# horses of your world



## Caged Maiden (Feb 25, 2015)

Okay, after having fun in the "ask me about horses" thread, I wanted to put a shout out to all you writers who like horses.  I want to see what you all came up with.  I guess after posting in the other thread that my horses aren't a huge part of my world, I had to eat those words because looking back, I write them in small ways into many scenes.  

Show me your horses!  Post snippets below of the scenes where you show off your use of horses.  Thank the posts to vote for the ones you like best.  If we get ten people to participate, I'll furnish a prize.  

If you want to share, post a small section of your work (a line to a paragraph or two) mentioning horses in your world.  You can post more than one example but keep each post to a single example.  Like I said, multiple posts acceptable for each player, but if we can get ten people to play, I'll put up a prize.  Maybe something horse-related or whatever.

Each thanked post counts as a vote.  Voters can vote for as many posts as they want.  No rules really, just some fun and a little showing off.  I mean, horses are pretty great for showing off, aren't they?


----------



## Jabrosky (Feb 25, 2015)

In one project from last year that never went anyway, I had pseudo-Egyptians riding zebra chariots. I still think it's an awesome idea. Of course the Egyptians in real history had acquired horses from the invading Hyksos after the Middle Kingdom, but I think zebras fit into a pseudo-Egyptian setting even better than run-of-the-mill horses.


----------



## Svrtnsse (Feb 25, 2015)

I'll lower the tone here right away then:



> “Don't worry about it. You clearly didn't mean any harm – I just let it get to me.”
> 
> “Yes, but I should have known better.” He stared up at her. “Okay?”
> 
> ...


----------



## Caged Maiden (Feb 25, 2015)

Here's one of mine:



> He stopped and stared at a bloody handprint showing stark against the white wall of the stable in the moonlight.  Rafe edged back toward the house and grabbed a lamp off a hook near the door.  Shining it toward the stable, he crept across the drive again.
> 
> Judging by the silence, Rafe guessed his horses were dead.  The stale, metallic scent certainly hinted as much.  He opened the latch and pulled his arm back to let the door swing open.
> 
> ...


----------



## Caged Maiden (Feb 25, 2015)

Sorry, this one is kinda long but it's all horse-relevant:



> The wells outside the church’s walls were teeming with gossiping washerwomen and a group of hunters watering their horses and dogs.  Cedrick stopped for Maurice to have a drink from a wooden trough.
> 
> “Move your pony out of the way, boy,” said one of the dark-clad hunters.
> 
> ...


----------



## Tom (Feb 25, 2015)

Cool! Horses are extremely important in my storyworld. One of my cultures basically revolves around the horses they breed and ride. I even came up with at least 10 different breeds, traditions and superstitions associated with horses, horse-related mythology...So, um, I have a lot of stuff relating to horses in my WIP.

Here's the first of the snippets:



> I vaulted up onto Heshaani’s back, and pressed my heels into her sides. She started walking, then broke into a trot as I touched her with my heels again. I nudged her with my right heel, guiding her in a circle, and increased her gait to a slow lope. My hips ached from hours in the saddle, but the gentle rhythm of the lope was easy to ride to, and I found I was enjoying myself. I guided Heshaani into an infinity loop, changing her lead as we came off each smooth, effortless curve.
> 
> After a few minutes, I brought her to a halt and slid off. “That’s it for tonight. She’s tired, and I don’t want to push her beyond her limits.”
> 
> ...


----------



## Tom (Feb 25, 2015)

Here's another!




> The black gelding was taller than Heshaani, heavy-boned but not stocky, with an impressively muscled neck, powerful chest and hindquarters, and large hooves nearly hidden beneath the luxuriant feathering on his lower legs. He had a regal head, with strong bone structure and bright, intelligent eyes, and both his wavy mane and tail were long and flowing. A Kirithian-bred warhorse, he would have plenty of endurance, but wouldn’t be capable of the all-day lope or brilliant flashes of speed that Heshaani and the rest of her kind were bred for.
> 
> “He’s not pure warhorse,” I noted absently. “He’s not nearly big enough.”
> 
> ...


