Better Concerts and Music

One of the best known movie horses was actually a non-existent one! ‘ A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!’ is Richard III’s cry when he desperately needs a horse to escape from those who would kill him on Bosworth Field.Quite different, however, from the evil Richard and his non-existent horse are the three we meet in these movies. While life in Richard III’s time may have been bloodier and generally a great deal more perilous, at least they didn’t have to worry about the necessities of veterinary bills or horse insurance!

The Black Stallion
Produced in 1979 – some 400 years after Shakespeare – this film deservedly won many awards.How Alec and a high-spirited Arabian stallion interact provide the narrative of this film. It includes a shipwreck, the rescue of the drowning Alec by the horse, and a period of slowly developing mutual trust on a desert island. This trust becomes total and the two become inseparable. Just how attached a horse and a man can be is brilliantly shown. I’ll refrain from telling you what happens because maybe you haven’t seen it yet. Possibly ‘the greatest children’s movie ever made’ was the opinion of one critic.But adults too can find much to relish in the film.

Black Beauty
Is black the only colour a horse can be?. ‘Piebald Beauty’ as a title looks a bit flat. Anyway, whereas we see the Black Stallion from the outside as observers, Black Beauty is herself the narrator in this 1994 production. The trouble – or one of them – is that the voice is so obviously human. This isn’t a complaint about the nature of the voice; if it sounded like a horse, any cinema would soon lose its audience. No, it’s the manner, tone, and content of what’s said that is so obviously not that of a horse. The human that Black Beauty portrays is that of a self-satisfied and rather smug person. This anthropomorphism simply doesn’t work. If you can ignore what a critic called ‘soppiness’, you can certainly enjoy the great scenes of Montana and of Black Beauty’s athleticism.

The Horse Whisperer
This film was issued 4 years later, in 1998. Grace and her precious horse, Pilgrim, recover from a terrible accident in this film. Following this accident, Grace’s mother, Annie, takes daughter and horse to the wide open spaces of Montana to seek the help of a man, Tom, who’s renowned for his ability to empathize with troubled horses. It is not only with horses that Tom can form close bonds; it’s with troubled women as well. Pilgrim and Annie are soon committed admirers. The film is not, though, only about the recovery of Grace and Pilgrim and the love that dawns between Annie and Tom; it’s also about the differences between city life (Annie came from a hectic metropolitan life in Manhattan) and country life. Annie is faced with choosing either the down-to earth Tom or her high-flying lawyer husband. Who will she choose?!

These horse movies will provide you with plenty of moving horses –  trotting, cantering and galloping, as well as moving moments. Although there is great beauty in many of the sequences, you could be moved to tears or mirth by some of the ‘moving’ moments. But in each movie you will get more than mere equine movement: the horses carry not only a rider but also a message. Whether the horse carries – or is saddled with – this message, and what the message is can be decided only by you. You can find out simply by phoning your local DVD store!

This article has been published for the millions of horse enthusiasts all over the world by Animal Friends Equine Insurance – the UK’s only not-for-profit horse insurance provider. You can buy horse rider insurance today online or by phone, and all net profits go towards helping animals in crisis around the globe. You can read more about the many charities helped by Animal Friends on the charity support pages of their ethical pet insurance website.