This article on writing horses wrong in fiction is part of the Science in Sci-fi, Fact in Fantasy blog series. Each week, we tackle one of the scientific or technological concepts pervasive in sci-fi (space travel, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, etc.) with input from an expert. Please join the mailing list to be notified every time new content is posted.
The Expert: Rachel Chaney
Rachel Annelise Chaney spent her childhood inhaling every scrap of horse information she could find and riding every equine she could climb on. Since adopting an ex-racehorse, she’s ridden, trained or cared for everything from Thoroughbreds to Quarter Horses, Drafts to Arabians, Warmblood jumpers to Paint barrel racers. She recently wrote a wonderful post on matching horses to settings, uses, and characters.
A reader and writer of SFF, Rachel currently languishes in the Eternal Pit of Revision. You should follow her on Twitter. Send coffee. Ignore frustrated screams.
How to Write Horses Wrong: 8 Red Flags
So you’re writing a book with horses in it and want to write the equines right. Fantastic! Maybe you’ve already done some research, watched a lot of movies with horses or read horsey books.
I’ve got some bad news.
Nine times out of ten, those movies and books are teaching you bad information. The same errors get passed down from movie to movie, book to book, with the creators blissfully unaware of their horse-knowledgeable audience groaning in despair. But you don’t have to follow in their mistake-ridden footsteps!
You want to write your horses right? Watch out for these 8 Red Flags found in fiction.
Horse Mistake #1: Rearing
Movie Myth: Rearing is awesome, exciting, and super normal. It’s not dangerous, obviously, because horses rear with people riding all the time. Make your horse rear!
Reality: I’m trying to think of anything horse-related more terrifying than an unexpected rear. Nope. Nothing comes to mind.
Unlike the controlled movement you see in the movies, rearing is frequently dangerous, sometimes deadly, and always precarious. A rearing horse is balancing on two small hooves. Half a ton of horse and a moving human. On two hooves. If the rider pulls on the reins or loses their balance, the horse can fall backwards. If the horse rears on an uneven surface, it can fall backwards. If anything unexpected happens, the horse can fall backwards.
Even if the horse stays upright, the rider can suffer serious injuries if they come out of the saddle. If the horse does fall backwards, you’re looking at a definite spill for the rider, compounded by the risk of a horse landing on them!
How dangerous can rearing be? Ask Hwang Woojin, a 2012 Olympian from South Korea.
Shockingly, both horse and rider emerged from the mishap uninjured. Most are not so lucky.
If your fictional horse rears, your rider better have them trained for it*, be an insanely expert horseperson, or have their life flash before their eyes.
*In the movies, you usually see horses perform a partial-rear, either a pesade or levade. The pesade and levade, 45-degree and 35-degree angle rears respectively, are highly advanced dressage movements that evolved from cavalry maneuvers. If your character and horse are professionals, a collected rear wouldn’t be totally unbelievable.
Horse Myth #2: Stallions
Movie Myth: Stallions are the coolest, most exciting horses. Put everyone on a stallion!
Reality: I mentioned this in the article on matching your horse to world character, but it bears repeating. DON’T MAKE STALLIONS YOUR DEFAULT. As a whole, stallions are the most unpredictable, dangerous horses to ride. Calm stallions do exist (like 2015 Triple Crown Winner AMERICAN PHAROAH), but they’re the exception.
Do NOT put your character on a stallion unless they’re an experienced rider and there’s a reason for it. When in doubt, go with a gelding or mare.
Horse Mistake #3: Dangling Reins & Ropes
Reins
Movie Myth: Does your character need to hop off their horse and do something? Just flip the reins over the horse’s head and leave them dangling while your character gallivants around. No big deal.
Reality: Dangling reins snap legs. Dangling reins injure necks. Dangling reins damage mouths. Dangling reins mean disaster.
Here’s the deal; if your character is riding Western and using split reins, they’ll be in minimal to zero danger of injuring themselves on those reins. But all Western riders don’t use split reins.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Buxton
If your character is like the majority of riders and uses closed reins, flipping reins over a horse’s head and leaving them unattended is a recipe for disaster. Why? Closed reins are 7-8 feet long. If the horse is trotting, cantering or galloping, they can easily step through the dangling loop. The best case scenario would be the horse freezing or snapping the reins without injuring themselves.
