Royal Winter Fair - Horse Falls

Lead horse on percheron 6 hitch has a moment and falls

[@Cindy-bee]

Now that is teamwork. The horses remained calm, the audience was quiet and the announcer was directing the show. Excellent work.

[@ratchetcakezvani7435]

at least the crowd was actually decently quiet unlike in some other vids I've seen.

[@bettybaynes1282]

IKR!!!

[@zakaigatlin5812]

Pro tip : you can watch movies at Flixzone. Been using it for watching all kinds of movies recently.

[@ansondiego8875]

@Zakai Gatlin Yup, I have been watching on Flixzone for months myself :D

[@candymeadowalmondjoy]

very well handled! Good announcer, good audience and most importantly great horse!

[@jobentley6583]

Yes!

[@shelbyfinch5688]

That was handled very very well. They covered the horse's eyes and kept the rest of the team calm as well as keeping all of the other horses in the ring calm. This horse must be well taken care of to be that calm in the situation.

[@brittanyhayden6267]

I've been blessed with watching and talking to these people that show and omg they love each horse to death they are family. They are super trained before ever getting a chance to go to a show they work years at home. I watch one work her horses everyday she would stand on their backs like liberty trick riders and would work a pair around the block at the state fair then would go get the next two and so on these people work with them verbally and physically it's amazing the bonds they have

[@darlenefraser3022]

And it was a decent sized stadium so that those huge beauties aren’t squished into a small area

[@Oakleaf700]

@@darlenefraser3022 Massive shame about their heads artificially held up with restrictive overchecks though, Culturally they are not used in UK, so horses can balance themselves much better, and be safer.

[@darlenefraser3022]

@@Oakleaf700 And what has that got to do with my comment about the horses and NOT the tack?

[@Oakleaf700]

@@darlenefraser3022 Because the harness impacts massively on the wellbeing of a horse. Especially an overcheck or bearing rein. So unnatural to see all their heads artificially held high so they cannot lower their heads as a counterbalance to save themselves if they stumble.

[@stickshiftstarship]

Bravo to the handlers, and bravo to the crowd who kept quiet and didnt scare the stuffing out of the rest of the horses. That could have been a LOT worse than it was!

[@swamppiratesco]

Canadians! ;)

[@elaineluikart5459]

Bearing reins are being used on these horses. That is why they are tossing their heads. Bearing reins were described in the novel about horse abuse "Black Beauty by Anna Sewell about the many forms of horse abuse. The horse people changed the name to overcheck rein. It may look regal and showey but the horses are miserable and their necks are pulled to the max to improve their look and make them raise their feet higher. People and horses are being injured and killed because of these reins when the horses just can't take the pain anymore and rear or bolt.

[@silverkitty2503]

When the room is full of horsey people! Great horse

[@bcazz5202]

@@elaineluikart5459 TOO TIGHT bearing reins (over or side checks in 'modern language'). These aren't over tight, and the head throwing is simply a sign of impatience. Re read your Anna Sewell and learn something.

[@elaineluikart5459]

@@bcazz5202 you read it, I have. Asbergers and I can see the pain in their eyes. And why they are dripping saliva is because the bit is jammed in the back of their mouth and they can't swallow. They are choking on their own salvia. Hold your mouth open and try to swallow. The bit is supposed to lay in an area in a spot where there are no teeth so they can close their mouth. The over check bits are in the back of the mouth between teeth so they can't close their mouth.

[@victoriavictoria2983]

Great annoncer! He kept the audience nice and calm by talking them through it and telling them about the harness. Great job!

[@marliesyanke4580]

So glad the horse was upright again and hopefully ok. How can one judge, all the teams are so beautiful.

[@miakay958]

The audience was excellent 👍 and props to the host for keeping everyone quiet and calm.

