Let's face it, safe horsemanship isnt sexy (for example, you cant get a shot like this by tying up the lead the way you should if, for example, they were reins. (I'm sure you all know the many methods for tying up reins when you're lunging your horse with his bridle on.)
At this point, I guess, we are truly beating a dead horse ::cring:: (sorry) but it's part of the mouring process also to try to understand how this could have happened. I find it hearbreaking that this horse had to die, and I hate Monday morning quarterbacks, but dont you think letting a 15' lead dangle within a dangerous rodeo ride with wild horses, no less, is just a disaster sort of waiting to happen? I mean if the lead drags, this sort of thing is going to be the logical conclusion especially if these horses are galloping around. I mean it's every horse owners worst nightmare, that your horse gets away, dragging the lead. Here they did it on purpose! Ok, I'm off of my soapbox, I'm sorry if I've overdone it. Yes, accidents happen but I think they were taking unneccessary risks for dramatic effect, so they should just cop to it. Ya know? JMHObservation, really, of course.
It is a disaster waiting to happen, I think that is the appeal of that kind of sport. They just usually don't expect this kind of disaster, I'm gonna guess there are more cowboy injuries than horses in a normal day. This isn't something any of us would do.
The leadline is long so that the cowboys can grab it on a running horse. Yes, I know we all worry when our horses are loose and panicked, but really horses are very strong, and even if they step on the line, they don't ~often~ have this happen. Believe me, I've had to let go of horses that have pulled out of my hands, and in the rodeo that followed while I tried to catch them again, they stepped on the line.
I'm sorry this horse was injured. I think in reality, not movie land, this sport's popularity is probably on the decline, and I am not sorry for that.
I don't think the American Humane Assn that oversees movie sets are slouches where cruelty is concerned, and they and the other local animal welfare agency that investigated didn't find a pattern of abuse here, but an accident.
Even under supervision, they do amazing things with horses in movies that we should never do at home. Jumps, battle scenes, galloping on pavement, all things that I've seen in amazing action flicks, all potentially dangerous, but performed by horses that are both surpervised and valuable to their owners. The horses in this film probably get more oversight than the animals used in real rodeo.
I don't know how I could have talked about movie stunts without talking about horse ~falls~. Those are among the most amazing to watch in modern film, because the horses are now trained to fall, often slow and the film is sped up in editing, but sometimes they do it in real time. Looks dangerous as heck, but it sure beats the old days of trip wires. I can't watch old westerns for the trip wires they used.
It ain't MY cup of tea. My trainer bought my mare unbroken, and we spent hours grooming her and feeding her treats while we rubbed her all over with saddle pads, a saddle without stirrups, and pieces of a bridle. End result, I climbed on her and rode her off without a single buck. That's the way I prefer to do business.
But cowboys just don't have that sort of time to waste. They have a long day's worth of work and multiple half-broke horses to catch, saddle, and use. The Wild Horse Race tests those skills . . . say eight or ten cowboys have to ride out, and they have to cut ten horses out of the remuda, rope 'em, saddle 'em, buck 'em out and ride out. Most working ranches now use jeeps a lot for work, so the horses aren't worked as hard and you don't need to remount quite so often. But this is arguably based on real life. It's not my real life, probably not yours either.
But I'm not going to stand here not knowing the whole story and scream HANG 'EM HIGH! Things can go wrong that you don't expect - dealing with horses you can just count on it.
It ain't MY cup of tea. My trainer bought my mare unbroken, and we spent hours grooming her and feeding her treats while we rubbed her all over with saddle pads, a saddle without stirrups, and pieces of a bridle. End result, I climbed on her and rode her off without a single buck. That's the way I prefer to do business.
But cowboys just don't have that sort of time to waste. They have a long day's worth of work and multiple half-broke horses to catch, saddle, and use. The Wild Horse Race tests those skills . . . say eight or ten cowboys have to ride out, and they have to cut ten horses out of the remuda, rope 'em, saddle 'em, buck 'em out and ride out. Most working ranches now use jeeps a lot for work, so the horses aren't worked as hard and you don't need to remount quite so often. But this is arguably based on real life. It's not my real life, probably not yours either.
But I'm not going to stand here not knowing the whole story and scream HANG 'EM HIGH! Things can go wrong that you don't expect - dealing with horses you can just count on it.