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?
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?