I'd worry more about shooting the horse! My dad was in the Army in one of the last cavalry units prior to WWII that still used horses and mules to draw artillery pieces and ammunition.
Part of their training was running a mounted shooting course. My Dad was at one when some hot shot Corporal who thought he was an expert horseman and marksman told them he was going to "show them how it was done" They had to ride at a gallop and using S&W .45ACP revolvers shoot a target in front of them, jump a barrier and turn and shoot a target behind them and then shoot another target in front of them. The Corporal shot the first target, jumped the barrier and shot the target behind him and then turned to shoot the target in front of him and shot his horse square in the head!!!:banghead:
He went down a Corporal and came up a Private. The Sargeant in charge chewed his A** and said "horses cost the army $25.00 a piece. We can draft your sorry A** for nothing!".