[@LucerodeCaballos]

Such amazing animals. That horse fell and knew he wouldn't be able to get up and so just laid there patiently and waited until help came. Thank god the rest of the horses were just as calm. I still remember when the Prefiert percherons fell at the Midwest Horse Fair moving at a gallop. That was scary, but they had an amazing team like the one shown here as well and both horses were just fine. Way to go you guys!

[@battousaiblade]

what a great audience to keep quiet in order to keep the horses calm i knew i was shaking lol

[@LittlePaso17]

Good horse! He went down and was like "Um...help?" and just stayed there. Poor thing was breathing pretty hard though. Probably scared the heck out of him. Remarkable to see that he just sat there. I think most horses would have freaked out with all that harness caught in their legs. Well done to the trainers!

[@cathyt144]

its amazing to me that the horse that fell didnt panic and the others on the team were so calm and just took it all in stride. they have all been trained so well. the handlers deserve recognition in this situation. they were on top of things for sure.

[@furtfurt]

Finally a video of horses falling and all the organizers were 100% competent. That was perfectly handled.

[@kshpd3972]

This could not have been handled better. The crowd, the handlers, drivers, horses, everyone was calm and collected and did their jobs. Accidents happen, and the horse that went down seemed to know help would come and to remain relaxed. Bravo to everyone!

[@brigittefarmer4400]

Handled with care! Very professional!!! 👏👏👏

[@rvasquez8057]

Beautifully done. Magnificent Animals.

[@ThePhatpony]

Well done to the announcer for keeping it calm and quiet lovely crowd too 😊

[@GoatBlaat]

This is a great job of working together to keep it all quiet and calm. I'm really glad to see that it ended up well.

[@AvisRavenChild]

From the way the announcer was speaking it sounds like the poor guy got tangled up in some harness which is pretty easy to do. I've seen it happen at a few fairs where the harnesses eventually come loose from all the pulling and the horse just gets caught up. Either that he spooked at something and was like "screw this I'ma play dead" xD Very well handled situation as I've been to the ROYAL many times and whenever something like this happens those on the outside of the ring are there in a flash.

[@wendygoerl9162]

Horses don't "play dead." They run away. Fortunately, these big guys aren't as excitable as lighter horses and know bad things can happen when they don't listen to a human that says "Whoa."

[@xara5417]

I thought the one on the right (our left) was the one that got spooked which pulled its buddy to the ground and they both calmed and the left one just stayed still trusting its people to help and tell it when to get up.

[@anniedeklerk8858]

Shivers that Percheron is so trusting just to lay their while people rush around him. clever lad!!

[@lizzyoconnell2386]

Wow mostly these situations would be everyone freaking out, but that went well

[@Lex60]

Everybody was so quick to react! I am glad that nobody got hurt and the audience was actually working with the crew to prevent things from escalate.

[@animeobsessee2125]

My heart hurts at all the docked tails. Glad everyone came through ok and everyone stayed calm though.

[@CrewOfFirefly]

That woman in the sparkly shirt sure had guts, that 2 ton draft horse was about to have a real problem there and she just ran in like it was nothing and calmed her/him right down.

[@amandawitherspoon6779]

Where was the 2 ton draft horse? I didn't see one.

[@vuibg3656]

Percherons are such great horses. The announcer kept the crowds calm and the horse didn't flip out... Faulty harnesses/tack?

[@bishrulnoballs]

VU IBG I think something spooked him/her

[@justanotherhorsegirl1494]

It seemed that the harness got a bit loose and tangled the horses legs, it also seemed to spook backwards and into the other horse because of the man in a tuxedo running to help untangle it. 3:40

[@sallyhildreth3663]

We really didnt get to see much before he backed up and fell.

[@KA-om9oz]

@@mahalashaw6305 hahaha...

[@w0rschula280]

wow! How calm the horses stay! Thats why I love the big ones more :)

[@TRIKER333]

Yes, cudos to the crowd and what great hndlers, keeping that horse calm till he was freed. Miss my dad's Percherons for sure.

[@artgoat]

This is why you pick your steadiest, calmest pair to be leads!