----------



## skip.knox (Feb 25, 2015)

OK, here's from the prologue of my WIP. Some of you may have seen these words OUAT, over in Showcase.


	It was so unjust, he thought angrily. His brown mare could outrun them, she had proved that. But not at such close quarters. Not taken unaware. He leaned down, close to her neck, almost weeping for what was about to happen. “Run, great heart,” he whispered softly, knowing she needed no encouragement, knowing it would do no good. He said the words as a kind of apology. A farewell.

	The monsters were already on both sides, but Serapion looked only ahead. The horse ran and the ground flew below, and the only sound he could hear was a great thundering of hooves and breath. Her body strained, tearing at the hard earth. He leaned far forward, wanting to feel her run, to feel heart and flank, for that to be the last thing he felt.


----------



## Tom (Feb 25, 2015)

I have yet another. There's a lot of horse material in my WIP.




> Out on the rolling moorland, Heshaani and Raven had wandered a ways from where we had stopped, and now stood in a pocket where the ground dipped shallowly, nose to tail, cropping grass and placidly flicking their tails at flies.
> 
> I gave a shrill whistle and Heshaani’s head shot up, ears pricked. She answered with a whinny and broke into an easy gallop, her strides long and fluid, low to the ground, tail streaming out behind her. Raven followed, and they wheeled, coming up the slope of the low hill we stood on. Heshaani slowed as she drew nearer, settling into a jaunty trot.
> 
> She halted in front of me and butted me in the chest with her long nose in greeting, whuffling gently and leaning into my hand as I scratched the bases of her ears. I worked my fingers through her thick black forelock and frowned in annoyance when I felt tangles. Fay-knots they were called, in the belief that they revealed that Faeries had been riding or playing with a horse. I just called them the result of not grooming said horse for several days.


----------



## Caged Maiden (Feb 25, 2015)

I do love horses.  Especially war horses:   



> “Have you heard of the White Knights, Iminrick?” Jarren asked.
> 
> “I have,” Iminrick said, trying to hide a smile.
> 
> ...


----------



## Svrtnsse (Feb 25, 2015)

I too have one more. I don't know anything about horses, so neither does my MC. I did a little bit of research, but not enough to want to try and pose as someone who actually have a clue on the topic.



> He rubbed the rag against the leather, decided it was clean enough and looked for the next bit. Only one piece remained in the pile of uncleaned things – some kind of bundle of leather bands he didn't quite know what it was. He picked it up, rubbed it clean and put it in the pile of cleaned things. The rag went back in its box. Done.
> 
> One day he'd know what all these things were called and what to do with them, but right now he didn't care. Right now they were just mysterious pieces of leather and brass that somehow attached to a horse.
> 
> He wanted his bed.


----------



## Tom (Feb 25, 2015)

Last one. I am having far too much fun with this. Horses! 




> As Miekkhal started filling the waterskins from the well in the tower’s floor and Aeyu found wood and lit a fire, I tended to the horses, removing their saddles and bridles and feeding and watering them. I groomed them while they ate—brushing their coats, combing their manes and tails, and scraping dirt and debris out of their hooves.
> 
> As I worked, I felt my unease lessen and disappear. Caring for horses always soothed me. After arguments with my father, I usually went to the stables and spent a long time grooming Heshaani and the other horses, allowing my anger to fade as I braided manes and polished coats to gleaming. The quiet, companionable sounds of the horses and the sweet, musty scent of hay always instilled a kind of calm in my heart. Though my peace never lasted long, at least the horses looked for a day or so as if they were ready for a chieftain’s wedding procession.
> 
> ...


----------



## FarmerBrown (Feb 25, 2015)

One of my protagonists in _The Feast_ spends the majority of book one AS a horse after a sorcerer curses her (she's the sole survivor after he burns down her home). A kind ex-knight finds her and names her after a legendary horse, Lady Ashara, though he calls her Ash. To help calm her down, he sings her part of a ballad featuring Lady Ashara....




