The Horse as an Actor

Animals share many similarities with humans. We are required to train animals to adapt acceptable behaviors much like small children to help them become safe additions in our lives. Horses are trained in an array of disciplines. A majority of our equine friends are obtained to live a life as pasture ornaments, where their chief duty is to graze and look pretty in the paddock, and also to be leisurely trail buddies. In these two areas, horses aren't required to become adequate performers but more so our fellow friend and companion. However, there are different sectors of horsemanship where horses are trained for performance functions such as working western horses, performance pleasure horses, dressage horses, show jumpers, three day eventers, rodeo stock, and even actors in films. The list goes on and on. In these disciplines, horses are asked to revert from their primal, natural state and adapt a performance for the show ring.

Considering a horse an actor may seem to be a far stretch for some, but take a moment to consider this philosophy. Naturally, horses are animals of prey. Being an animal targeted for death horses have two primary survival skills: flight and fight. So, if a horse feels threatened or afraid they will most likely defend themselves by attempting to run away or by adapting an aggressive demeanor. As humans, we are asked to train a horse and make them deal with these areas of anxiety. For example, in the documentary "Buck", Buck Brannaman states that when a rider is preparing to mount a green colt, they have to adapt the horse to this situation. This is because in the wild, the position the rider assumes is the same position a lion would take when trying to kill the horse. So, humans are asking horses to accept their riders threatening position in a this seemingly simple situation. We will not accept the reaction of fight or flight, so we train the horse to ignore its natural instinct and instead learn to trust us and become submissive. In a scenario as simple as mounting a horse, the animal can be seen as performing because it is not reacting to its natural instinct.

The idea of horses being used as performers can be applied in a literal sense. This occurs when horses are "cast" as characters and extras in movies and live staged productions. There is also the examination of the performance study of equine sports. However, that will be discussed in my personal examination of Hippodrama. The purpose of this entry is to cover the literal discipline of horses as "actors".

 In his work The Animal Apparatus From a Theory of Animal Acting to an Ethics of Animal Acts, Michael Peterson explains that animal acts can be considered "constructions of social relations between humans and animals" and that "animals' experiences of performing is 'reading as an animal'".  In other words, an equine actor is required to portray a horse. However, when thinking about this, some scenes required for productions become quite ironic. This is because trained horses are asked to perform their natural functions which commonly encompass aggressive actions. An action such as rearing would be reprimanded in a daily interaction with a horse, however, these equine "actors" are trained to do this function on command. But, this ironic nature is also true of human actors. Human actors to are asked to portray their own species by simply recreating another human being on stage. However, to accomplish this task that seems to be an easy concept requires training in order to master the representation.

That animals can be domesticated-made to forego violence in order to serve people-is the triumph of human culture over nature. That they can then be trained to appear violent-to attack humans-is the ironic confirmation of this subjection

Seeing this similarity helps us better grapple with the question posed by Peterson,  "how are animals made to mean?". The answer seems immediate, we do this the same way we make humans "made to mean". However, Peterson sees an obstacle in this approach and points out that, "at its simplest level...most animal acting involves framing trained behaviors in a 'non-animal' narrative". So, the story is commonly not about the horse. Instead, the horse serves as a backdrop to help create the environment. This is a common characteristic seen in Westerns. Peterson believes that the purpose of many animal acts is to "humanize" humans and to "dehumanize" their animal counterparts. Peterson actually lays out an entire animal acting theory. It is as follows:

develop a rote behavior for the animal 'actor', then frame or 'matrix' that behavior so that it coincides with dramatic narrative. Animal acting, then, is achieved by matrixing simple behavior (the horse crossing the stage); by human actors offering exposition that clarifies the dramatic content of that behavior; and, at least in some cases, by attempting to provoke real 'wildness' from the animal.


The Lord of the Rings trilogy serves as a platform of hippodrama. The role of horses were very important in creating the environment for these films, especially in regards to the town and the people of Rohan. However, horses do not only serve as environmental backdrops, but several are also influential characters in the story such as Bill the pony, Shadowfax lord of all the horses and Gandalf the White's mount, and Brego the deceased Prince (Phaedred's ?) mount who becomes Aragorn's steed. The production team of the trilogy recognized the important role of horses in their production, so as a part of their extended version special features they included a documentary on the horses of The Lord of the Rings. This shows such thing as the actors relation to the horses, and the training of these horses among other things.






Film is not the only platform for animal actors. Horses are also incorporated into live theatre. Peterson talks about the French theatre company known as Theatre Zingaro in saying:

Among the most celebrated performing animals today are the horses of Theatre Zingaro. This French equestrian company relies on extensive animal training as well as rigorous theatrical rehearsal to create fantastic images of human-animal contact and collaboration. In David William's description 'This body of work is characterized by and aesthetic heterogeneity and the centrality of animal-performers, particularly horses; it has its roots in new circus, street theatre, impulse-based dance forms (e.g. contact), the corrida, and avobe all, Spanish and Portugese 'high school' dressage forms.


This takes the same concept of animal performers but instead supplements them on a live stage.








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