[@fantellerhur]

Actual fall at 3:40 for anyone who doesn't want to watch all :)

[@meganproffitt424]

Elle R'hur I love you!!!

[@saraht8755]

Thank you!!!

[@ellieskinner8525]

Elle R'hur thank youuu!

[@hayleydemmocks3066]

Unfortunate, but absolutely stunning horses!!!!

[@daniellakiewicz7110]

Thank goodness the horse was okay. But other than that this was amazing to watch. Beautiful.

[@Anna-dn3bi]

shame about the fall , they are Beautifully presented

[@CarolanIvey]

I never knew that could happen! The other horses were so calm. :)

[@bcazz5202]

Excellent job of teamwork and horsemanship demonstrated here. I particularly like the fact that the spangally woman, who looked like she could be a total fluff, really knew how to jump in and handle the situation. Go horsewomen!

[@brendareed8412]

It's interesting to watch the black horses behind the one who fell. They are quiet, but their heads begin to bib up and down exactly as if they are saying, "Uh oh! Uh oh!" And the bobbing gets more pronounced as time passes. Horses are so expressive. All behaved so well here and did not make the situation worse. Heaps of praise for them and their trainers.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

I've never seen a horse fall and just lay there. They usually fight to get up right away. Makes you wonder if the horse fainted or something.

[@eternalgravity]

Draft horses just have that laidback attitude. Seriously, look up other driving/pulling accidents involving draft horses. They rarely (barely if they do) struggle. Had a draft cross, he did the same thing. I remember we were letting them graze on long lines, we went to help a friend with her problem horse (forget what happened). Yes, I know, stupid. But we were not expecting to get called away. Suddenly people are yelling. He somehow tangled the rope all through his legs, then managed to hog tie himself. He gave me a whicker and just laid there patiently and let me undo him. I loved that horse. I will say desensitizing them young does it too. My walker mare did the same thing. But she was born on the farm and we desensitized the crap out of her. She was as bombproof as I've ever seen them.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

eternalgravity I guess it depends on the horses. I used to know a team of belgians who would try to run away any chance they got. There was one gelding that would get the team out of control every time, and if the driver was too heavy-handed the horses would stop listening and follow this gelding. It didn't matter what position they put him in in harness. We used to say he was the leader of the rebellion. But I definitely agree with you that in general heavy horses are more laid back than many lighter breeds. They are less nervous and flighty for sure. Some draft horses are really frisky and some thoroughbreds are cool cats. Each animal is an individual and has its own personality and that's a beautiful thing!

[@shanni_x.7863]

No it never fainted the harness was caught on the horse which restricted it X

[@ariellegill9709]

A handler lay across the horse's head and covered his eyes to keep him down and calm while the horse was being released from the traces. It's not easy to see amongst all the people but it's the guy in blue jeans with a red cap. It's an old horseman's trick to keep a horse that's down from struggling to get up by sitting on the horse's head. After they have removed the harness, you can see the guy releases his weight from the horse and the horse gets up no worse for wear.

[@clairewilkes1081]

They are taught to lay still

[@kawaiianimals7366]

Wow that was very well handled 😂 I was expecting it to be a shit show like the rest of them but that was extremely good the crowd stayed quiet the team worked fast and the horses stayed calm 🙌🙌🙌

[@TheDressageFan62]

the horse didn't stay down on his own, you can see one of the persons helping pushing his had down and covering his eyes. because of that he stayed calm an didn't try to stand up. great job by the peolple who helped!!

[@sandhiller49]

very nicely done, they handled the horses very well, and the announcer managed the crowd well.

[@katrinascepanovic3986]

I remember this so clearly! My Grandpa was the ring master (the one calling the directions) at the royal for this class so my whole family was there, it happens more than you'd think

[@gsdmomb530]

Katrina Scepanovic Sure he was

[@glitchyceasar801]

M'kay.

