Ali Bannister was the Equine Artistic Advisor on Spielberg's War Horse. Her sketches were used throughout the film, and she also was in charge of 'equine hair and make-up' for the 250 horses who were used during filming. In the second part of her interview with Horse & Country, she tells us some of the highlights from  working on set, and what she thinks of the movie.

What are your best memories from working on War Horse?

"There are hundreds! The first time I met Steven Spielberg, he told me how much he loved my drawings - which was quite a big moment.

Having been told to never interrupt or distract the actors before a scene, I was thrilled when Benedict Cumberbatch paused while running through his lines to compliment me on my sketches as well.

A particularly huge privilege for me was to meet the author of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo, on set and to end up doing a commission for him of the painting that starts the book (watch the video here).

To be able to watch the horse trainers and stunt riders at work was incredible too. It's not everyday that you get to have a horse rear above your head or lie down with you on cue. I welled up watching the cavalry charge, and found it particularly poignant that we had to cover over a war memorial to film the recruiting scene. That connection between the film and the real history of the Great War was particularly evident to me in that village, and the feeling stayed with me a long time.

Working on the No Man's Land set was the closest I'll ever get to knowing how it would have looked, sounded and to a certain extent, felt, to be in that situation. The thought that relatives of yours and mine ended their days like that was truly distressing.

Oh - and I dropped some artichoke hearts at Emily Watson's feet one day in the queue for lunch. Not such an impressive moment, but memorable none the less."

What was it like working with animals on set?

"I was moved by the huge sensitivity, consideration and understanding that one of the non-horsey make-up artist in partcular showed towards the horses. She was a complete natural around them almost instantly, with such feel, and they responded to her so well. It was quite special to see.

A number of the crew who weren't interested in horses before finished the film with a desire to be around them more. I would often catch the actor, Robert Emms, talking softly to the horses and stroking them gently between takes which was lovely to see.

The surreal world of film and the quality of the film sets means that it can be hard to tell what's real. One morning I saw a rabbit on set ducking and dodging its way across a battlefield and thought to myself 'animatronics did a fabulous job on that rabbit', then I laughed and told a friend how I'd mistaken the trained rabbit for a machine. Only after a few more minutes of watching did it occur to us that it was in fact just a wild rabbit!"

What were the hardest parts about working on the film?

"For me I think it was having to delegate tasks. I'm so used to working alone that it was hard to accept that I couldn't do everything on each horse myself, but luckily I had a really great team. The four months spent in Equine Hair and Make-up was a tough job but and everyone went the extra mile, each and every day.

Also, the trainers wanted every last second before shooting to work with the horses, as did the make-up artists. It was a testamant to the professionalism and consideration of both departments that we are able to work together as well as we did.

I would also say that dealing with several layers of soggy and mud-caked clothes everyday while living out of a suitcase was quite a challenge too!"

Have you seen the film, and if so what did you think?

At the wrap party, the producer Kathleen Kennedy showed the cast and crew a slide show of photos from the official photographer, set to music, which looked incredible, and now of course we have the two trailers. Luckily I won't have to wait quite as long as the rest of the country to see the film though as I get to see the cast and crew screening at the end of November. I will be keeping an eye out for the cameo of the author and his wife as I don't know quite where that is yet."

War Horse is released in the UK on 13 January. The exhibition War Horse: Fact & Fiction is on at the National Army Museum until August 2012, with free entry. It explores the hugely popular Michael Morpurgo novel alongside touching real-life stories of war horses and the men who depended on them.