30 Horses

Full Description
Each of the 30 horse breeds detailed below are entirely fictional, each extrapolated from a previously existing Location within the Citadel Archives.

1. Aviansian Firemane
Hailing from the desert land of Aviansis, the Fireman is considered to be one of the most exceptional of horse breeds. Most of the breed are a bright bay color which sun-bleaches out to a softer red color. The mane and tail are most commonly affected which gives this lean-built horse breed it's name. Firemanes have narrow faces, large ears and nostrils, and are spirited and dangerous to inexperienced riders. The Fireman, being a thin-skinned desert horse, is vulnerable to colder temperatures and do not do well in cooler climates. Firemane stallions are considered valuable as adding a stallion to another breed almost always improves the breed in question.

2. The Awans Pony
The Awans pony is only found in the vicinity of the village of Awanggis in the Great Grass Sea. The ponies were once domesticated by the natives, but as the Awani adapted, they left the saddle and never returned, their ponies were left at first in pastures and then turned out into the wild. They are noticable for the fact that all Awans Ponies have blue eyes and rather than whinny as most horses do, they produce more of an Aaaa-Whhhhaaaa bleating sound. Currently there are fewer than 200 Awans ponies left in the wild and at the current rate of depredation, the remnants of Awanggis' ponies will die out within the next ten to twenty years.

3. The Bagooran Usha
Inhabited by intelligent and vicious carnivore trees, Bagoorah is not a place many people would want to spend any amount of time. The sandbars and shelves around the island play host to one of the stranger members of the equine family, the Ushas. These horses have largely abandoned the dry land in favor of wading in the ocean. They have adapted to this by being able to close their noses and ears to salt water, enhanced ability to excrete salt from their bodies, and an increased ability to swim. While retaining hooves, Ushas have vestigial digits branching from the cannonbone that support membranes made of skin that act as small flippers for the ushas. They will sun and frolic on the beach, and foals are had on the sand, but for the most part the ushas prefer the water.

4. The Gray Mearas
In folk lore, the horses of the gods are called the mearas, though the Gray Mearas is a much more terrestrial beast. Traced back to a trio of stallions, the Gray Mearas breed is known for being healthy, unpredictable, and long lived. Most Gray Mearas horses live around 50 years or longer. As individuals, the Mearas are territorial and demanding, be it for attention, mating, or food. The breed, as mentioned, can be traced back to three stallions that survived crossing a desert wracked by violent storms and saturated in divine essence. While their riders perished, the horse fled and survived to breed with mares in the wild, producing the strong and powerful Gray Mearas breed. Most trainers consider the breed to be unable to trained to ride.

5. Destinen Woodhorse
Just as the elven knights of the Gardein Hwit were twisted by the magics of the Dark Lady, so too were their faerie steeds warped. The Destinen Woodhorse has born these warpings through their generations. While retaining the general conformation of a medium built horse, the Woodhorse often has shaggy hair, horns or antlers, an additional set of legs, and other bizarre mutations. The breed is slow to reproduce as the mares have a strong chance of being killed in the process of giving birth.

6. The Kastraad Drafter
A thick-boned and heavy horse, the Kastraad drafter is a yonug breed that has come about in the vicinity of New Pastello. As an area of new construction, muc of it stone, there was a need for a strong horse to pull the loads of stone from the nearby quarries to the site of the new township. A few stallions were imported to breed with the locally available mares and the Kastraad Drafter was soon realized. As with most drafters, the Kastraad is docile and easy to handle, it also has a rather long coat that is predominantly gray, though there are piebalds (white with large black spots) to be found among some of the herds. While no longer involved with as much stone portage, the Kastraad has found work as a plow horse, a carriage horse, and is increasingly popular among the lesser ranking knights in the area for it's strength, level temperament, and ease of care.

7. Askharnn Highland Pony
Few breeds of horse or pony can match the Askharnn for sheer stubborn will to survive. These scruffy looking buckskin or black ponies can be found among the mountain heaths and alpine meadows. Originally breed centuries ago for use in mines, the pony is to small for adult humans to ride comfortably, though the pony itself is strong enough to carry a normal man. With hard hooves, a thick coat, and a strong stomach, the Askharnn can survive foraging in the wilds and as such, the breed has flourished in what is otherwise a grim and inhospitable place.

