Movies for Horse Lovers

Key Takeaways

• Famous equine star Highland Dale plays Outlaw, the horse in Black Horse Canyon
• Tom Burlinson who plays young Jim Craig in The Man from Snowy River, did his own horse-riding stunts
• The Tom Booker character in The Horse Whisperer is based on real-life horse trainer, Buck Brannaman

The bond between humans and horses has fascinated people for centuries—from artists to scientists to the toddler clutching her little pony stuffie. Let’s look at some all-time favorite horse movies seen on INSP, past and present.

Tumbleweed (1953)
Stars Audie Murphy. Unjustly accused of desertion, Jim Harvey escapes a lynch mob on a borrowed horse named Tumbleweed, a hard-headed gray Appaloosa Cayuse known for not letting anyone he doesn’t respect ride him. He’s a scrawny, odd-looking, old nag of a creature whose appearance belies his intelligence, instinct, agility, and determination to save Harvey’s life more than a few times on their journey to justice.

Highlight: Tumbleweed—Murphy’s true co-star in the film. His relationship with the seemingly worthless horse is often humorous and truly special.

Bonus Trivia: In real life, Audie Murphy bred Quarter Horses for racing, and occasionally, even rode in amateur races.

The Red Pony (1973)
Stars Maureen O’Hara, Henry Fonda, and Clint Howard. On a turn-of-the-century farm, Ruth Tiflin tries to ease the tension between her son, Jody, and her strict husband, Carl, who has little patience for the young boy. The situation worsens until Carl makes the rash decision to buy Jody a colt. The boy devotes himself to his red pony, and father and son begin to open up as they work together to raise the spirited horse. The pony affects each family member as they navigate their own private struggles. For Jody, it’s a coming-of-age story as he learns about love, sacrifice, life, and death.

Highlight: At age 53, Maureen O’Hara delivers a heartfelt performance as a mother who wants to keep her son safe, yet needs to prepare him for an often-cruel world.

Bonus Trivia: O’Hara retired after this movie, only to return to acting in 1991 to appear as an outspoken, domineering mother in the comedy Only the Lonely opposite John Candy.

The Man from Snowy River (1982)

Stars Kirk Douglas in a dual role, Tom Burlinson, and Sigrid Thornton. Set against the spectacular scenery of the Australian wilderness, this is at once a horse story, a love story, a tale of a broken family, and a heart-pounding adventure. Jim Craig and his father Henry run a ranch in Snowy River up in the untamed mountains. When his father dies attempting to corral a herd of wild Brumby horses, Jim, at 18, must prove he’s capable of running the ranch on his own. So he heads south to work, where mountain people are ill-regarded. As a new ranch hand, he’s often jeered, but he catches the eye of the owner’s daughter. She sees the real horseman in him and they fall in love. When the ranch’s prize stallion runs off up the mountain with the Brumbies, the owner offers prize money to any cowboy who can bring him back—not a feat for the faint of heart. Jim knows those treacherous trails, and that this is his one chance to prove himself worthy.

Highlight: That flat-out gallop down a near-vertical incline is heart-stopping.

Bonus Trivia: Burlinson did his own horse-riding stunts, despite having little experience in the saddle before this film.

Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Stars Joel McCrea. Del Rockwell aims to capture Outlaw, a wild stallion, to breed on his new ranch. He teams up with his lovely neighbor, Aldis Spain, who also wants the magnificent horse. But Del and Aldis aren’t the only ones after Outlaw. A rival rancher would rather shoot the horse dead than see Del and Aldis have him. Get ready for a flat-out gallop across wide open land as the pair attempts to lasso the bucking, snorting, untamed stallion before it’s too late.

Highlight: Though there’s a romance brewing between Del and Aldis, Outlaw steals the show.

Bonus Trivia: Outlaw is played by the famous equine star, Highland Dale, the horse that also starred in the TV series Fury. For more famous movie horses, including James Stewart’s favorite, Pie, read Horses of Hollywood.

The Black Stallion Returns (1983)

Stars Kelly Reno, Terri Garr, and Vincent Spano.

The thrilling sequel to The Black Stallion. Strange things keep happening at the stable where Alec Ramsey and his mother keep Black, the boy’s beloved stallion. One night, the horse disappears, stolen and taken to Morocco by henchmen at the command of wealthy Sheik Ishak. Ishak claims the horse is his, and he needs him to win a big tribal race that will determine who rules the desert. Distraught, Alec stows away on a flight to Casablanca. In Morocco, he makes a few friends and plenty of enemies, some of whom want to do him harm. He crosses the Sahara on foot and ultimately gets permission from Sheik Ishak to be Black’s jockey in the race, a race where the riders will do anything to cross the finish line first—even murder.

Highlight: The race—not only to win it for the Sheik, but to get to the finish line alive! And, of course, the lovely rapport between Alec and his treasured horse.

Bonus Trivia: Two horses played Black in this sequel, Cass-Olé, the Texas-bred Arabian show horse from the original, and El Mokhtar, an Egyptian Arabian racehorse used for the race scenes.

The Horse Whisperer (1998)

Stars Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson and Sam Neill.

On a gray winter morning, Grace MacLean and her best friend Judith take their horses for a ride in the woods. When one of the horses loses its footing and bumps the other, both riders and horses slide down an icy slope onto a road, where a logging truck is barreling at highway speed. The unthinkable happens. Grace and her horse, Pilgrim, are severely hurt, physically and emotionally. Judith and her horse are killed. Annie, Grace’s mother, refuses to have Pilgrim put down, though the horse is a danger to himself and his handlers. Instead, she takes Grace and Pilgrim West to Montana, where she hopes Joe Booker, a rugged, intuitive horse trainer, can heal her daughter and her beloved horse.

Highlight: In stark contrast to the harrowing opening scene, the Montana landscape offers a breathtaking sense of peace. Plus, Grace’s triumphant breakthrough when she once again rides Pilgrim.

Bonus Trivia: Booker’s character is based on the work of three natural horsemanship gurus, including Buck Brannaman, who is a consultant on the film and doubles for Redford in some scenes. In turn, Redford appears in the film, Buck, a documentary about Brannaman’s life and training methods.