Question about horses

senior chef

senior chef

Senior Member
I love movies, often I watch westerns. Many of them have chase scenes with men riding horses for extremely long times. I wonder about that.
Does anyone happen to know how far and how long can a horse run with a man on it's back ?
 

Fast, and with a rider, a few minutes. Probably longer than the length of most chase scenes.

And what you see might not have been filmed in one take. The scene cuts from good guy to bad guy, closeups, etc.
 
NorthernLight said:
Fast, and with a rider, a few minutes. Probably longer than the length of most chase scenes.

And what you see might not have been filmed in one take. The scene cuts from good guy to bad guy, closeups, etc.
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Yes, true enough. But how long, how far can a horse run ?
 

Arabian race horses run full out for 2 miles. Thoroughbreds can go a mile and a quarter. Tevis goes at a pretty fair clip, but its not full out the whole race. Mustangs can keep up a pretty good speed over rough ground for nearly half an hour. They are often used for the Tevis, and even they need extensive training for it, like any good athlete,
 
Speaking of horses, I have a related question about the horses on TV westerns. When the rider and horse fall down, I'm assuming the rider is a stunt person, but what about the horse? Is it hurt, terrified, scarred up? Why would anyone allow their horse to be used in a TV show like that? Sorry, @senior chef, don't mean to hijack your question, but this has always bothered me.
 
caroln said:
Speaking of horses, I have a related question about the horses on TV westerns. When the rider and horse fall down, I'm assuming the rider is a stunt person, but what about the horse? Is it hurt, terrified, scarred up? Why would anyone allow their horse to be used in a TV show like that? Sorry, @senior chef, don't mean to hijack your question, but this has always bothered me.
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Those horses are highly trained actors, just like the stuntmen. Do you not suppose PETA would have been all over them otherwise? There's also a lot of stop-motion and camera angle involved too.
 
oldaunt said:
Those horses are highly trained actors, just like the stuntmen. Do you not suppose PETA would have been all over them otherwise? There's also a lot of stop-motion and camera angle involved too.
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I guess I was referring to the old westerns back in the 30s and 40s. I don't know how much PETA, which was formed in 1980, is involved in the abuse of animals in TV or movies, but the American Humane Society has been monitoring animals since 1939. Unfortunately, a lot of horse abuse took place that the humane society didn't know about until it was too late. This is from the PETA website:
"Domestic animals such as cats, dogs, horses, chickens, and cows have needs that are different from those of wild animals but are no safer from the deprivation, cruelty, and dangers of the movie and TV industries. Horses, for example, are historically among the animals most commonly injured and killed when used for movies and TV shows."

Again, sorry about the hijack of this thread. I'll stop now!
 
senior chef said:
I love movies, often I watch westerns. Many of them have chase scenes with men riding horses for extremely long times. I wonder about that.
Does anyone happen to know how far and how long can a horse run with a man on it's back ?
Click to expand...

When we had horses there was a time we dabbled in endurance rides. There were different length options but the more experienced horses and riders (not me!) could do the 100 milers in a day, maybe 15/16 hours depending on the course. No way could a horse go full bore for that kind of distance or time though.

Personally I don't think I've ever had a horse at full gallop for more than a minute or so. My guess is the horse could outlast the rider by a big margine, handling a horse at full speed is a lot of work.

I didn't answer your question did I? That's because I don't know!

As a PS....when I watch those old westerns I cringe at many of those scenes of horses crashing down steep ravines or rolling ass over head with a rider still on their back. The amount of horses turned lame or worse had to be staggering in those early westerns, and I bet a lot of injured actors also.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I was reading about the Tevis Cup. Not being a horse person, it seems like the rider just had to hang on, while the horse did all the work. I'm always amazed at how well a horse adapts to being a tool for humans.
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Those who have never ridden a horse would be amazed at how much work it takes just to "hang on", and yet there is a lot more to it than that. You actually have to WORK WITH the horse to help him do his job. Regardless of popular opinion, you don't just "sit there" even at a walk.
 
oldaunt said:
Those who have never ridden a horse would be amazed at how much work it takes just to "hang on", and yet there is a lot more to it than that. You actually have to WORK WITH the horse to help him do his job. Regardless of popular opinion, you don't just "sit there" even at a walk.
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Only been on a horse twice, and only for a few minutes. Both times proved you right, fell off pretty quickly...
 
This is a bit off topic, but I've never considered myself a horse person. I've been around them some and ridden a bit, but I never bonded with them, because I could never tell if they liked me... except for one. His name was Tag, and he belonged to a neighbor. I liked that horse, and the odd thing was, that he really seemed to like me. When he'd see me from across the pasture, he would come at a full gallop and then come to a screeching halt right in front of me. I would pat him and tell him sweet nothings, and he would just stand there with me. I don't actually know if he was reciprocating my warmth. Horses seem to be limited in expressing that sort of thing, but I'm am certain that Tag thought I was special. I never rode him.
 

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