Horse Illustrated Magazine

You’ve never seen a horse from this angle before.

Lithuanian photographer Andrius Burba became a viral hit with a project called “Under-Cats,” which was a series of photos of cats taken from underneath. In an internet full of cat photos, the unusual view of cats from below captured plenty of attention and led to a book deal and similar projects with other animals, including cats and rabbits.

Now, Burba and his group, Underlook, have produced an Under Horse project. Obviously photographing the undercarriage of a horse is logistically more challenging than photographing dogs or cats. First of all, their massive weight is an issue. The glass needed to be strong enough to safely support the weight of a horse. Secondly, traditional horse shoes would scratch the glass—not to mention the fact that they don’t provide much traction on a glass surface. The equine subjects were outfitted with rubber shoes for the shoot to protect the glass.

The glass was placed over a 3-meter hole where Burba and his camera and other equipment were set up in a sort of temporary underground studio. The results are a view of horses no one has really seen before. The poses and the expressions of the horses make the photos even more unique. Burba says it took more than 40 people to make the shoot a reality, including the people involved with building the studio to the horse handlers and those who kept up with the ongoing task of keeping the glass clean for crystal-clear photos.

Check out more of the Under-Horse Project on Underlook’s Facebook page, and see more of Burba’s intriguing and amusing work at www.underlook.org.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com