"Jona has also experienced more than sufficient punishment over the...

It’s a hard-knock life being a beast of burden. Fortunately, one rebellious horse has devised a unique way to keep pesky riders off: by playing dead anytime he’s mounted.

Video of the unfaithful steed’s antics has gone viral on YouTube, racking up almost 2.5 million views since September.

The clip shows a horse named Jingang bucking and flopping to the ground whenever someone tries to hop in the saddle. To complete the effect, he even lolls out his tongue and twitches his eyes while prone in what the scorned riders dub a “cute but naughty” performance.

“He’s just playing dead,” sighs a bemused horseman, whose point is proved when Jingang stands up immediately after the rejected rider leaves. However, when the cowboy makes like he’s trying to make a second pass at the horse, Jingang topples to the dirt once again.

Jingang’s Oscar-worthy performance has prompted an outpouring of support online, with one newfound fan musing, “That horse is a genius, wish I could just do that every time someone I don’t like comes near me.”

“Why carry such a load when you can get away with it,” remarked another on YouTube.

However, one “neigh”-sayer wondered how long it would take the owners to realize when Jingang does bite the dust for real.