posted
Movies with horses in them: Actors should not be allowed on horses, unless they know how to ride. Yes, whipping a horse's head around so his head hits your knee is dramatic, but it hurts his mouth. THat's why horses in movies so often have thier mouths open, they're evading the bit.
Specific movies:
Hidalgo: Haven't even SEEN this one yet, and I know I'm going to have problems. Not with viggo's riding, but the premise of the movie in general. There's no way a mustang can stand up in a 3,000 mile race to arabs, in a desert. It's NOT possible. And that true story stuff is crap. THe guy was a fraud. Just cause it's an OLD story doesn't make it true.
TTT: The Rohirrim and Brego. First of all, you do NOT stuff a horse you can't control into a tie stall. It's dangrous for the people around him, and it's dangerous for the horse. Second, pulling down on a rearing horse is the BEST way to make him flip over and kill himself. Third, releasing a horse with a rope attached to his halter is a sure way to snap a leg, or pull a muscle. the Rohirrim are horsemen. They ought to know these things. Aragorn doesn't really even need reins, if he can be all elfy with the horse. Even if he does need reins, wouldn't it make sense that a ranger would have some rope with him?
FOTR: Why are the ringwraith's horses bay? couldn't they find ANY black horses?
Ok, so not so random. I had other rants, but I've forgotten them. I'll post them as they come back to me.
Posts: 1925 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I might disagree somewhat on Hidalgo, based on the possible arab ancestry in the Mustang, as we've discussed before, but I totally agree with you on the other two.
For all the "Nordic" type research they did on Rorrhim details the horsemanship they actually had in the script was pretty bad. I cringed horribly when the rope was still dragging on the horse. They always do that stupid rearing thing in all the movies though.
posted
How much was there "wrong" in Seabiscuit? (I haven't actually seen it yet)
And what do you think of the horsemanship in "The Man from Snowy River", "The Return to Snowy River" and "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken?"
Posts: 11265 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote: Trogdor the burninator- I found out the other day that Mr. Ed really can't talk, that they in fact implanted electric impulses into his horse lips to simulate talking.
I heard that they just put peanut butter on the top of his mouth and the licking motion looked like he was talking
Posts: 4 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I've heard a bunch of different rumors about that, Pat. One says they put peanut butter under his lip (not too mean), another says they used fishing line under his lip and moved it(meaner). THe fishing line one sounds more plausible to me, since horses have such long tongues, I'd think he could just lick it out from under his lip. BUt the electric shock thing sounds like it might work, too.
Oh! thought of another rant. I love how people get very upset that some animals get routinely abused, but don't mention horses very often. I mean, we sit on thier backs, and yank them around by a metal bar in thier mouths. What's more abusive than that?
some welfare stuff:
People get VERY squicked out by talking about slaughter, when most of the time it's the transportation and handling BEFORE the animals are slaughtered that causes the most stress. Both cattle and pigs are stunned, not just hacked into peices. My advisor is doing a study on people's persceptions of production agriculture, including slaughter, I'm very interested to see the results.
you missed the part that bugged me the most - every time I viewed it:
TTT - at the end of the battle of Helm's Deep - when Gandalf shows up with the other army -- cinematographers had those horses going straight downhill at an impossible angle to be real, charging into Helm's deep.
I say something about it everytime I see it, and everyone just tells me to shut up.
Farmgirl (fellow horse owner and lover)
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Pooka-- he went head first, reducing drag. Skydivers do that, especially the stunt divers. Funny, but you can control your speed (within limits) by how you position your body.
Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:p.s. I know this is a bit off topic, but how did Gandalf fall faster in order to catch the Balrog?
Pooka, I'm sure there's a great scientific explanation involving aerodynamics, but I don't have it. But I have seen skydivers do the same thing. When their bodies are flattened out wide their fall is slower. When they straighten out their body and go head first they fall faster.
posted
I just enjoy watching the outtakes from movies with horse riding in them, especially when the stars can't ride. Just watch the extras from The Mummy Returns.. (laughs just thinking about it) Ahhh... Classic.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Banna, I just don't think that a mustang, with thier arab blood diluted because of thier andilusian ancestors, and a full blood arab, are going to have the same resistance to heat, or endurance. Andilusions were bred to carry men in armor. Not as much armor as other war horses, but they're not built for speed or resistance to heat.
Say the particular herd that Hidalgo comes from lives in the desert, and has for hundreds of years. The arab breed was well established at least a thousand years ago. Breeding orchestrated by humans moves MUCH faster than breeding orchestrated by evolution.
I've also been thinking about muscle shape. Arabs have very flat muscles, that's what gives them thier sleek shape. Flat muscles let the heat generated by the muscle escape quicker. Now, mustangs, with some, but not ALL arab blood, have rounder muscles, which tend to get too hot in the middle, and make the horse overheat more quickly.
My favorite proffessor says Man from Snowy River is the best horse movie ever made, but I haven't seen it, so I can't comment.
Seabiscuit was mostly right. I had a little trouble with the about of time it took the horse to recover from a major ligament injury, but that was about it.
FG: yeah, those horses would have thier noses in the dirt.
posted
"If you're wondering how he eats and breathes, and other science facts, Just repeat to yourself 'it's just a show, I should really just relax'..."
You guys think too much during movies.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Aragorn must have been squeezing it in by the time he kissed Arwen. No wonder actors always look a little yellow on screen.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
You know, that big ledge on top of Minas Tirith must have been a great place to see how far you could...you know. Especially with the wind at your back.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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