[@virginiafry9854]

Thank heavens the audience listened to the announcer and kept quiet!

[@rajvader]

Handled well. Too bad we missed what caused the fall... Always looking for errors to avoid! Lady in the evening gown wasn't just there for show after-all!

[@shestwotents]

So what caused the fall? Incredible how it was handled and the horse obviously didn't spook itself into trying to jump back up and bolt...

[@tammygunnell3085]

Great job to all involved. Well trained horses well trained handlers! Well done everyone!

[@hackneysaregreat]

They handled the situation very well, calm and professional.

[@patgriego6293]

I commend these people! They actually know what they are doing and especially the announcer he was very calm and gave clear instructions. I have seen some videos with true idiots such as the saddle bred cart accident where two horses ended up running and it was a whole mess for at least 20 minutes. These people were not that they acted fast and calm and got the horse up quickly and handled the situation amazingly

[@michellefury12345]

This made me all teary😢 God bless that horses unbelievably sweet heart, this could've been horrific!!!!💗💗💗💗

[@jamjam731]

Absolutely gorgeous horses!

[@Bolgie1362]

goes to show what great temperament they have, he just like oops i fell down, just gonna lie here till they fix me up. So nice to see people for once handling a situation like that correctly!

[@BlackKettleRanch]

That's called horsemanship.

[@battousaiblade]

i'm glad the horse was okay as well amazing the other horses were to see that one of their own went down and they stood by calmly

[@southernsweets8122]

anyone else notice they are playing the pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack

[@cree_VI]

i love how the rest 4 left arena like champions. Even they are heavy horses, but their movements are graceful, like they are dancing

[@Sarlen100]

I was there when that happened horse just stopped and turned making the other lead horse get confused and the others following to slide into them creating panic. It was a scary moment for everyone. I was happy to see everyone was ok. Royal starts again tomorrow hopfuly nothing like this happens this year

[@genniejefferson1892]

Horses are so beautiful. My God

[@annawillday4171]

what a great crew of people that helped the horses x

[@shesaddictedtochrome2459]

everyone saying well handled...how about the training on them to remain that calm!! Congrats to whomever trained these beautiful horses to you did an awesome job!

[@Croco_99]

i like that... the people react very fast

[@adeleking9852]

So impressed with how calm the horse that fell was, they must take great care of that team and the horses know they are helping them.

[@peggypapczun2906]

Beautiful teams beautifully handled! But why chop off their tails? For convenience?

[@makebakes5255]

@@peggypapczun2906 For safety, to keep the tails from being caught in equipment.

[@jessicaivey9788]

Beautiful team! Glad all was well.

[@SB-ll1tt]

That lady with the silver top on knows her horses. Well done!

[@janinemuelli]

Gute schnelle Reaktion von den Helfern!!!

[@guille7231]

Lady in glitter knows her stuff regardless of mishap

[@jumpthesun]

What a saint

[@danielleharrison5765]

The who fell Horse he stayed so calm. Good job. I wonder if they had a vet check him out to see if he was hurt? I bet they did to be on the safe side. Everybody was so calm and I think that's what prevent him from going into panic mode because usually run horses are in a situation they don't like they will panic. And if the horse is able get back up it might just go running around the arena because it is spooked. And you need to be careful around spooked horses because they can be deadly even though a horse doesn't want to hurt somebody it can is the short animals and you have to respect that.

[@hollyhs3222]

It's always scary at events when the crowd starts making noise which always makes it 10× worse

[@jennifursun3303]

glad i don't have to keep those Feathers clean

[@stinkystay]

Great announcer, patient horse.

[@Trrrot]

Bravo to the horse! so glad he is fine.. props to the humans for quickly releasing him..

[@kimmyrolfe486]

Stunning turn outs..

[@horsegirl07]

gosh its so scary when equipment breaks or malfunctions ... everyone handled this amazingly! glad the horse is okay

[@BRPFan]

We used to go every year until I fell ill!!

