Looking for one of the best horse TV series for your next telly fix? With Disney+’s Rivals making its return later in the year and a third season confirmed, there might currently be a horse-shaped hole in your viewing habits.
Never fear – there are plenty more avenues to horses on screen. While some of the best horse movies might tempt you, there are several gripping series steeped in equestrian energy available to stream right now. Here are some of our favourites, including the best horsey TV shows for kids.
Best horse TV series to stream now
1. Rivals
This adaptation of late novelist Jilly Cooper’s beloved Rivals arrived on our screens in 2024 with a stellar cast of Great British TV icons, including Katherine Parkinson, David Tennant and Danny Dyer.
The story transports us to the hedonistic yet cutthroat world of 1980s television broadcasting, where media tycoon Lord Tony Baddingham goes head-to-head with former Olympic showjumper and notorious womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black to claim the Central South West television franchise.
Expect glamour, chaos and dangerous liaisons in this high-drama, scandalous romp of a show – definitely one of the best horse TV series on offer right now.
Watch time: Two series, 14 episodes with more on the way and series three confirmed
How to watch: Available to stream on Disney+ with a subscription
2. Yellowstone
This modern Western follows the internal dramas and conflicts of the Duttons, an influential Montana ranching family, and patriarch John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) clashes with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), high chief of the neighbouring Broken Rock Indian Reservation. The Duttons are also occupied in driving back developers and ruthless billionaires with designs on the land.
This epic saga features conflict, calculation and a way of life that revolves around heritage and horses.
Watch time: Five series, 53 episodes
How to watch: Available on Paramount+ and Netflix with a subscription
3. 1883
This prequel is just one of the numerous Yellowstone spin-offs, 1883 follows the founding Duttons, John and Margaret, and their children Elsa, Spencer and John Sr. Poverty-stricken. Having endured the American Civil War, they saddle up to make a treacherous journey West across the Great Plains from Texas to Montana. The miniseries tells the story of how the Duttons came to establish the Yellowstone Ranch.
With elaborate production design that sucks you right into the 19th-century Old West, 1883 is full of peril, adventure and strong family ties.
Watch time: 10 episodes
How to watch: Available on Paramount+ and Netflix with a subscription
4. Heartland
This long-running Canadian drama centres on the Fleming family on their Alberta ranch, Heartland. Based on the horsey teen fiction books by Lauren Brooke, the series opens on 15-year-old Amy who, with her sister Lou and grandfather Jack Bartlett, is reeling from the sudden loss of her mother, Marion, who was a gifted horsewoman.
Heartland sees the Flemings navigate growing up and growing older, relationships, business affairs, love and loss. However, the main focus is, of course, training and rehabilitating horses. In a wholesome fashion, plenty of hearts are mended alongside their equine partners over the years, too.
Watch time: 19 series and 279 episodes, with series 20 on the way
How to watch: Series seven to 16 available on Netflix with a subscription, series 1–5 on Amazon Prime, with six–18 available with a Lionsgate+ subscription
Best horse TV series for children
5. Spirit: Riding Free
This fun adventure series follows three girls and their horses in the small frontier town of Miradero in the early 1900s. Fortuna “Lucky” Prescott moves to the town with her father where she sees a wild Kiger mustang, Spirit, caught by wranglers from the train as she travels to her new home.
She quickly forms a bond with the stallion and frees him. This marks the start of her adventures with him and her two new friends, Pru and Abigail, and their horses Chica Linda and Boomerang.
Watch time: Eight seasons, 52 episodes plus specials
How to watch: Available on Netflix with a subscription
6. Free Rein
A super-catchy theme isn’t the only thing to love about this new British classic kids’ horse show. Free Rein sees LA-native sisters Zoe and Rosie spend the summer in their mother’s hometown in the UK with their grandfather.
When Rosie goes missing soon after their arrival, Zoe combs the island for her missing little sister. She meets Raven, an unmanageable horse with a troubled past. The experience introduces Zoe to the horseworld, as does local yard Bright Fields Stables. Here, she meets new friends – and frenemies – and begins to unravel the mystery of where Raven came from.
Watch time: Three series, 32 episodes including specials
How to watch: Available on Netflix with a subscription
7. Unicorn Academy
Unicorns might feature in your daydreams, but what about your classroom? Unicorn Academy is a school like no other, where teens team up with unicorns, learn to ride and hone magical abilities.
Regular 14-year-old Sophia is invited to join Unicorn Academy, where she meets a host of new friends as well as a unicorn of her very own, Wildstar. It’s not all fun and games, however. Working together, the friends must use their new skills to protect Unicorn Island’s magic from dark forces.
Watch time: Five series, 29 episodes with more on the way
How to watch: Available on Netflix with a subscription
8. Ponysitters Club
This heartwarming series is every little animal lover’s dream watch. Young pony enthusiast Skye teams up with her best friends to rescue, rehabilitate and care for animals in need at her family’s sanctuary. Expect themes of friendship, responsibility and working together in this whole series with a retro feel.
Watch time: Two series, 20 episodes and two movies
How to watch: Available on Netflix with a subscription
9. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Welcome to Equestria – where studious and socially awkward unicorn Twilight Sparkle discovers that the pony utopia is under threat from the Nightmare Moon, who threatens to bring eternal night.
Twilight is sent by her mentor to Ponyville, where she meets five interesting ponies who teach her the magic of friendship. The ponies discover they each embody one of the Elements of Harmony, making them crucial defenders of Equestria.
Watch time: Nine series, 221 episodes, plus a movie and specials
How to watch: Available on Plex or on Netflix with a subscription
- To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
You might also like:
Watch the new trailer for part two of Rivals season two as release date confirmed
A crash course in passing as an Olympic showjumper: how Rupert Campbell-Black’s actor learnt to ride for the TV series of Rivals
13 must-watch movies for anyone who loves horses
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