MovieChat Forums > The Long Riders (1980) Discussion > They shoot horses, don't they?

They shoot horses, don't they?


Anyone know how they performed the stunts with the horses/people in the end? They were pretty awesome. Up to par with Stagecoach.

One of the horses definitely got f'd up, and it looked pretty real.

"You're dumber than you think I think you are."

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That scene was actually "real" in that they actually made the horses crash through the glass. I remember that they were very proud of that stunt and talked a lot about the difficulty in shooting this scene. It was mentioned that they had to get it right the first time, since the horses would learn from the experience - so to speak - and would not be willing to do it again!

Today, I am sure the anti-cruelty to animal guys would be after them, and instead there would be CGI riders on CGI horses crashing through CGI glass.

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I'm sure the window glass was spun "candy-glass" and the frames were light balsa or bass-wood. I would have been fairly difficult for the horses to be hurt much.

An excellent sequence, no matter how they did it.

--If they move, kill 'em!

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Clint Eastwood led the fight to establish a code that prevents injuring animals to make a movie.

Apparently that code was not in place during the making of this movie. Not only do the horses crash through the glass, but when they fall, they fall forward, on their heads. This means they are being tripped, probably by a wire.

When the horses fall sideways in a movie, they are not being injured because this is a normal movement for them. When they fall forward, however, there is a strong risk of injury or death.

With CGI and animatronics, mistreating animals is not necessary.



We report, you decide; but we decide what to report.

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Mistreating animals isn't necessary at all for the sole purpose of a scene in a film.

My enjoyment wouldn't have been lessened had the scenes of horses crashing head first through glass windows never been filmed.

"Please don't eat me! I have a wife and kids. Eat them!"

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In the hideout scene, the pigs were really shot and killed, too.

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