I'm convinced horses in Fantasy and Science Fiction novels must be immortal. No mere mortal horse could gallop all day without food, water or rest. Afterwards, some heros immediately plunge their hot horses into icy streams. If the run didn't kill them, that certainly would! Your hero should dismount and walk the horse until it is cooled and its breathing is slowed, giving it only small sips of lukewarm water.
Your hero's helm is probably hot from the sun, warm a little water in it for his mount. His horse is breathing hard and trembling after a flat out run. Remove its tack and rub it down with a rag from the saddlebags. Step back and let the mount roll. Now the horse can eat and drink safely.
Gallop the horse only in emergencies. Running the horse uphill for miles or galloping all day is a good way to kill it. Your traveling gait should be a trot or amble alternated with walking and "breathers." A breather is a pause to let your mount catch its breath, particularly after an all out run.
Both colic and founder can be caused by running your mount half to death and immersing it in an icy stream to drink as much as it wants. Colic is a general term describing abdominal pain. Founder is an inflammation of the sensitive inner tissue of the hoof. Founder can cripple your mount. Either condition can kill your steed. Cold water on the stomach of a hot horse can cause painful stomach cramps. Mild colic can be walked out; the horse will try to drop and roll. This can cause torsion of the intestines. Death follows. Both illnesses can also be caused by bad feed or sudden changes in feed. The horse has a sensitive digestive tract. Horses are non-ruminant grazers and cannot vomit, since their throats are a one way passage. Moldy, frozen or bad feed can kill your horse.
Another cause of founder is running the horse over hard surfaces, such as pavement, rock, or cobblestones. Horseshoes merely increase the amount of concussion to the inner foot. Shoes are a necessary evil to protect the hoof from excess wear and tear. Horseshoe nails always damage the hoof. A thrown shoe can pull a piece of the hoof with it and your horse's hoof can crack. Lameness follows. Traveling on a mount with three shoes will lame it or cause back trouble. Pull the remaining shoes or at least one of them. You can have a horse shod in front or behind but not one shoe on one front hoof and one shoe on the hind hoof. That's like walking with one high heeled boot and one bare foot. Some Indian tribes used leather shoes. Green hide was bound over the hoof and allow to dry. These can be used when your mount loses his shoes. Leather shoes kept rocks out of the hooves but probably led to thrush, a fungal condition that resulted if the hoof did not get a chance
to air occasionally. Thrush is caused by wet, muddy, conditions, like riding continuously in the swamp, or by standing in less than clean stalls or corrals.
Horses' hooves should be cleaned before riding. A tiny stone left in the hoof can lead to big damage. Running with even a tiny bit of gravel in the hoof can push the stone into the tissue and cause an abscess. Stones can also cause bruises and corns.
Cover illustrations on fantasy books often make me sigh. A horse that takes a bad step is in trouble. Don't cross their front or back legs. Most people are aware that a broken leg was a death sentence for a horse in the old days but few realize a tendon injury can have the same result. Horses have no muscles below the knees and hocks, only tendons. Injure the wrong tendon and your hero is on foot. "Bowed tendon" can take at least six months to heal and the horse may never be fit for hard work again.
Horses sweat heavily, especially in hot weather. The horse must be washed or have all the salt rubbed and brushed out of the coat before being ridden again. The pad that goes under the saddle and the girth around its barrel should also be washed frequently and dried thoroughly.
Damp, dirty tack will cause saddle sores and fungal infections (ringworm). A dirty horse will attract parasites in the local livery stable. (Lice, mange, etc.) Never stable your horse with chickens. Chickens can give them lice or coccidiosis.
Horses grow a long coat in the winter and it better dry before dark if you don't want your mount catching a cold, the flu or pneumonia.
My riders carry the same things on a long ride that I do: a hoof pick for removing stones, rub rag, brush, bug repellent for both the horse and me-biting insects can drive a horse crazy - grain, water and a leather feed bag. (Actually I carry a canvas feed bag and teach my horses to swig from my water bottle, but not all horses are that smart.)
Intelligence varies from horse to horse. I've trained horses who were smart as border collies and others who were as stupid as sheep. The smoothness of a horse's gait also varies from horse to horse. Heavy warhorses were known for their bone jarring gaits. Your knights rode a "soft gaited' palfrey to battle, leading their war horse and mounting him just before the battle. This not only saved his war steed's strength for battle, it kept the knight's kidneys from being jounced into his throat on the way.
Gaited horses are making a comeback. A trot is a hard, two beat gait with a moment's suspension in the air before your mount hits the ground with its feet again. This causes bouncing that can snap your teeth. A rough trot can feel like an eternity in Hades.
