yes, the time that is takes for a normal person to cut off a big horses head, would be about 3 - 4 hours, the sun was just rising and that is about 6:00 Am, to be completely inconspicuous he would have started at 4:30 in the morning
plus if Woltz was as paranoid as he was said to be, a whole team of men would be very easily noticed by the stable guards and the other guards
All this goes under the heading of: Things the audience need not worry about, not if they have lives, anyway.
Of course in a Family such as The Corleones, there would've been PLENTY of strongmen on the payroll, just as able as Luca to kill the horse, sever the head and deliver it to Woltz's room in time for him to awaken. In fact, such an achievement would probably have had to be completed by a team, not just one man no matter how big & tough.
But who cares!? The who/how/how long it took aspect of the horse's head incident is simply not important. What's important is that it got there, and it got Vito Corleone what he wanted.
Apple
