Some of the oddities like this are a result of how languages change overtime. For example, the word "buffalo," can be a place, an animal, or and outdated 19th century term meaning "to bully" spoken in America that isn't used anymore. You can do this with any word that serves simultaneously as a collective noun, adjective, and verb.
And "The horse raced past the barn fell," it can also be said as "The horse THAT WAS raced past the barn fell." it's the equivalent of saying "The song heard on the radio..." instead of "The song THAT WAS heard on the radio..."
Finally, with having 4 instances of "had" in a row, that's just because it serves as both the auxiliary verbs, and the main verbs, and can also be written as "He had had a lot of faith, but it had had no effect on the outcome of his life."
English is confusing. Ok? And I say that when it's the only language that I'm fluent in.
Caption this Meme