Oh my poor horse

[skip.knox]

The young heroes of my current WIP, Beneath the White City, are about to be captured. They have ridden horses to a place where they suspect some bad guys are meeting with an even worse guy, and they fear a friend of theirs may be involved. They need to sneak up and have a listen, so they tie up their horses in a nearby woods and proceed on foot.

The poor fools little realize they are going to be discovered and captured. That's fine. Notwithstanding duergar and evil wizards and subterranean monsters, I can get them back out of there.

But what about the poor horses? I've left them tied to trees. How long can they last? Horses eat a tremendous amount of food daily, but I suspect water will be the more urgent need. I figure my heroes will be down there a couple of days, anyway.

Now, a relief party may come along in a couple of days. Would horses start crying out, if they were dying of thirst or hunger? I can picture what happens to a person as they waste away. I can imagine what happens to a dog. But I have no idea how things would fare with a horse.

I don't know that I would even note their fate in the story itself, but for some reason it's bugging me now. What's gonna happen to the horse?

 

[CupofJoe]

Well trained horses will put up with a lot and will stand around for hours pretty quietly, just waiting. But I suspect that if push came to shove, self-preservation will kick in and they would buck and pull until they break either their ties/bridles or whatever they are tied too. That done they will probably wander off in search of sustenance... or somewhere they will feel safe [maybe other horses?].
Two or three days without food or water is possible [assuming we are are not talking about extremes of heat] but I wouldn't expect to ride them far if at all for a couple of days later.
I think you are right, water is more likely to be the crucial factor. I don't think they would cry out/whinnie. The horses I know have been fairly quiet unless other horse get in the way of what they want [food, sex, shiny toy etc.] and there is most likely going to be a lot of biting and whinnying.

 

[GeekDavid]

Horses are a valuable commodity in a medieval society. It's likely that their captors would search for the horses and confiscate them.

 

[skip.knox]

The captors don't know the kids arrived on horseback. They're two palfreys, belonging to a nobleman's stables. For good reasons, the nobleman isn't going to go looking for them -- he eventually realized the kids themselves are gone and that's why a group will show up in two or three days, searching.

The broken tie works for me. The horses are in a stand of fir trees, so there aren't a lot of handy branches. The kids might tie the horses to a fallen (and rotting) log or some other such thing. I might even be able to use the horses. They aren't too far (a few miles) from their stable and might very well simply return home, which could help confirm the kids have gone.

Not to go too far down Morbid Avenue, but I suppose a horse if firmly tied might thrash about enough to injure himself. But eventually thirst would overcome it, as with a human, and it would weaken and die. I didn't want that to happen.

I probably can also use this information in a quiet scene somewhere. The youngest member is only about twelve. She might very well ask what will happen to the horses. One of the older kids could reassure her that the horses would break free and return home, even if they weren't entirely sure themselves. It makes for a nice little scene and could reassure any sharp reader.

 

[GeekDavid]

My point is, unless they're within easy walking distance of some settlement, like a town, the captors are going to assume they rode to get there. Therefore, they're going to look for horses.

 

[skip.knox]

@geekDavid, they are indeed within walking distance. They took the horses because they believed speed was needed.

 

[SeverinR]

Most reins will not take much abuse, the job of the reins is not to force the horse to turn, but a way to communicate a direction they should go.
When trail riding we would leave the halter on and tie with a lead rope for security.
My horse broke a brand new trailer tie because he didn't want to be the inside horse. So imagine what a simple strap of leather would do.

So unless the horse was known to run away, they would probably be rein tied. Unless they saddled the horse for a long ride.

Water is more important, if they get dehydrated and suddenly had plenty of water and food, they would probably eat/drink themselves sick. Colic kills. Eat to much without proper water, eat to little fiber(hay), drink to much when hot.

So they would probably break free(if not attacked by a preditor) but still might not survive.

I could be wrong, but I think the prey mentality would keep a horse from making a sound unless danger is close. Stay silent and danger might not notice, but if danger is close tell the other horses and get the freak outta there.

 

[Addison]

If the horse is well trained they don't need to be tied. I have three horses. When the training begins then they are tied but eventually you can just get off, drop the reins and walk away. They won't move. Sometimes you need to say "stand" and they'll know to stand there.

If you're set on tying them you don't have to do a double knot. Just loop the reins over the branch or whatever. If they do start fighting they'll do one of few things.
1. They'll beat the log with their hooves and pull until they're free. If it's a rotting log this will get them loose.
2. This is for a sturdy, upright tree (I've never had reins long enough to wrap around a tree, or a sturdy tree that was small enough to have reins tied around.) But if the horses are tied to a sturdy tree then they will hoof, pull and fight until they break loose. This will either happen by the reins snapping from wear or from them snapping from the clip on the head stall.

 

[skip.knox]

Thanks, guys. I feel better about leaving the poor dears. Oh, not deer, horses. Wait ... what?

 

[Darkfantasy]

Depends most horses are well trained in med time period. they were used constantly. If it is your hero's personal horse, it could be well trained. come to a whistle, stay near where it's left. Doesn't have to be tied. Horses tend to keep to present company and are herd animals so it's unlikely the horses would separate. They may call out if they smell other horses that are travelling in a large group. The more the safer they are.