History Main / RearingHorse

The RearingHorse is an iconic pose of a horse rearing back so its front hooves are off the ground. It is used in movies because it is so dramatic.

* In ''PokemonSpecial'', Platina's just evolved [[HellishHorse Rapidash]] strikes this pose after Platina mounts it and declares [[spoiler:her intention to protect the three Lake Guardians with Diamond and Pearl despite her father's protests]].

* The original design LeonardoDaVinci wanted for his horse statue was this pose. However he deemed it to difficult, so he went with a less awesome design, it was never finished due to a war.

* At the end of TerryGilliam's ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'' the Baron raises his hat as his horse rears up... and they both vanish. Both the horse and rider in this shot were doubles.

* ''BlackBeauty''! It's on the freaking cover!
* The fourth book of the ''[[TortallUniverse Song of the Lioness]]'' series is called ''Lioness Rampant'', which is also the design the main character has on her shield.

* ''TheLoneRanger'' and his horse, Silver.

** Bizarrely, even pegasi (i.e. flying horses) do this sometimes.

* The [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Kent_flag.svg rearing white horse on red]] (though he looks more like he's about to kung fu some mother into next week), the arms and flag of the State of Lower Saxony in Germany, and of Westphalia (nowadays part of North Rhine-Westphalia).

** And in fact any that do follow this 'convention' are coincidental - as the story is [[http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.asp completely unsubstantiated]].

* The iconic painting of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Napoleon4.jpg Napoleon Crossing the Alps]]
** Incidentally, that painting is pure public-image BS. Napoleon actually made that crossing on the back of a mule, which, being sure-footed, is a far safer mount on steep trails.
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Delaroche_-_Bonaparte_franchissant_les_Alpes.jpg This painting]] is probably much closer to the truth.

* This is a manoeuvre frequently used in [[TheThreeMusketeers Twenty Years After]] to save the rider.

* ''GetSmart''. The same gag is used at the end of the episode riffing ''ThePrisonerOfZenda'', involving Max of course.

* At the end of TerryGilliam's ''{{The Adventures of Baron Munchausen}}'' the Baron raises his hat as his horse rears up... and they both vanish. Both the horse and rider in this shot were doubles.

** Seven episodes later, Fluttershy goes a little off in the head and starts ChewingTheScenery...

[[{{Zorro}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zorro.jpg]]
[[caption-width:350: Kids, don't try this at home. [[RealityEnsues You'll fall off.]]]]

* Happens in ''[[{{TheLordoftheRings}} The Lord of the Rings]]'' film when Aragorn and his army are at the Black Gates at the end of a [[{{RousingSpeech}} Rousing Speech.]] According to the DVD Commentary, this happened entirely by accident, but Viggo Mortensen stayed on the horse and it looked good so they kept the shot.

** Seven episodes later, Fluttershy goes a little off in the head.

* Artwork depicting a general or head-of-state on a rearing horse was a symbol of power in the 17th century. The most famous example is perhaps [[http://newyork.untappedcities.com/files/2011/04/napoleon-horse.jpg this]] painting of {{NapoleonBonaparte}}.

* SpanishRidingSchool in Vienna trains horses and riders to do awesome tricks like this.

In real life, it's a Very Bad Thing, and ''only'' experienced trainers should even get on a horse with a rearing habit.[[hottip:*:Please note that there is a difference between an actual rear and several of the dressage moves known as the Airs Above the Ground. One is on command, one is not.]] It is very easy to cause a rearing horse to fall over backwards on top of the rider, which can hurt easily lead to serious injuries or even death.

Even so, it looks wild, powerful, liberating, and, yes, [[RuleOfCool cool]]. It ends up appearing in many cowboy movies, historical movies and European coats of arms. In heraldry the pose is referred to as "rampant" and is so popular that it is applied to pretty much any four-legged animal, including lions, wolves, and even mythological creatures like griffins. Technically, in heraldry, a rampant animal will stand on its left hind leg, with the three other legs elevated off the ground. The rearing pose also appears on some equestrian statues, although contrary to popular myth, the horse's pose has no relation to how the rider died.

Often combined with StabTheSky, or sometimes, SwordPointing.

* ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Twilight Sparkle obliges Spike by doing this when they go off to rescue Rarity. The ponies sometimes rear without a rider (it's not like they usually have one) as a kind of stock gesture, but they're so diminutive that it tends to look more cute than impressive.

In real life, it's a Very Bad Thing, and ''only'' experienced trainers should even get on a horse with a rearing habit.[[hottip:*:Please note that there is a difference between an actual rear and several of the dressage moves known as the Airs Above the Ground. One is on command, one is not.]] It is very easy to cause a rearing horse to fall over backwards on top of the rider, [[{{Understatement}} which can hurt]].

* At the end of TerryGilliam's ''[[The Adventures of Baron Munchausen}}'' the Baron raises his hat as his horse rears up... and they both vanish. Both the horse and rider in this shot were doubles.

* The horse the cheetah rides in the ''DoctorWho'' episode "Survival". Yes, ''the horse the cheetah rides.'' Note: During filming, the stunt man couldn't get the horse to rear, or do anything else, but the actress playing the cheetah-girl could. It turned out that the horse hated men.