There’s still a bit of winter left, which means it’s too dark to ride after supper when the footing isn’t good. So you might want to curl up in front of the TV. And you might be able to soothe your need for a horse fix. Here’s what I’ve found lately.
Heartland
My eight-year-old niece loves to watch Heartland. But don’t try to watch anything before season six with her, because as far as she is concerned, nothing worth watching happened in seasons one through five. I admit I find Heartland with its squealing and nickering horses, slow motion montages and romantic horse/handler scenes a little dorky. But, then it’s inoffensive, remotely realistic and perfectly safe to watch with an eight-year-old. Several seasons are currently on Netflix, and you can watch them as the roll out on CBC in Canada and according to the Heartland website can be watched on about 200 stations in the U.S. The stars of the show also make appearances at many equine events and are active on social media. If you’re a fan of Minecraft, you may be able to join in the fun too.
Harry and Snowman
After what seemed like a huge buildup to the release of this movie/documentary I felt a bit let down after I watched it on Netflix. Lots of critics disagreed with me. The movie was n NYT Critics Pick, Newsday called it “A Touching Documentary”. It has high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and decent ratings on IMDB. Nevertheless, it was an interesting look at the show jumping world in the 50s, and how one took a farm horse and competed with the best of the best. I found it particularly interesting the contrast between how Snowman was treated compared to the cosseted and protected lives of show horses today. Today, would Grand Prix horses be used as diving boards when they are not competing? And, it was refreshingly nicker, clip-clop and squeal free. Maybe I just wanted more details. Maybe I’m hard to please. So while I found this movie thin in places, it’s still a great family movie on a cold late winter night.
RideTV
I just discovered that RideTV is coming to Canada this year. I’ve already filled out the form to find out how to get it on my TV, but so far no response. But, if you live south of the border from me, you may already have access. The event coverage ranges from rodeo to dressage with a smattering of equestrian lifestyle shows about cooking, decorating and exploring equestrian venues. One show, called This Old Horse looks at legendary horses from every discipline - from war horses to modern day performance horses.
Netflix
Along with Harry and Snowman, search Netflix for Movies About Horses and you’ll find a handful of made-for-tv movies, documentaries, and kids shows. Palio is still running, as is Buck, the documentary about the trainer Buck Brannaman. American users may have access to far more than I do and may be able to recommend something for movie night with a horse theme.
Other Streaming Channels
So beyond Netflix, there a several streaming services with either movies, shows or streamed live events. Streamhorse TV has listings of events that offer live coverage. Horse and Country TV has both live streams and shows such as Backstage Pass with Monty Roberts. You'll have to live in the U.K. to subscribe, but Watch Free seems to be available to all. Total Horse Channel has live event streaming and shows on horse care, training and horse racing.
So what are you watching? Caught up in a series or found a doc worth watching?
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![How Horses are Used in Movies [Video]](upload/news/3006_featured_thumb.jpg "How Horses are Used in Movies [Video]")
