Handspring Puppet CompanyThe genius puppetry behind War Horse

"Puppets always have to try to be alive," says Adrian Kohler of the Handspring Puppet Company, a gloriously ambitious troupe of human and wooden actors. Beginning with the tale of a hyena's subtle paw, puppeteers Kohler and Basil Jones build to the story of their latest astonishment: the wonderfully life-like Joey, the War Horse, who trots (and gallops) convincingly onto the TED stage.

http://blog.ted.com/2011/03/30/the-genius-puppetry-behind-war-horse-handspring-puppet-company/ Why was the War Horse such a challenging puppet project? To  make the horse look lifelike, what did they have to make sure that the puppet could do?  How do you think they learned those things? If you could build a life-size puppet of anything, what would you build and why?