Many of us have had photoshoot sessions with our loved ones to celebrate life’s big moments, from engagements to pregnancy announcements. But while we all want those perfectly-staged, perfectly photogenic pics, sometimes it’s the candid photos that turn out to be the most memorable.

And as is often the case, a surprise appearance by an animal can lead to some truly hilarious photo-ops. That was the case recently, when a horse decided to mug for the camera and hilariously steal the show during a couple’s photoshoot…

A mom-to-be named Amanda Eckstein, from Indiana, wanted to have a nice maternity photoshoot with her partner, and hired Cincinnati photographer Kristen Zaffiro to take the pictures.

But it took some time for Kristen to get the horses to pose correctly. “When we got to the time to do the horse pictures, they were not standing the way we had hoped they would,” she told WJW.

Finally, she got one of the horses, Buckshot, to face the camera. Now she just needed him to look happy. “We finally got them turned around the correct way and I said, ‘At least you could smile,’” Kristen recalled.

But she never expected the horse to actually listen — but then suddenly Buckshot posed with a huge, hilarious smile for the camera!

And the funny photos kept coming. “When I laughed, he smiled more,” Kristen said.

As their horse stole the show, the couple couldn’t help but break their poses and start laughing hysterically at his big smile.

“I laughed so hard!” Kristen wrote on Facebook. “Best maternity session ever.”

While those definitely proved to be the most special photos of the shoot — and have delighted the internet, going viral with over 200,000 shares on Facebook — Kristen got a few nicer shots with the couple and their horses.

While Buckshot can be a real jokester for the camera, he can also clearly get into “serious mode” when he needs to:

In another photo, one of the horses nuzzles its nose into Amanda’s pregnant belly.

It’s clear this couple loves their horses like family, and it’s so sweet they involved them in their photoshoot.

They’ll have to do a follow-up photo session soon — we have to see Buckshot’s reaction to the new baby!

What hilarious photos! This is definitely a maternity shoot to remember, thanks to one photogenic horse.

During the shoot, the couple decided they wanted to get their horses in a few of the shots.