[@silenusmeduseon8814]

What I see is the near-fore leader apparently backing away from the woman in the spangled-top? Otherwise, just to say all the turn-outs were wonderful: think of the work! Great teams.

[@basmalou]

But have to admit, the helpers did their jobs great in al calmness and hold the horses good under control.

[@SarahTheAmazing]

omg, i was there! That was so scary!! :( Poor horse! So glad that everyone was ok!

[@PrincessNottingham]

What caused the horse to fall? We didn’t see as the person with the video recorder was videoing the far side of the arena.

[@hrsnrnd10]

I have watched this over and over...any idea on what happened?

[@MissBBunnies]

accident or not they are all in beautiful condition!

[@wolfhawkgaming]

The lady in the sparkley shirt noticed something in the very beginning before the other class exited. She was messing with the very horse that fell. My question is what didn't get corrected then that could have prevented that?

[@juneribbons5196]

So stunning

[@juliehenry5353]

As was expand this summer by the one BRD HITCH partner - they do get hyped up and - go up eith their heads cut their wind off - they do dismiss themselves and have both horses checked our since it fell into the other - the team is placed lower in the final pinning - Drafts are smart they are taught whoa means whoa and to stay where they are - Percherons are super intelligent horses - theses horses are treated like kings and Queens - the owners arent out to be the best all the time like some areas of equine sports they're in in to enjoy and show off a awesome part of equine exhibition

[@1972dsrai]

Did that woman unintentionally cause the horse to back up and fall by getting too close?

[@sonoinpace]

Everyone handled that very well, however, the horses deserve the bulk of my praise. That could of been far worse.

[@gabitoader9949]

Magnific

[@Linda-hs1lk]

Bit small for so many teams...They handled it well though. Beautiful horses, except for those horrible cropped tails...

[@artycats1237]

umm I'm not sure but I don't think their tails ate cropped in my eyes they just look like their beautifully done up in neat buns

[@artycats1237]

are

[@Linda-hs1lk]

ArtyCats 123 The bones on the tails are much longer. These tails are cropped.

[@maddiewandrey6335]

Yes, some people crop percheron's tails, there is a percheron at my barn And he has a short/ cropped tail bone so he poops all over his tail

[@gsdmomb530]

They only have 16" of bone. And there is a reason the tail is docked. Do your research.

[@justsayin1349]

What amazing horses!! Its their natural instinct to want to panic in those types of situations!! Just utterly amazed at how calm they were. And hats off to the people as well for the way they calmly handled it

[@clarkridgenorthfarm]

anyone know what song is playing?

[@janaebryant2556]

These are incredibly trained 'cold blooded' horses.

[@nugget3935]

I miss my horse I used him in jousting it haven't gone to his gear since all his armour is just on it's mannequin still

[@nick_pw9998]

Woooow poor horse but woooow the crowd was quiet wooooow

[@HaHa-xj3yq]

To many horses in a too small area but still they handled it really well

[@helios3217]

Why did the horse fall?

[@arkas6797]

Are necklaces?

[@theomgsee8217]

I think what happened was, they spooked and she ran over in her glitter shirt that freaked them out more making them back up and fall over

[@justanotherhorsegirl1494]

TheOMGsee Actually it looked more like the guy it a tuxedo running at them and the horse was caught in the harness so it was two things, it spooked a bit at the man running to help untangle the harness and fell.

[@motsgar]

Wtf, who took the tail off these horses?!?

[@jennygoodwin8740]

Glad they are ok.

[@arkas6797]

Αre necklaces?

[@emmafuller2493]

Why the hell is the driver just sat there like this happens on a daily basis

[@makebakes5255]

He is likely sitting there to keep the rest of the team calm. A single horse falling to the ground is one thing... But a team of 5 other horses running out of control is a whole other ball game...

[@emmafll3118]

This is kinda cool

[@LadyplayUnicorn]

I love watching these shows but it is vary dangerous