Horse falling over on command

Ben Atkinson training Amigo to fall on command. I get to try this tomorrow :D !! Keep an eye out for that video!

Camera:
-Sony HD Handy Cam (model HDR-CX730 and HDR-XR105)

Thank you for reading
Lauren & Boo

[StephieLilley]

People you need to know that his horse is a trained trick horse. The horse is not being hurt in any way. This guy rides this way because he is a trick/stunt rider. He's not showing in jumping or cross country. All of these horses are trained for trick riding. How do you think horses fall in movies? Watch a movie like Hidalgo and you'll notice the way they pull on the horse is the same as what he's doing in this video. They are not going to put any child on a trick horse. He is specifically trained as a stunt/trick horse and nothing else. Use your brains before commenting.

[MsTuliplady]

Damn, I always wondered how they made horses fall in movies. This was cool! Heck of a smart horse 😊

[LaurenAllport]

Its common in the film industry. Every horse you have ever seen fall over in a movie has been trained like this. He's not pulling the mouth, he is flexing the neck to the side, thats the cue to fall.

[Mackieb]

LOL at the end "You've killed him... he's dead!! REST IN PEACE!!"

[zaehlwhale]

He is not hurting this horse, it is a fully trained trick horse. He's not pulling on his mouth, you can see his hands are using the 'hold' technique. (it's a technique many riders use for pully horses, you hold from your shoulder and keep your elbow loose, as soon as they stop pulling your elbows release and they get the reins back, it's to stop them running through the bit and doesn't hurt them.) When he pulls the horse's head to the side and opens his legs, he is giving the command to fall, so his legs are out of the way of the horse (much safer for both horse and rider) and the horse's head being turned allows him to fall onto his shoulder which is how horses naturally lie down, their shoulder is able to take their weight and that impact and the rest of the body falls through naturally. It's the same as teaching a horse to lie don on command. As you can see the horse is not struggling to get up, and was very tuned in to his rider. That would not happen if his rider had ever hurt him with these tricks. The horse is basically saying 'did I do well!? Did I do it!?' to his rider, just like a dog does after they've done a trick. It's all safe and humane. 

[jgrayblesser]

People are so dumb sometimes.  Do they really think horses in movies weren't trained to do this?  It is not inhumane anymore than teaching a dog "bang".  Keep up the good work and respect for the animal it is clear and obvious to anyone who knows what they are talking about.

[breyerhorseluv]

TO ALL THE IDIOTS THAT THINK THIS IS CRUEL:

IT TAKES A LOT TO HURT A HORSE. THINK ABOUT IT. A HORSE IS 20 TIMES BIGGER THAN US. IT DOESN'T HURT THE HORSE.

[claudiaphillips]

25% of the comments are saying this is suuu cruel. 50% of the comments saying this is not cruel 25% of the comments are saying how cool this is ( it is a really awesome trick )
In the future:
25% of the comments are saying this is suuu cruel. 25% of the comments saying this is not cruel 25% of the comments are saying how cool this is 25% of the comments say stuff like this comment

[LaurenAllport]

he has a leather stirrup on his falling side :) so no! :)

[carleymaynard]

Those who are saying this is cruel and the hirse could get hurt, the only way the horse would be able to get hurt is if he/she landed wrong and broke its leg or somthing, but this is obviously rehearsed really well and they know that the horse isn't going to get hurt, yes they could of done it in a area with softer ground and really it should of been done bareback unless its an older sadle that is used for breaking in and all that so it doesn't matter if it gets wreaked, that's all

[nicolec]

How much training goes into this?! I've watched your videos of Boo and I love the tricks you do together. Sadly I don't have my own horse yet but when I do I wanna teach it what you've taught Boo! You're an inspiration and it's fantastic to see someone riding bareback and without a bridle I think it creates a stronger bond between horse and rider and I am truly impressed x

[LillieTheDogX]

It's so clever how they're taught this, beautiful horse!

[katiegoodspeed]

Omg that's hysterical. The pony's like, "Oh okay" *plop*

[joannab]

To all of you people who think this is abusive, truly tell me how, yes he might have wanted to get up, but what if he let him? That horse would not want to go down if he let him up because the horse would think that he can do whatever he wants to.  Also, please open up your eyes people, these animals have tough skin, big bones, and are huge, they are not that easy to hurt!  Anyways, that horse knows how to do this trick, he has been doing the same thing many times before, he knows what he is doing, how to land, he knows it's safe, so what is the point of arguing if this is horse abuse or not, because I am telling you, it's not.  Open up your eyes people and start to realize and understand things in life, and not go blabbering about something that is not true.  I hope you take this comment to consideration before commenting like you know everything about horse abuse, oh yes, AND PLEASE LEARN GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND SPELLING, because you can have a very smart comment that is just ruined by the way you write it, and I know I am not perfect and I know I make many mistakes with my spelling, grammar and punctuation, but please, just try.

[Verisetti]

How do you train it to learn the trick? I love your video.

[NickInfante]

Looks like he has fallen and he can’t giddy up

[Mauamone]

This is so damn cool :D A real little stunthorse :D

[doglover]

Imagine a "falling horse" was sold to an unknowing would be quite the surprise ahaha! Great work guys. :)

[yaboi]

omg the guy training him looks like Pin from `Free Rein` omg can you see it?

[mayaraza]

I'm sorry but I think this is a very clever trick and the horse obviously trusts the trainer enough to do it. It is not distressed or hurt it is relaxed and willing. They are on a soft surface, the command was safe because the rider move his leg and horse's head. Sometimes I think people overreact so much because they could never do this with their horse.