Not likely.
If a horse gets her leg tangled in the reins, she can damage her mouth by yanking on the bit, wrench her neck trying to jerk free of the restriction, or even freak out and break her leg trying to run.
Anecdote: The risk of injury exists no matter how trained your horse or how professional your rider. Two months ago, I visited the Tryon International Equestrian Center for a show jumping event that featured Olympian-level equestrians. A horse swerved. His rider fell. In the chaos, the reins slipped over the horse’s head, and he put a hoof right through the rein loop and caught the leather on his protective boot.
The whole stadium went dead silent. The horse started hopping and trying to bolt, eyes rolling. Half the crowd, the announcer over the speakers, and the horse’s rider all started whispering, “Shhhh. It’s okay. Shhhhh.”
Fortunately, the horse froze and waited, leg twisted on the rein, as his rider walked over and got him untangled from the tack. But for 20-30 seconds, a single movement or noise could have spooked the horse. Any of a dozen injuries could have resulted.
It can happen to any horse and rider. At any time. No matter how experienced your character is.
Ropes
A “ground tied” horse with split reins (Credit: Lee Raine, Cowboy Showcase)
Movie Myth: If a horse is wearing a halter, you can just drop the rope to “ground tie” him. He’ll wait like a faithful dog while the character does their thing!
Reality: With significant training, some horses can ground tie like pros. But horses are prey animals. Even the most trained horse will leave your character in the lurch if there’s a threat.
If you decide to have your character leave their horse unattended in a halter and lead rope, you better establish A) they’ve been trained to do it and B) they know and respect their rider.
Horse Mistake #4: Leaving a Horse in Tack
Movie Myth: When your character reaches her destination, she can hop off her horse and leave him in bit, bridle, saddle and everything. Just throw the horse some hay.
Reality: Um, no. I won’t go through the list of skin, coat, and mouth ailments that can arise from leaving an unattended horse in full tack for extended periods of time, but at the minimum, horses can’t eat or drink right with a bit in their mouth.
I’ve seen more than one movie in the past year commit this horse error. Looking at you Beauty and the Beast (2017). Don’t copy Hollywood.
Horse Myth #5: Turning Horses Loose in Tack
Movie Myth: OR your character can turn horses free with tack still on. Running around in the wild with a halter buckled and leadline dragging is A-okay!
Reality: The fastest route to injury? Turn a horse loose with tack on.
Leave a horse in tack in a stall, and you might have some problems. Turn them free with tack on, and you’re setting them up for injury and/or death. Out in the wild, or even in a pasture, tack left on can get caught on trees, fences, and rocks and trap them. It can cut into the horse’s skin. Cause them to trip. Help a predator take them down.
If you want to free your fictional horse, do him a favor and take everything off!
Unfortunately, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) committed this horse error in the extended cut. Aragorn decided to set Brego free because he “has seen enough of war.” And left his halter and rope on.
Millions of voices cried out in terror. (Okay, maybe that was just me.)
Horse Mistake #6: Noise
Movie Myth: Horses neigh, nicker, scream, and whinny all the time! (As I type this, A Knight’s Tale plays in the background. Though Heath Ledger’s performance is delightful, the amount of horse noises in the joust scenes is off the scale.)
Reality: As prey animals, horses communicate mostly through body language and ear movement. Most aren’t that noisy.
I’ve noticed that a lot of films and TV shows have the same “horse noises,” which leads me to suspect that they’re using similar noise tracks. Like laugh tracks for sitcoms. Unfortunately, these noise tracks are misleading.
Unlike humans or dogs, horses don’t communicate a lot with noise and prefer to “talk” with body language first and foremost. Now, noisy horses do exist, but they’re usually young, hot, or dramatic. (Yes, even with horses, attention-seekers exist.) But your average horse communicates non-verbally most of the time.