An amble is a four-beat gait. No suspension, no bounce. Right hind leg, right front leg, left hind leg, left front leg. A foxtrot is a syncopated trot, right hind, left fore, left hind, right fore. This gives an incredibly smooth ride. (I once heard a gaited horse described as a horse with shocks.) These are your limousines among horses. The upper class probably rode gaited mounts.
Horses by nature are prey animals, not predators, but writers insist on writing about them as if they were oversized dogs, or maybe robots. Dogs, cats and people are difficult to frighten, compared to horses. I always seem to be reading about some knight running down a dragon on horseback A horse's every instinct would be screaming: Dump this lunatic on his rump and run for your life! Sure, horses do have an instinct to chase things away from their herd but a dragon is really pushing it. Your mount can smell a dragon half a mile away.
Horses have senses of smell and hearing as keen as dogs. Their eyesight, however, is strange compared to ours. Their eyes magnify things four times its actual size. This, their monocular vision, and the placement of their eyes makes things seem to jump out at them. They are the second most skittish animal around, deer being the first.
Horses can only focus their eyes into binocular vision by moving their heads up and down They can't do it well; the result is a lack of depth perception This is why they are afraid of dark spots on the ground. For all they can tell that water puddle leads to China.
Once you earn his trust, a horse will cross water for you, but you better be sure it's safe. A horse's instinct may warn him, but if you insist, he will trust your eyesight over his. You can get him to swim deep water, but never pull on the reins. If you do, you will pull your horse's head underwater and drown him. Guide him by pushing his head in the direction you want him to go. Place your hands along his jaws and push his head lightly from side to side. A well trained horse doesn't even need this, he will move in the direction you shift your weight and away from leg pressure.
Most fantasy horses act like geldings-castrated males-regardless of their sex. Mares come in heat monthly during the warm months and they may act up with their riders.
Stallions around mares in heat will definitely act up with their riders; keep in mind that stallions are unbelievably
strong. If you annoy your amorous warhorse, he is quite capable of picking you up with his teeth and hurling you across the corral.
Performing and racing stallions are often kept impotent by the use of "stud rings." We needn't go into their use but a hero should expect misbehavior from his unringed stallion and be prepared. Another frequent mistake on horses' sex: a baby horse is a foal, not a colt. A colt is a boy, a filly is a girl.
A horse is a herd animal and dislikes being alone. They will try to get to other horses whenever possible and will whinny to them across great distances. This warns you someone is coming, but it also warns them you are coming. If you are hiding in the bushes with your horse and your enemy rides near, hold your horse's nose or he'll give you away.
Horses can use many defense mechanisms. They bite, kick, strike with their forefeet, jump sideways several feet when startled, take off at a dead run when frightened, buck, rear, and throw their heads in your face and break your nose. These and many others are instinctive behaviors towards predators and must be trained out. Even the best trained mount can act up occasionally. A cold front moving in usually causes horses to misbehave. Storms and winds bring out the wildness in them; they feel a change in the weather long before you do.
I love the show Hercules, but the horses' behavior makes me laugh. They must train them for the fight scenes where Iolas and Hercules fight with the bad guys-all over the horse-while the horse just stands there. A normal horse would protest violently. You jump suddenly into the hindquarters of an unsuspecting horse and he is liable to kick you in the head He has a blind spot right behind his tail. Instinct says it's a lion attacking, defend yourself
Beginning riders often think a horse takes advantage of them because they are afraid of the horse. A very few horses gradually figure this out but in most cases this isn't so. The horse is misbehaving because he is scared. You are the one who is scaring him.
The horse senses your fear but does not link it to himself. You are his leader. If you are afraid, there must be monsters lurking in the bushes waiting to devour you both. Of course he wants to bolt for home! A horse may be a big, strong animal but you are his leader and he expects you to protect him. He also expects you to be the boss.
One last thing that always makes me laugh: the hero who rides all day for a rendezvous with his maiden, dismounts as gracefully as a dancer and sweeps his love into his arms for an ardent embrace. Yeah, right.
A rider dismounting from an all-day ride is going to be as flexible as C3PO and reek of stale horse sweat. If he's a knight in armor, hold your nose! He's also likely to be covered with dirt and horse hair. Maidens, do you really want to kiss this guy? After several hours on horseback, even Kevin Sorbo could lose his appeal. Do your hero a favor. Give him a bath, and don't forget to take care of his mount.
© Ellen Dawn Benefield, 1996
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