The Stars of the Show: The animals
Equestrian drama was very popular for a time, and the horses became the stars! They were billed above the actors and provided the selling point for the play. These dramas with horses in them were so popular that companies began adapting other plays to add horses into them. So, there were horseback versions of everything from melodramas to Shakespeare!
Horses were not the only animals to have plays adapted to star
them. For a time, canine drama was 
also popular.
Dogs began in Gothic melodramas, where they could climb and leap round castles
and forests more easily than people. In the pre-Lassie era, dogs
could save innocent heroines, or children, from the evil clutches of the
villain. The dog-hero could savage the villain, lead people to the location of
murdered bodies and generally be faithful and helpful.