> “Lady Ashara the beautiful mare,
> Silkiest soft is her moonlit hair,
> Taking her knight almost everywhere,
> Riding as fast as a reckless dare.
> ...



There are also desert horses, Sandstallions, who have trained to go longer distances without water and can drink from a waterskin.


----------



## Ireth (Feb 25, 2015)

In my novels that involve the Fae, I have ordinary horses as well as certain types of Fae who can assume equine shape: Kelpies and Pooka. In general folklore, Kelpies are water-dwelling Fae who take the forms of horses to lure unwary mortals into trying to ride them, then dragging the mortals to the bottom of the river or lake they live in. They are easily recognized by their eternally-dripping manes. In my stories specifically, many Kelpies are members of the royal guard of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and they act as mounts for the Sidhe and Fomorii. Pooka are shapeshifters who can take on virtually any animal form, though mammals and birds are most common.

EDIT: Unicorns also get a mention in the aforesaid Fae-centered novels, though none have yet appeared on the pages. They are non-sapient beings living in the wilds of Faerie. Since their mane and tail hair is remarkably tough as well as beautiful, the Fae use it for fancy embroidery as well as reinforcing ropes and such.


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 2, 2015)

okay I'm having a hard time keeping track of participants.  I said if we get ten, I'll cough up a prize that's horse-related.  If you want to participate, thank the original post so I can get a head count.  Voting stops Saturday.


----------



## Russ (Mar 2, 2015)

Don't know much about horses but I think half the fun is naming them.  There is a lot of combat in my work and the idea of several hundred pounds of horseflesh bearing down on you with a mounted rider on top is pretty crazy.



> Alita’s massive black stallion pounded through the gates of Harhus just after the sun had reached its apogee.  She barely slowed the horse as it entered the narrow streets clogged with carts full of various foodstuffs and goods bound for market.  The twelve Jaeger Sisters of her Searchtruppe rode behind her, urging their tired mounts onwards for fear of losing sight of their leader in the maze of streets and alleys.  Alita’s black cloaked figure sat upright in the saddle her ochre hair streaming out behind her.  Her right arm was in constant motion using a long willow switch to savage any of the locals who did not heed her shouts and clear her path quickly enough.  The sound of one of her riders colliding with an overfilled cart reached her ears as both the horse and rider cried out in pain over the sound of snapping bones.  She dug her spurs into Moonless Midnight’s flanks even harder. Being late was simply not acceptable.


----------



## Russ (Mar 2, 2015)

And in combat sometimes the horse gets the worst of it:




> Lothar had almost reached the men protecting the banner when there was a shout and the sound of a horse in pain behind him.  Instantly, he was lying face down on a dead Roman with a giant hand pushing him down into the earth.  He could not move either of his legs and his left arm was pinned under something.  A dying Roman calvaryman was lying on his right arm screaming the last breaths out of his lungs as he succumbed to a gaping stomach wound.   A massive weight squeezed the air out of Lothar.  He gasped desperately to quench the burning in his chest, but the pain only grew worse. The horse lying on Lothar convulsed one final time as it died, causing fresh pain to shoot through him, his ribs cracking under the assault.


----------



## Ayaka Di'rutia (Mar 5, 2015)

I love horses, but oddly enough do not write a lot of lengthy scenes involving them as "characters."  Here's one from a manuscript I wrote:



> They returned to their apartment after another day.  Sabra decided to check on her horse, which she was boarding in the stable.  Othorro followed her silently as Deborah flew off to find Tarcua, whom she had taken a great liking to.  That at least Sabra was glad for; now if only her familiar would do the same to Othorro...but all in time.  Even Deborah had a hard time forgiving Othorro for his heinous acts.
> 
> Her steed was a broad-bodied, thin-legged steed that was colored bay, with a splattering of white on his head.  He tossed his head in joy when he saw her and pressed himself against the stable door for attention.  Sabra rubbed around his ear before entering the stall, pulling her brush from his bag on the shelf, and checking his fur for rough spots.
> 
> ...


