Two Horses Die Filming 'Luck'

The New York Observer reported two horses died while filming Luck at . The horses apparently broke their legs shooting the new HBO series—which premiered Jan. 29—and had to be euthanized.

According to The Observer, both horses died filming short race scenes and not during stunt segments. The first horse died shooting the pilot, while the other horse died shooting the show's seventh episode.

Also, HBO told the The Observer, "While the pilot of the show includes a scene in which a horse breaks its leg and has to be put down ... that the scene did not include the animal that actually died, but was accomplished using a combination of 'trained' movie horses and CGI."

According to a press release from the American Humane Association, dated on Jan. 27 and posted by The Observer:

The horses were checked immediately afterwards by the onsite veterinarians and in each case a severe fracture deemed the condition inoperable. The decision was that the most humane course of action was euthanasia. An American Humane Certified Animal Safety Representative™ was monitoring the animal action on the set when the incidents occurred and observed the veterinarian on the set perform the soundness checks and approve the horses, prior to racing them. A full investigation and necropsy was conducted for each accident immediately afterwards…

American Humane Association is deeply saddened by the deaths of these two wonderful animals. Protecting the welfare of the animals we serve is not only our mission, it is the passion of each and every one of us who works for this program. Because of these accidents, the two episodes in question do not carry the full certification, “No Animals Were Harmed”

HBO has apparently developed additional safeguards with the help of the AHA. The Observer published a portion of an email from HBO.

“After the second accident, production was suspended while the production worked with AHA and racing industry experts to adopt additional protocols specifically for horse racing sequences. The protocols included but were not limited to the hiring of an additional veterinarian and radiography of the legs of all horses being used by the production. HBO fully adopted all of AHA’s rigorous safety guidelines before production resumed.”

Check Patch for more later.