My Top Horse Movies

Let's be honest, horse movies can be painfully cheesy. I know it. You know it. Every person who has had any kind of background with horses, knows it. But for every three cheesy movies, there's one really good one. So which ones are actually the good ones?

Everyone and their brother thinks they have the best list of horse movies, but when I check them out, they have horrible movies listed as their top five. Movies like Flicka, Flicka 2, The Derby Stallion, and so on. (Zac Effron? Really??) So I figured I would put together my list.

This is from a 1927 movie called Napoleon

 Each movie title will be a link to its YouTube trailer in case you haven't seen it and would like a snippet.

The Best:
(I couldn't put them in any numerical order because they're all great.)

Hidalgo
Viggo Mortinson. Enough said. Also, underdog, adorable, mustang.

The Horse Whisperer
This book made me cry. That's hard to do.

Secretariat
Gives me chills at the last race. Every. Time.

Seabiscuit
Gotta love true story thoroughbred movies.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Aside from the grammar and spelling errors in this fan-made trailer, it's very well done. Even though it's a cartoon movie, it's one of the best.

Ruffian
Another thoroughbred movie but WARNING if you can't handle watching her breakdown, do NOT watch this movie. It will make you sob. (I couldn't find a link without spoilers, sorry.)

Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies
This is fascniating because it's a documentary on the life and social customs of wild mustangs. Everyone who loves horses should watch these series.


The Good:
(May not be the absolute best, but still worth watching at least once.)

The Black Stallion
Walter Farley's classic! Who doesn't love it?

The Black Stallion Returns
I kind of hate the word "returns" after this trailer. But more of Alec and The Black!

Justin Morgan Had A Horse
The trailer doesn't tell much. It's about the founder of the Morgan breed. It's full of Teddys!

Black Beauty
I didn't add a link because there are literally SIX different film adaptations of this book. It's a good story, so find the movie version that you like best.

War Horse
This got great reviews when it came out. I thought the first half was rather boring.

National Velvet
Cute, older movie about a steeplechase. (However, it makes me panic a little because the riders aren't wearing helmets and the horses trip left and right.)

Dreamer
Another horse racing movie. Not the greatest, and definitely some cheese, but it's not horrible. And how cute was Dakota Fanning??

Racing Stripes
I know how horribly cheesy this movie is, but it's got a ZEBRA in it! I have begged for a zebra since this movie came out.

The Horribly Ugly:
These movies should never have been made. They're full of bad acting, predicable story lines, and more cheese than Wisconsin. (I understand how lame that last part was.)

Flicka
It's obvious the actress has no background with horses. In more than one scene, the horse sees the halter, stands quiet when the girl is right next to her with the halter in plain sight, but as soon as it touches the horse's nose, it throws a five minute rampage? Unrealistic.

Flicka 2
Because Flicka wasn't bad enough. A big-city girl comes to the country, doesn't fit in, then falls in love with a majestically beautiful horse, and the local country boy. Gag.

Flicka: Country Pride
Just as bad as the first two. Seriously, why bother? Also, the wild mustang that is supposed to be Flicka looks very Arabian-like.

The Derby Stallion
Zac Effron at his awkard teen stage plays a boy who bonds with a washed-up ex-trainer who takes him under his wing and they go on to win the derby. Snooze-fest.

The Wild Stallion
The only people who actually think this is a good movie are the fans of iCarly and Miranda Cosgrove.


Now that you've seen my list, do you have anything to add to it? Any suggestions of what movies I should watch?