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 6, 2015)

Okay, competition ends tomorrow...we have six participants and need ten.  Last call for your horse quotes...A prize is on the line!  I make some pretty cool things...tooled and dyed leather, probably.  I have a cool zebra print cowhide...that would make an awesome belt pouch.  I'm ready to sew if we can get a winner...keep the quotes coming and don't forget to vote!


----------



## FarmerBrown (Mar 6, 2015)

Here is another excerpt, which takes place shortly after Lady Flora wakes in the body of a horse:



> Grass. It smells…_sweet_. I never noticed before. It smells…good, like cakes and sweets to eat on a summer day. I stretch down to take a bite, my white hair blowing out in front of my face. The motion catches my eye and I am startled–before I can think about reacting, I have already done so, shying away to the side. My heart races. I try to calm down, my mind fighting the instinct to run because I know, I know it is just my hair. But the panic is slow to subside. My heart still pounds as I try again to take a bite of grass.
> 
> I nip at a few blades before my nostrils inhale a slight whiff of smoke and before I know it I am running down the hill, away from the keep that is still smoldering. In a tiny corner of my mind I know it is silly, because the fire died out long ago. The sorcerer was gone when I awoke. But it is only a small voice and it is easy to ignore. It is much easier to be moved by the instinct that screams, “Run…_run_!” So I run. It is difficult at first because I am trying to think about how my legs should move, are moving…I stumble and whinny as my foreleg catches a hind leg. I run again, this time not thinking and instead let the instinct, let the horse take over and I run as I never have before!
> 
> For a small moment I can forget my grief. I forget that everyone I know is dead and that I have met the sorrowful fate of being transformed into a horse. The sheer joy of the run takes over and I feel an exhilaration I have never known as a woman: the pure joy of being at the peak of exhaustion and riding it to the end. My lungs fill in–_pound! pound!_–my feet strike the earth with a satisfying weight as dirt flies behind me. My lungs empty–_pound! pound!_–again! I toss my head high and feel the sweat break out all over. It doesn’t matter, _nothing_ matters.


----------



## Graylorne (Mar 6, 2015)

A bit about horses? All right. Scene: medieval town, grand festival. Brewer's dray and horse. Uwella and Damion are beastmasters.

----

‘Bravo,’ Uwella said, sour-faced. ‘The noble steed understood you.’
Damion was still fuming. ‘Madness,’ he grumbled. ‘That dumb horse never leaves her yard. All she does is going in circles; she can barely walk a straight line. You can’t take her into town!’
‘Going in circles? What do you mean?’ Ghyll said.
Damion looked at him. ‘The beast works at the local brewery. From morning to evening, she walks in circles around the well and keeps the whatsit in motion that pumps up the water. That’s the only thing she knows. She’s old and confused, and walking in a straight line makes her dizzy. Here in town, the crowds get on her nerves and she wants to go home. You wouldn’t wish it upon your worst enemy.’ There was silence and then he burst out, ‘Nobody cares, of course!’
Uwella gave him a patronizing stare. ‘Boy, don’t listen to all these animals or you’ll go stark, beastly mad. Farm creatures are always complaining and horses are the worst. To hear them talk, every one of them is mistreated. Even your own mount. Don’t heed them. They just like to whine.’
 ‘Hm.’ Damion looked at the wikke as if he but half believed her. ‘They’re not people.’
‘No, they’re a lot smarter. Believe me, boy, they are having you on. Behind your back, they’re laughing at you. All of them.’
‘Not Ulanth,’ Ghyll said.
Damion looked at Uwella and both snickered.
‘Ulanth is a trained warrior’s horse,’ Uwella said. ‘You’re not a warrior. He knows it’s his job to keep you, that fragile human on his back, alive. He obeys you, but respect? You haven’t earned that yet.’ 
Ghyll swallowed. He was proud of his black stallion and he had taken the animal’s affection for granted. The idea that Ulanth only tolerated him was a bit of a shock.


----------



## K.S. Crooks (Mar 7, 2015)

Here is my horse scene, involving students learning how to communicate directly with animals.

