Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

CHoffman — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 21:36:53 GMT

And ex-movie horses can be great pets after their days on the set are done. I knew a horse named Royal who had been an actor turned "the rest of us." Great riding horse. Just don't jerk that left rein too hard. (Plop! on his side.)

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Sue — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:31:08 GMT

Okay. Secretariat is out. How many horses were maimed or injured during the the filming?

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

sherpa — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:30:04 GMT

Esther, I spent a very pleasant hour watching videos at the swansonpetersonproductions.com website. Loved the RJ/Hidalgo's especially. He is such a cool horse! (Anyone who hasn't seen the movie Hidalgo, should. The horse steals the show, and that's saying something with Viggo as co-star!;-)

I'm really glad you're doing this blog. I like that it will be about horses, not just racing or breeding, and look forward to going "Beyond the Blinkers" with you.

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Zookeeper — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:30:37 GMT

Esther,

Loved your article, the gorgeous pictures and the link to swansonpetersonproductions' website. I spend quite a bit of time watching their videos and admiring their gentle training methods and the very willing horses doing their "thing". But what I'm most grateful for is the heads up on a very good HBO movie. Temple Grandin made me laugh, made me cry, but mostly it left me in awe of this extraordinary human being who is accomplishing so much, not in spite of her autism, but because of it. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. You are a gift on this website. Can't wait for what you have in store for us.

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

needler in Virginia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:01:35 GMT

Tiznowbaby.........I HOPE you got a picture of meeting Cass. Now HE's a real star!!! Lucky you..........I'm so jealous!!

Cheers and safe trips to all.......and again, congratulations to Esther for her new blog.

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Esther Marr — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:55:19 GMT

Hey, Rachel, I wanted to clarify something. I talked with a representative from American Humane about the situation on the Secretariat set and she assured me that those horses were absolutely not harmed in any way. They just needed a break, like any racehorse that races frequently and needs a freshening. Here is what she told me specifically: "There is no possible way (the horses were harmed). We have a rep on that film that is highly trained...these people are not just animal lovers; they are equine specialists. We are very preventative and precautionary. The rep on set probably saw when the horses were doing the short spurts, and said, 'that’s it, this horse is going to have a rest, no more shooting for today.' "

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Tiznowbaby — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:51:45 GMT

needler in Virgina, that's my claim to fame -- getting my picture taken handing a ribbon to The Black Stallion -- Cass Ole -- at a show in San Antonio. He was incredible in person, possibly the most beautiful horse I've ever seen, and I'm a fan of thoroughbreds, not Arabians.

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

needler in Virginia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:24:11 GMT

Esther........lovely story, just lovely. Take a drive out to Old Friends Equine and you can meet Seabiscuit (or at least a pretty fair facsimile thereof!). Popcorn Deelites lives with Michael Blowen, et. al., in Georgetown and never gets tired of telling his stablemates about his life in the movies. He's a real favorite of mine, but the horse that rings MY bells is the Black Stallion; forget the dialogue and the actors...just play the music and let me watch the horse................

THANKS for a nice article and a great addition to the BH blog stable. Glad you are here!!!

Cheers and safe trips.

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

BulletValley — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:57:24 GMT

swansonpetersonproductions.com

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Rachel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:55:34 GMT

I'm so happy they were used until they were so sore they shut down and quit and then had to be desensitized. That info will be in my head if I actually go see the movie, now. Geesh.

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Zia — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:33:25 GMT

A really great story,I'm not

at all surprised to hear that Thoroughbreds are very intelligent. They have a great deal to learn even before they race.

I would be most pleased to

learn about Pancho. He was so attached to Curlin.

(great pics for the story too)

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

BELLWETHER — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:04:16 GMT

SIXTY MILLION YEARS ON THE PLANET...MORE THAN JUST SMART MY FRIENDS...LONG LIVE THE KING!!!...

re: Thoroughbreds in Tinsel Town

Carolyn in ND — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:39:50 GMT

So interesting!! Did you work with Cyclone Larry? Got to meet & pet him ND last summer. I'm excited about the Secretariat Movie! Have you considered writing a book about all your experiences? Would be a good read.