8. Hell's Horse
Found in the vicinity of the forbidding forest, Hell's Horse is a vicious and dangerous breed of horse. These horses tend to be large and heavily muscled, on par with a knight's destrier, but with the foul temper of a dragon with a toothache. Exciteable, Hell's Horses will constantly fight among themselves over territory, mares, and pretty much any other reason. Their exposure to a hellpit have turned them into omnivores and the horse has a strong predatory aspect. Their preferred prey is other horses, specifically those of other breeds. The numberof Hell's Horses in existance stays rather low as attrition and few infusions of outside blood have prevented any sort of population boom. Evil warlords do favor the Hell's Horse as being ideal for their evil mount, but capturing and breaking such a beast is a major undertaking.

9. The Akulu Desert Horse
Found among the gem-strewn wastes of the desert of diamonds, the Akulu desert horse is the main form of transport for the Akulu nomads. These magnificent horses and long and lean with the large ears and expressive eyes of other desert horses, but differ in that there is a streak of elemental blood in them. Attuned to the earth, these horses are immune to all but the most virulent of poisons and toxins and only in the most extreme circumstanced become ill. The breed is highly succeptible to suffering from cholic, and it is a leading cause of death for the breed, especially outside of the desert.

10. Chiaroscuran Carriage Horse
Once a proud and noble breed of horse, this breed has fallen onto hard times. When the city of Chiaroscuro fell to the Swollen Shadow and it's essence permeated everything, the horses were not above it's infectious presence. These horses are all a charcoal/slate color of gray and their eyes are a milky gray color also. The breed is all but blind, but have a highly developed sense of hearing and smell, and are sensitive to movement. Where the Sihl peoples learned to move very quickly, the horse adapted, gaining the ability to become perfectly still, and becoming almost impossible to notice in the nocturne gloom around Chiaroscure and the Umbral Fens.

11. Aaddan Cavalryhorse
Bred at the extensive stables at the city of Aadda in Kerrabar, the Aaddan cavalryhorse is an ideal mount for hussars and other light to medium cavalry. While not large and heavy enough for full plate barding and charging knights, the Aaddan is a solidly built horse with long legs and impressive endurance. Most of the Aaddans are chestnut in color with manes and tales that are slightly lighter in color, a few can also be found that are bay, or more rarely black. The Aaddan has an even temperament and is relatively low maintenance compared to more high tempered hot blooded horses.

12. Caraguisian Pacer
Bordering on being a pony, the Caraguisian Pacer is a pleasant animal bred to be an easy ride, and narrow through the body for passage through the vinyards without damaging the valuable plants. Tired of hard years in hard saddles, the Don of Caraguis worked to breed and train his ideal horse. The Pacer has a fifth pacing gate that is slower than a gallop, but as easy to ride as a trot. The horses tend to be white with large brown or black spots called skewbald and piebald respectively. Not surprisingly, the horses love to eat grapes off of the vine when no one is looking.

13. Ageosian Harness Horse
Also known as the The Givan Drafter, the Ageosian Harness Horse is found predominantly in the Givan valley and the city of Ageos. In the valley, the stout black drafters are used to pull plows and farmers wagons to and from the market, while in Ageos, the horses are closely clipped and used to pull handsome carriages and carrioles of the well off. Oddly, the Harness horse is born white, but by the end of their first year of age, the coat has turned completely black.

14. Amarian Warmblood
Beauty and white often go hand in hand with Amar and in this regard the horses are no different. Seemingly sculpted of white stone themselves, the Amarian warmblood is a large and impressive horse descended from the drafters who originally were used to haul stone in to built the palaces and porticos of Amar. In the intervening years, other horses were imported to improve the Amarian stock until an idealized horse was created. It's draft roots are apparent in it's large feet and stoic temper, but the horses are not good for use in war as heavy burdens on their backs tend to cause them long term problems. The Amarian was bred to pull heavy loads or carry light passengers.

