6:13 p.m. April 27, 2005

SIMI VALLEY – The remake of the 1943 classic "My Friend Flicka" has resulted in fatal injuries to two horses, the American Humane Association said Wednesday.

A quarter horse tripped during a rodeo scene and broke one of its back legs April 11 at the Blue Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, said Sara Spaulding, spokeswoman for the Humane Association. The horse was put down after a veterinarian on the set examined the horse and determined the injury was untreatable, she said.

Phone calls seeking comment from a representative for 20th Century Fox, which is producing the film, were not immediately returned.

The April 11 incident was reported to the Humane Association at the time but attracted public attention after a rodeo horse was killed Monday when it broke away from handlers and tripped on its rope at the Hansen Dam Equestrian Center in the San Fernando Valley. Witnesses said several horses had escaped from their handlers.

Two other animals have died in the past several years on movie sets, Spaulding said.

She said a cow in a cattle drive scene in the 2003 film "The Rundown" broke its neck after it caught its horns in the ground, and a horse in the 2001 film "American Outlaws" died after it broke from a herd and became impaled on a hitching post.

Spaulding said the American Humane Association is now considering new guidelines on the use of animals in movie productions. One possible change may be banning rodeo scenes, she said.

"We believe horses are at particular risk. They're large animals," she said.

The 20th Century Fox remake of "Flicka" stars country music star Tim McGraw. It's scheduled for release in February.