Detailed Animal Action Report

All horseback riders were stunt riders or experienced actors who were skilled at riding, mounting and dismounting. All running/galloping scenes were well choreographed, and actors used caution while on and near animals. The horses’ rearing was a trained behavior. The horses were specially trained “falling horses” and “lay down horses” that fell on cue onto a soft landing area. When teams of horses pulled wagons or carriages, the drivers were experienced and teams of horses were familiar with each other and accustomed to the pulling action. Whenever horses were seen tied to posts/fences, they were attached to lead ropes tied to posts.

In the scene where we see two riders on horses crossing a bridge, they were actually filmed on blue screen. They never rode horses on a bridge. 

Anytime we see one of the beasts riding a horse, the horse was ridden by a professional stunt rider and post production used CGI to make the rider look like one of the beasts.

In the scenes where we see men on horseback riding up the ridge of a mountain, this scene was shot on stage, not on an actual mountain ridge. 

In the scene where the monster pulls the man off his horse, the rider on the horse was on a cable. On action, the actor playing the monster swung a fake club at a rider who was then pulled off the horse by a cable.