Master Lyra takes the class to the stables, where she assigns each student a horse to brush and water as a way to build an affinity with the animals. After thirty minutes they saddle and mount the horses then Lyra leads them to a trail in the Guild woods. “For the beginning of the ride” Lyra tells them, “I want you to attempt to feel the thoughts and emotions of your horse.” 

Ten minutes into the ride they come to an area where the trail splits into four paths and the horses stop moving. “Your horses have been instructed to wait here, until there is an understanding of which way for them to walk. All of the paths are fine for you to choose, what matters is you reach the end.” With that said she leaves in a gallop and disappear into the forest.

The students try various means of instructing the horses what they want, with no results besides head shakes from the horses. After five frustrating minutes Naomi closes her eyes and says softly, “Please, may we take the third path?” Immediately after she hears the horse whiny, while in her head she hears, “As wish young one. Thanks nice speak.” and they begin trotting down the path. When she starts going the other students call to her and ask how she did it. “I simply asked.” She then considers what the horse said. “I was polite.” she shouts back to the group.

Naomi continues on her way asking the horse to increase the pace from walking to a fast trot. Then when she sees another fork ahead she asks politely, for them to take the path on the left. They move along and have a small conversation about where they are from. Naomi finds speaking with the horse similar to speaking with a small child of maybe two years of age. They have some coherent thoughts, which they can express in three or four word sentences. However, they do not understand many concepts, especially anything not a part of their everyday world.


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 8, 2015)

Final tally for top posts:

K.S Crooks: 0
Graylorne: 0
FarmerBrown: 0
Ayaka Di'rutia: 0
Russ: 0
Tom Nimenai: 3
Svrtnsse: 2
Skip.Knox: 2

We received eight participants to this impromptu challenge.  Ireth and Jabrosky did not submit quotes from work, and though I considered counting Ireth's because it received a vote, that still didn't make ten participants.     I guess we should try this again with a more popular subject, and set it in the challenges section.  Did you all at least have fun dredging up your horse quotes?  It was nice to see what other folks are working on and how a popular animal, often given little thought in books involving travel, can be used with so much variety by writers.


----------



## Ireth (Mar 8, 2015)

I didn't realize having a quote was mandatory -- otherwise I would have dug something up from my WIPs. I just thought this was a place to post info on how one uses horses or horselike beings in one's stories.


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 8, 2015)

Yeah, I didn't know whether people were just sharing, but it didn't matter in the end.  We didn't get ten participants and voting was really light.  I hope we can do this again though.  I think I'll select wolves next time since they're super fun too.


----------



## Russ (Mar 9, 2015)

Thanks for bringing up that interesting topic CM, prizes or not, it was fun and got me focused on a part of my world.

Wolves are also very cool.


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 9, 2015)

well then I gotta do it.  I'll make a prize first to whet the appetites of competitors and then post in the challenges.  Thank you for your participation!  I had a lot of fun seeing how much I wrote about horses.


----------



## Reilith (Mar 11, 2015)

This is just en excerpt from the first version of my still in-writing work so don't be harsh on me. :=



