Yahoo Movies Horse dies on the set of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
A horse on the set of Amazon Prime's Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has died, EW can confirm.
"We are deeply saddened to confirm that a production horse died on 21st March," says a statement from an Amazon Studios spokesperson. "The incident took place in the morning whilst the horse was being exercised prior to rehearsals. The trainer was not in costume and filming had yet to commence. Both a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were present at the time."
Prime Video The cavalry of Numenor arrives in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'
An "independent necropsy" was conducted and found the horse died due to cardiac failure.
Sources close to the production say the horse in question is said to have shown no health problems prior to the day and was standing with around 20 other horses when it died. The Devil's Horsemen, an experienced equine company which has supplied horses for shows including Game of Thrones and The Crown, as well as films like Wonder Woman and Transformers: The Last Knight, provided all horses on set that day. The company is owned by horsemasters Daniel and Camilla Naprous and their father, Gerard, and is based in Buckinghamshire. This is said to be the first horse fatality in the company's 50-year history.
While the death of an animal on set is rare, it's not unheard of. In 2012, HBO's horse-racing series Luck was canceled after three horses died during production. Recently, The Gilded Age came under fire from PETA after whistleblowers alleged a horse with several pre-existing conditions died during production after experiencing head trauma. A statement released at the time by the network said a preliminary veterinarian report had found the horse died due to natural causes.
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