currently, no federal or state law specifically governs the use of animals in filmed media. However, the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) as well as state cruelty laws and state animal cruelty depiction laws indirectly apply to animal actors.