Horse

A **horse** is a four-legged mammal that feeds on plants.

## Characteristics

Every horse has a hard hoof on each of their four legs. They have a long face and long ears -- the latter helps them hear things from a distance.

Some horses have thinner bodies that allow them to run more quickly, while other horses have stockier bodies that enabled them to carry heavier loads.

Horses prefer running away from predators, but they would kick or bite to defend themselves.

## Uses

Horses are domesticated in many cultures as riding mounts or to pull heavy objects such as ploughs, carts, chariots, and carriages. They are also kept either as pets, or even killed for food or leather.

## In culture

Horses are valued for their use in battle, or mocked for their supposed inability to comprehend more advanced forms of technology and their ridiculous habits.

Gryphons preferred to eat meat from horses.

Knights are often depicted riding on horses. Likewise, every young boy in Rukania is taught to ride on a horse, especially among the knightly households and the Valjads in the north.

Horses are a common sight in many countries due to the popularity of jousting across Jerde. For example, horses and equestrian sports are national traditions in the nation of Kikori, where almost everyone knows how to ride a horse since childhood, boys and girls alike. In the mountainous country of Siangwaan, lots of southern families keep horses in their farms, and many young boys and men there are fervent fans of jousting champions and teams.

The unicorn, a mutated horse with a horn on its forehead, is the national animal of the Tornarin Empire.

### Vovtarla

The horse (or the star-horse) is the national animal of Vovtarla. Four main breeds of horse exist in Vovtarla: the common white horse; the sun-horse; the black-coated, carnivorous glass-horses; and the stocky white-legs.

## List of breeds

### Real world

* Clydesdale
* Shetland (pony)

### Rabydosverse

* Hernobarn, Harbie (Clydesdale)
* Durboriga, Dorgeg, Dobbie (Shetland pony)
* Farlen (Frisian)
* Zanderiz (Caspian)
* Farnessor (Shire?)

## In other languages

* Classical Gauvajut: *assuwas*

* Sarmelonid Vozonid: *kh(w)ôz*
* Azgovian: *khoz*
* Marnosyn: *kargos*
* Siangwaanian: *nuè*
* Heronoi: *rydwo*, *ryðo*
* Rukanian: *konj*
* Vovtarlan: *kos* (Vozonid loanword)
* Ancient Daizhouvian: 馬, mraa

### Wonao languages

See also: Daizhouvian loanwords in Wonao languages

Horses were introduced by the Daizhouvians in the west. The original word from which all those loanwords came from was 馬, mraa. That word is often used by Wonao linguists as an example of their own languages' development, especially of loanwords.

* Eosome: vrā, vurā
* Koedaker: jōr
* Naonaere: wjod, wojot
* Makkadalish: hjod

## Trivia

* The author likes to look at drunk Clydesdale horses, as their breed was used for the Budweiser brand of alcoholic drinks.
* The first book that the author published, "Unicorn Farmhand", was inspired by "pony tales", cliches about unicorns, and My Little Pony. The author wanted to poke fun of those cliches by having them perceived by an ordinary farmhorse.

## See also

* Sunhorse
* Glass-horse
* Kossua
* Unicorn
* Sleipnir, Sleipnir (cartoon)
* Dog, another of man's best friends.