Horses

A beautifully shot and exciting documentary following a year in the lives of three champion racehorses.

What might it be like to be a horse? Not just any horse, but a top-end racehorse? This is the question Horses explores, following three promising, charismatic horses over the course of one rather difficult racing year, bringing us into their world and revealing their distinct individual characters. Beautiful, unusual, and highly entertaining, the film combines the drama of a sports movie with the exploration of an ancient human obsession, offering a subtle critique of humanity's quirks on the side.

Narrated by John Hurt, Horses is produced by Aisling Ahmed and directed by Liz Mermin.

Our setting is a National Hunt stable in Co Wexford, a family business led by the garrulous and engaging trainer Paul Nolan who introduces us to three promising horses. Ardalan is an unusually small horse with an amazing talent for clearing big jumps and an irrepressible curiosity, which he expresses by trying to eat everything within reach. Cuan na Grai has been out for a year nursing a tendon injury, but he's won some major races in the past; he is so highly attuned to all the sites and noises around him that it often seems he'll drive himself mad. And Joncol is a young, quiet, giant who takes everything literally in stride, and who Paul hopes might prove to be the best horse the stable's ever had - though he's only raced once, can't run on firm ground, and is haunted by irritated sinuses. As we get to know our three characters, we immerse ourselves in the strange life that humans have made for them - observing stable life from their perspective, meeting the people responsible for crucial decisions in their careers, and following their fates over the course of a dramatic year.

There's rarely a shortage of drama in the National Hunt - the injury rate is high for both horses and riders (though rather higher for horses), and the potential rewards, while significant, cannot compare to the purses offered in flat racing. It is not a particularly reasonable way to try to make a living, and as we follow our equine protagonists we meet a variety of human characters who offer theories about horse intelligence, emotion, and character. As they speak, we observe, and draw our on conclusions about what might be going on in the heads of these three athletes.

Featuring beautiful and intimate footage, unusual behind-the scenes access, and an evocative experimental soundtrack, Horses is unlike any film about humans or animals you are likely to have seen. Bound to raise arguments over anthropomorphism and the rights of animals, the film reserves judgment, provoking questions rather than presenting an argument. And whatever conclusions you may come to, you'll never watch a horse-race the same way again.

Horses is a West Park Pictures production for BBC/RTÉ & The Irish Film Board.