> Steffan raised his head to face a well-known view. The city of Zennit was as remarkable as he remembered it from his previous visits. It was enormous; grey stone walls encircling the elaborately spread houses between neatly paved streets, people of all kinds clustered and barely visible; and in the distance — pristinely white walls, stone and marble, separating the High Court Castle and the Circle enclave. Slender turrets towering over the lower buildings, giving off that glamourous luminescence the capital was known for.
> He sighed and led Maddy down the road in a mild trot. This was not like any other visit to the capital of Therannia for them. This time, they were here to stay. And that was the reason Steffan felt so uneasy. Unlike before, when he was just another noble childe visiting the High Court with his family, this time he was quite alone. Not even his entourage of five armsmen could make him feel better; he was too nervous and very much out of his league.  His insides were a knot, his body weary from the long travel, but he didn’t feel joyous for the rest that he was going to get when they finally reached their destination. Between the feelings of unease and utter loneliness and abandonment, he didn’t really know how he felt. He wasn’t the one to get depressed easily, but the way the situation was out of his hands in more than one way left him drained, and the beginning of his journey to Zennit was all the more painful. Not that it was any easier now; as they approached their goal he was feeling a rising tide of insecurity gnawing at his stomach and the incompetence if he were to fail. For Steffan, this was the beginning of a completely new life.
> As they were covering the last part of their journey Steffan had come to realize how alien he felt about the whole ordeal. The primary feeling of lost footing was now growing into a full-blown panic attack that he had to contain, and it was no easy thing. Now, going down the Queen’s Road his stomach began to turn, nausea threatening to overpower him. He silently prayed to all of the gods that he was not going to make an even bigger embarrassment of himself at arrival. Maddy felt his unease — like most of the animals around Steffan she could seemingly easily read what he felt and she snorted at him, almost as if she was telling him to stop it. No matter, Steffan still fidgeted in his saddle, legs numb despite the slow pace his party was taking for the most part of the journey. He had to remind himself that he was no longer a small child and that it was his job to look and act presentable. He never questioned the tight etiquette he was learning as he was growing up — he revered it as a normal part of his life and growth. And that etiquette was now the only thing keeping him from taking the reins and galloping away into an unknown direction. He took a deep breath, letting the air leave his lungs through his nose, and tried not to look as miserable as he felt.


----------



## Reilith (Mar 11, 2015)

Uh-oh, I haven't noticed that this was discontinued, and now the browser won't let me edit the post so I have to double-post. Can an admin remove or merge the posts for me?


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 12, 2015)

We are never harsh.  Thank you for sharing.  I'm going to do another challenge and I'll put it in the Challenges section.  I invite you to play with us next time as we explore the wonder of wolves, mundane or werecreature.


----------



## Reilith (Mar 12, 2015)

I will do my best!


----------



## Mindfire (Mar 12, 2015)

Caged Maiden said:


> I hope we can do this again though.  I think I'll select wolves next time since they're super fun too.



DO THIS. Please?


----------



## Caged Maiden (Mar 12, 2015)

I certainly will.  I'm gong to make a prize before we begin though because with wolves, I know we'll draw more people, and I want to post a pic of the prize so folks vote in droves...


----------



## BronzeOracle (Mar 20, 2015)

Okay this may be way off topic and too late but on the subject of horses I was recently linked to a page on insane kindle cover fails:
Fails |*41 Utterly Insane Kindle Cover Disasters | Comedy Central

If you scroll down about 60% of the way you'll find this umm... speculative take on romance.


----------



## Elrik Blackhaven (Mar 26, 2015)

A variation of the horse in my world:



> Tallos was surprised at how quickly he was able to get into rhythm with the horse and after a short time; he was even able to relax a little. By the time they had decided to stop for the night, he was actually starting to enjoy himself and was sorry to have to stop. Arwyn dismounted first then helped Tallos to the ground. She then began to unpack some of the supplies while Narl saw to the animals and Tallos tried to get a fire going. As soon as Narl got the animals settled, he disappeared into the woods. Soon the fire was going and Tallos and Arwyn were enjoying some bread and cheese. Tallos was just about to inquire about Narl when he emerged from the trees carrying several fat rabbits. Tallos' mouth began to water as Narl approached. As Narl got closer, he changed direction and walked over to his mount and dropped the rabbits on the ground in front of it. Tallos watched in disgust as the animal tore into the rabbits messily. After a moment, he turned quickly away and took what was left of his bread and cheese and set it aside.
> Arwyn chuckled as she watched him from across the fire. "I take it that you've never seen a drindox before?" Tallos shook his head and she continued, "Then you wouldn't know that they're meat eaters. Sorry about that. I should have warned you. Don't worry; you'll get use to it."
> "I sincerely doubt it," Tallos replied glumly. “What, exactly is a drindox?”
> “They were created to pull huge ore carts through the mountains. They are extremely strong and hard working but also notoriously bad tempered. They have even been known to turn on their owners from time to time.” Arwyn explained.
> ...


----------

