Today, I want to focus on a scene from the 1979 movie The Black Stallion. Watch here: Swimming Black Stallion saves Alec. In this scene, the stallion has already jumped off the burning ship into the water before Alec, the boy, falls in. When the stallion appears, he can be seen swimming towards the boy while keeping his head above water. To film this scene, the film crew used an actual horse in a water tank and had attached wire cables to the sides of his halter to guide him towards the kid actor. You can see these wires in some of the shots. All the sudden, the horse's head gets pulled hard to his left side and turns him upside down where we can see his legs thrashing above the surface. This was actually a mistake done by the horse handlers as the person controlling the horse’s left side wire pulled too hard and flipped the poor horse over. Luckily, the horse was able to correct itself and get its head back above the surface on his own and swim on. Horses can swim if they need to. Their bodies are buoyant enough to keep their heads just above the water to breathe and their powerful legs are able to push them forward. Horses in the wild will swim across rivers to richer grazing grounds or to escape from land predators if necessary. However, since they are not built for swimming, they can only tread water for a short time before they become exhausted, which puts them at great risk of drowning. I recently read a news article about a girl who took her pony swimming on the beach and the pony panicked in the water and swam further out into the sea because he did not know how to turn around, and then he drowned. Many horse owners today love to take their horses swimming to cool off during the summer months. Some precautions horse owners should keep in mind is to make sure their horses become comfortable in water before they take them swimming. Also, be mindful that water does not get into the horse's ears as they can not drain easily and can get infected. Lastly, be mindful of hypothermia. A healthy horse’s temperature is between 99 - 101F (37-38C.) If a horse stays in cool water for too long, they can become hypothermic. A good rule of thumb to follow is if the water is uncomfortable for the rider, it’s probably uncomfortable for the horse. Equestrians - have you ever taken your horses swimming?
7 Comments
12/18/2017 06:58:25 am
Wow, I actually never thought about this when I saw the movie. Time to rewatch that scene! It's strange how much they have to do to horses like this to make a movie.
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Amy Brooks - Horses in Movies & TV
12/18/2017 01:53:55 pm
I have only seen the movie once and when this scene came up, I thought it was a planned stunt. I thought one of the ropes tangled around the Black Stallion got snagged and the boy was going to rescue the horse. But, lo and behold, it was very much unplanned. This film was done in 1979 and animals rights and safety measures have improved in Hollywood since then. CGI has really helped make very neat actions scenes with horses without putting the actual horses in danger.
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12/18/2017 07:31:26 am
Personally, I've always wanted to ride a horse along the beach but haven't yet had the opportunity. Someone I certified with used to work at the Equine Rehab Center in Texas and water can be so great for rehabbing. I think with anything, you have to build your horse up to it.
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Amy Brooks - Horses in Movies & TV
12/18/2017 01:50:12 pm
I was reading some about aquatic rehabilitation for horses. It seems like an interesting method, but I agree that any horse should be given time to become comfortable with swimming.
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12/20/2017 12:39:22 am
This is so cool! I didn’t know about the potential risks of swimming too long. Chip loves the water and I’ve taken other horses swimming as well. Great post.
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3/1/2018 10:59:24 am
My wife swims horses. She goes bareback with a halter and 15 foot lead. When the horse starts getting a little far out, she slides off and gently applies pressure to the rope to guide the horse into a wide arc to return.
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Amy Brooks - Horses in Movies & TV
3/1/2018 01:17:05 pm
Interesting method with the rubber balls. They would work better than using cotton balls which is what I used to put my horse's ears when I had to clip his ears during show season.
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AuthorI am Amy. I love movies, TV, and horses. I grew up with horses and taught kids how to ride during my summer breaks from school. Now I am a country girl living in a city hoping to someday move back into a rural area and own a horse again. Archives
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