Adiving horse is an attraction that was popular in the mid 1880's, [1] in which a horse dives into a pool of water, sometimes from as high as 60 feet up.[2]
On Febuary 7th 1907, a dive went wrong in a show in San Antonio, and the 4 story fall killed the 18 year old rider, but spared the horse. Newspapers published pictures of the dive in mid-air.[3]
In 1931, Sonora Webster and her horse "red lips", lost their balance on the platform. Sonora survived the fall, but was blinded (detatched retnas in both eyes).[4] She continued horse-diving while blind. A movie featuring this incident was made called "Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken" in 1991.
The shows recieved very strong criticisms of animal rights absues, which contributed to the decline of its popularity after WW2.[5] The horses sometimes dove four times a day, seven days a week, and were slaughtered once their career was over.[6] There are allegations of using prods, electrical jolts, and trap doors to get unwilling horses to dive.[7]