De Vedras “telling” me where he has itches. No noise needed
My own horse, De Vedras, freaked out a little when I first adopted him and started whinnying when he couldn’t find his friend. (Spoiler: His buddy was napping in the barn, totally ignoring De Vedras.) But that’s about it. He makes noise once or twice a year now.
His two buddies give a faint “we’re starving” nicker at dinnertime, but otherwise . . . *shrug*
So when are most horses noisy?
- Mares in heat might call out.
- Scared or angry horses neigh or scream.
- Horses in a fight or play-fight might squeal at each other.
- Lonely horses whinny for a friend.
Otherwise, snorts and hoof stomping are the main noises you’ll hear. And “we’re starving” nickers if they’re spoiled babies.
Horse Mistake #7: Riding Gear
Movie Myth: You can ride a horse in whatever you happen to be wearing!
Reality: Upper body clothing differs widely, but almost every rider wears pants and boots. Shorts and bare feet are an invitation to injury.
If your character isn’t wearing leg protection (pants, jodhpurs, chaps, etc.), they won’t be risking major injury, but they’d best be prepared for pain. Imagine bare skin rubbing against leather over and over and over . . . yep, you guessed it. Awful chafing. Even worse, bare calves can get pinched by stirrup leathers, badly enough to leave scars in some cases.
Now, riding without proper footwear is a different matter entirely. Put bare feet in stirrups, and your character isn’t looking at a little chafing. They’re risking serious injury. A damaged foot, wrecked ankle, broken leg – all are risks of inadequate footwear.
Why? If a horse spooks, bolts, jumps, or does anything out of the ordinary, the rider can come out of the saddle. They aren’t wearing a shoe with a heel? Their foot slips right through. The ankle gets caught in the stirrup, and they’re dragged beside the horse as he bolts. Even experienced riders, like Seabiscuit’s jockey, get injured this way. Having your character ride in stirrups barefoot increases the risk exponentially and is a big Red Flag.
Obviously, these issues don’t apply to riding bareback. But bareback riding isn’t half as easy as Gandalf makes it look on Shadowfax!
Horse Mistake #8: Terminology
Not a myth so much as a mishap, but watch for errors in terminology. They show up occasionally in fiction and are a surefire sign of writing horses wrong. A couple of terms to watch out for are:
- Rein vs. Reign. The piece of leather attached to the bit to control your horse is a “rein.” Unless your horse is ruling a kingdom, no “reign” is involved.
- Halter vs. Bridle. The halter buckles behind the horse’s ears and around the nose. A lead line clips to the halter, and people use halters to lead horses around. The bridle also buckles behind the horse’s ears and typically has a noseband. In addition, the bridle includes a bit and reins.
Final Note on Writing Horses
By no means is this an exhaustive list of Movie Myths and horse mistakes, but if you avoid the eight Red Flags above, you’ll avoid throwing horse-knowledgeable readers out of your story. There’s no 100% correct way to write horses. Like any other animal, every horse has their own personality and unique reactions, but some aspects of horse care transcend discipline, region and breed.
Your horses don’t have to be perfectly realistic. It’s called “fiction” after all. But if you pay attention to the big issues, horse readers can ignore little missteps.
But please don’t have your horse jump a canyon. *side-eyes Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron*
Did I miss a Red Flag you see all the time in movies and/or books? Do you have a question I can help with? Let me know in the comments!
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Yet another excellent post, Rachel!
Related to #3: For years, I thought it was perfectly OK to tie my fictional horses by their reins (to a fence, say). I’m pretty sure I got the idea from a Western or two, so that’s another Movie Myth.
Related to #4: My characters need to make a fifteen-minute stop. They’ve ended a 10-mile journey and they need to “pick up” someone before proceeding to their final destination less than a mile away. One horse is saddled and the other is pulling a light carriage. What should my responsible horse people do with their horses for this brief period? Just water them? The horses will be fed and untacked at their final destination.
Related to #6: How might a tied horse communicate that she is bored through body language?
Thank you again!
Thanks, Elizabeth!
