Better Angels (2014)

Throughout the film, the lead character (Abraham Lincoln as a boy) has a pet dog, who is seen performing such mild action as sitting/lying/eating, being held or petted, and walking/running. For all of these scenes, trainers used hand signals and verbal commands to cue the mild action, which the trained dog was accustomed to performing.

For the scenes which included the horse, the horseback riders were stunt riders or experienced actors who were skilled at riding, mounting and dismounting. All running/galloping scenes were well choreographed, and actors used caution while on and near animals. When teams of horses pulled wagons or carriages, the drivers were experienced and teams of horses were familiar with each other and accustomed to the pulling action. Whenever horses were seen tied to posts/fences, they were attached to lead ropes tied to posts.

In the scene where Abe operates the plow as a hired hand guides the ox, trainers brought the ox to set and placed the rope on him, then attached the plow to the rope. The actors were trained on how to maneuver the plow and ox. The ox was walked back and forth a couple of times. The plow was very light.

Due to not being notified and limited resources, American Humane Association did not monitor any of the preying mantis, cow and turkey action.