15. Banhoesean Timberhorse
The island of Banhoesea is well known for the deMadden company and it's fleet of giant ships. It is much less known that the island has it's own breed of horse, the Timberhorse. Stout and barrel chested, these dappled gray horses are bred to be very strong for pulling timber to make ships and stone to make the walls and towers of the ever growing capital of deMaddenville. While strong, the breeders also tried to keep the size of the Timberhorse doan as much as possible to facilitate moving the animals on ship, and toreduce the amount of food that the horses would consume since almost all of Banhoesea's food is imported, especially fodder for livestock.

16. Bizzan Lamp Horse
Found in the glowing city of Gaslight, the Bizzan horse is a blocky animal with a grey or black coat and it's mane and tail clipped almost completely off. This has to do with the horses being used in close proximity to fire sources. Most often these horses pull the wagons of the gaslight tenders and wear appropriate blinders to keep the horses from being spooked by the sometimes irregular burps of flame from lamps being pressure checked and tested. The Bizzan can be found in the common markets as a light draft animal, a plow horse in the surrounding country, and as a carriage horse for moving stone. The cart horses tend to be several hundred pounds heavier than their city brethern, but are still the same breed.

17. Kalderien Standardbred
The quality of horses 50 years ago in Kalderien was horrid, the stables were full of the largest mix-up of horses to be found anywhere in a month's travel. Ponies, drafters, pacers, and any other type of nag that could be found was. Following the defeat of Kalderien's previous despot, the new lord made an effort to improve the bloodstock of the city be starting the Kalderien Studbook. To enter into the book, a stallion had to met a number of requirements based on conformation and ability. Some 30 years later, a new breed has emerged from this effort, the Kalderien Standardbred. While no dominant color has emerged, a more uniform horse has started to emerge from the surrounding stables. Endurance and confirmation are average at best, but now with more uniform horses, better plans can be made for carting costs and construction efforts.

18. The Medhar Pony
Hiding from a dragon is no small task, but being small certainly helps. The villagers of Medhar traded their drafters and carriage horses for ponies and gave up on having larger animals. The sheep herding done by dog, the ponies were left to pull the minimalist wagons of the village and the few plows left that are used to break ground for needed grain. Shaggy and chestnut or bay in color, the ponies have a good disposition and do not startle easily.

19. Payani-Quowan Horse
The massive city of Payan was built by decades upon decades of heavy human labor, the stones of each temple laid by hand. It was not until sometime later that the horse was introduced to the city-state proper. The Payans quickly adopted the horse as a parade animal and festooned the horses with religious icons, streamers, and colorful tassels for their panoply of gods. Only the wealthy own horses, and the animals are seldom used outside of parade grounds. Animal power predominantly comes from water oxen or the sweat and toil of human laborers. There is a certain irony that the fodder for the Payani-Quowan is often delivered in a wagon pulled not by horse or ox, but by a team of men in sweaty livery.

20. Shaedran Courser
Having a large military population, it was a natural thing for cavalry horses to find a home in Shaedra. Being a sort of commune, the horse owners worked together to breed a solid horse that would survive well in the sometimes hard Shaedran winters and summers. Starting with good cavalry bloodstock, the tast was not terribly difficult. The Courser is generally a tall and strong bodied bay or black horse with a deep head and a thick neck. The mane and tail are kept long so that the horse can flick away the biting flies in the summer. The Courser is an exciteable horse than runs and jumps well and with enthusiasm.

21. Lazhkmazhon Stock Horse
A small horse, the LSH were originally bred some years ago to be surefooted mountain horses. The Askharnn Mountain Pony proved to be a more versatile survivor but was ill-suited for riding. The Lazhkmazhon Stock horse came from the same starting stock as the Askharnn pony, but the breeders favored a larger faster animal. The Stock horse is a good animal, but they have chronic health problems since their highland home has no natural fodder for them and all food is imported from the south. It is not uncommon for older stock horses to be slaughtered and eaten during the Long Night rather than attempt to heal injuries or illness.

