YOU SAID:
he once punched a horse to the ground.
INTO JAPANESE
彼はかつて地面に馬を打ちました。
BACK INTO ENGLISH
He once hit a horse on the ground.
INTO JAPANESE
彼はかつて地面に馬を打った。
BACK INTO ENGLISH
He once hit a horse on the ground.
That didn't even make that much sense in English.