#4: If they’re just stopping for 15 minutes, it would make the most sense to just have someone hold the reins while everyone else is doing whatever it is they need to do. Horses can’t really drink with a bit in because it obstructs their suction (horses suck water in like we do at a water fountain). They can stand still for 15 minutes while your characters are picking the person up. In fact, they’d probably be grateful for the short respite. I’ll stop halfway through a lesson sometimes and let De Vedras stand still for a few minutes. He cat-naps.
#6: Weeeell, De Vedras tries to bite things. 🙂 If I leave him cross-tied and go do something not related to him, he’ll reach around and grab the cross-tie rope in protest and hold it until I notice. He also bites fences, buckets, and will occasionally (when desperate for attention) risk my wrath and grab the back of my jacket.
BUT.
Normal signs of communicating boredom (Which De Vedras does every so often. His buddy, El Paso, does regularly), is snorting, pawing the ground, shifting weight around on their feet, pulling on the rope and tail swishing. Tail swishing and putting ears back are two of the most noticeable ways that horses emote, and they’re also the two you would see most often.
If horses get a little bored, they’ll move around, look at things, pull on the rope a bit, etc. If they REALLY want you to pay attention to them (De Vedras 24/7), they’ll paw the ground and snort and move more and more until someone comes over.
I’m so glad these articles are helpful to you!
I hate when in a movie a horse is in labor and someone says hold her down don’t let her get up – I’m pretty sure our horses (and goats) would not have been appreciative if someone held them down so they couldn’t move or stand during labor. And in this same line horses are not born with a full set of teeth some that they can show off their pearly whites (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron).
As to #6 we have a couple of real drama queens who are always letting us know that something isn’t right. Like the sun is setting and they haven’t gotten into the barn yet.
I write historical fiction. I’m also a horse person, riding both western and hunter/jumper.
I hate it when people assume that an average horse can cover 60-80 miles per day, especially several days in a row.
Another pet peeve is the characters shooting *accurately* from a horse at a gallop, even rifles. (I shoot,too )
And lastly, the “runaway horse scene”, where the inexperienced clueless rider stays ON the horse while it jumps a fence/log/rock/stream/gully at full gallop.
Thank you for posting this! I’m currently writing a medieval fantasy novel and my characters have to travel by horse and I then realised that I don’t really know anything about horses. So Thanks!
Horse myth #9: an inexperienced rider hops on a highly trained athletic powerhouse of a horse and seamlessly rides. Highly trained athletic horses tend to RESPOND to cues, especially things the inexperienced rider doesn’t even realize they are doing like sitting crooked, gripping with legs, pulling on reins unevenly. A highly trained athletic horse is more likely to somewhat tolerate an inexperienced rider while moving in ways the rider does not appreciate before eventually giving up on the rider and dumping them on the ground.
Horse myth #10: Any old horse can be removed from a pasture and automatically make a heroic journey across many miles carrying a (relatively inexperienced) rider to further the plot. Horses need conditioning just like people in order to safely navigate long distances or distances at speed. Best way for a non horse person to think about this is what would happen if you were to suddenly decide to (unconditioned) run a 5k while wearing a backpack and whatever normal clothing/shoes you have on. Normal horses asked to move at speed for long periods become balky, sore, and intractable. This would hamper the ability of even a seasoned horse person to keep the horse moving the desired direction. Even if you rest the balky, sore horse, it doesn’t magically recover (just like you wouldn’t after the 5k wearing a backpack). Keep in mind even experienced riders on very well conditioned athletic horses for the pony express had to change out horses about every 10-15 miles and each rider only covered 75-100miles per day. A “normal” unconditioned horse will walk at a bit slower than 4mph for about 8 hours with a rider, and usually that’s something you’d only do for one or two days straight unless the horse is a well conditioned athlete. Further, unless their tack (bridle and saddle for riding horses or harness for harness horses) is well fitting they’re likely to get rubbed raw in some places (saddle sores and/or girth galls) resulting in a horse you wouldn’t want to keep riding unless it was an emergency (once they’re hurting they’re again balky, intractable). So, when you’re planning a plot with some horse travel it will typically have been quite a bit slower and less exciting than the average movie makes it look unless you have endurance conditioned horses ridden by experienced riders (who presumably have calluses in weird places).