22. Lynnengaard Saddlebred and Laiden Draught
As a growing region of farming, shipping, and ranching, Lynnengaard has a healthy demand for horses. Originally one breed, the old Lynnengaard spotted horse has been expanded into two new faces. The Saddlebred finds heavy use in the east where cattle ranching is predominant. The Saddlebred is well known for it's loud leopard appaloosa spotting and attractive conformation. The Laiden Draught is a signifigantly heavier horse more suited to the plow and carriage harness, but shares the same general profile and loud leopard appaloosa spotting.

23. The Oraburger
Found in and around the dour city of Oraburg, the Oraburger is a mediocre horse. The largest problem facing the breed is the heavy handed presence of the Society of Prophecy that considered the realm of animal husbandry to be within their domain. Stallions and mares are pared though augeries and casting fates which is done in a haphazard way that continually dilutes any good qualities to be bred into the breed and often keeps bad traits from being bred out. There is a local expression about prophets designing a horse and the animal ending up being worthless is every fashion.

24. Sodian Salt-Horse
Given the Sodian penchant for sparkly things and the color white, the Salt-Horse was specifically bred to come in only one color, white. An average carriage type horse, the Salt-Horse is most often seen pulling the wagons of the Salt Guilds and the builders of Sodius. When a large shipment of salt is made, most often the horses pulling the wagons are Salt-Horses, complete with large salt crystals tied into their manes.

25. Ozian Bloodhorse
Thick-legged and roman-nosed, most consider Ozian horses to be some of the ugliest animals to bear the name horse. Most of these animals are various shades of gray with a rare few appearing in bay. They have the heavy feet of draft horses, but have a temperamental streak that can turn these usually docile animals mean. Bloodhorses are notorious biters and will crib, or chew the wood of their stalls, if not constantly attended.

26. The Sangrealian Cavalry Horse
One of the most common horses in Sangreal, the SCH is a large bodied horse that is a coppery bay color with black manes and tails. The ideal SCH has a high arched neck and attentive ears as well as small hard hooves. The Cavalry-Horse is also noted for it's physical agility as they were bred for fighting against the ogres from the Woses. As such, a horse needed to be able to change it's lead quickly, stop on a dime, and spin with ease to avoid killing blows and ogrish feints. The horse does well in these tasks and when not in the field, SCH find employment on ranches with cattle and in garrisons.

27. Bosque Carriage Horse
Bred predominantly in Acton, the bosque carriage horse is known for the river valley and the Bosque people. Large and solidly made, the Bosque horse is well suited to pulling plows, carriages, wagons, fallen logs and stones. Most consider the Bosque to be a draft horse, though it lacks the larger hooves and normally docile temper. Bosque training makes these horses some of the best trained animals in all of Falhath, able to follow spoken and hand commands as easily as cracks of the whip or spurs.

28. Teknean Noble Horse
Found in the noble stables of the city of Tekne, the Noble horse is bred purely for appearance and ability to perform show dressage. Tall and greyhound lean, these horses have a high gait and carry their heads arched in what is considered proper noble style. This comes at a high price to the horse as after two or three years, this style of riding causes joint problems as all of the movements are not natural. Teknean horses are also afflicted with a large degree of inbreeding due to irresponcible line breeding stallions to their own foals.

29. Ocadian Redrunner
Few and far between, the horses bred along the rim of the Ocadian Desert share the ochre color of the sands there and the listlessness that affects domesticated animals. Though capable runners, the Redrunner must be strongly motivated to move at more than a slow walk, much like the herd animals the nomads follow. Only the scent of an ochremaw of sandbear will jar the Redrunner out of it's complacency.

30. The Powlgraff Pacer
also claimed as the Vandergraff Harness Horse, the Powlgraff Pacer is an average horse well suited to riding or pulling light carriages and such. Coming in a variety of colors, the Powlgraffers prefer the white and bay horses while the Vandergraffers claim that the black horses are the superior of the breed. No real difference exists but is simply another point of contention between the two 'graffs.