Horses

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The horse system in DragonRealms is very detailed and has something for everyone. There is no circle minimum to either ride or own a horse. Even a novice can ride! However, the horse system includes many advanced riding techniques, like having your horse fight beside you if you are a Paladin, or loading a ranged weapon while riding if you're a Barbarian. These types of abilities do have circle and sometimes guild requirements.

First things first, you need to learn how to ride. Find any Stablemaster in the Realms, and ASK <STABLEMASTER> ABOUT HORSE. The Stablemaster will teach you, going into a lesson similar to the speech you get from a Guild Leader when you join. You must stay and simply "listen" to the lesson. When it is complete, you'll know how to ride! In addition, magic users should ASK <Stablemaster> ABOUT PREPARE, so that they can prepare spells while mounted.

Buying a Horse

Before buying your horse, there are two very important points to consider.

Halflings, Dwarves, and Gnomes can ride full size horses. However, the horse must be taught to KNEEL by a Ranger before these height-challenged races will be able to mount them. Ponies are only rideable by these three races.

Horses do not like Prydaen or Rakash when in moonskin. If you are one of these races, your horse must be trained to tolerate animalistic races by a Ranger, otherwise you will not be able to approach them!

Buying from a Stable

At the stable, you can either LOOK IN CORRAL or simply ORDER to see a menu of the of the horses currently available, along with their prices. To LOOK at a specific horse, you must use the number in this menu. For example, if you want to look at the second horse in the corral, you need to LOOK 2. Likewise, to purchase the second horse, you would ORDER 2.

Buying from an Adventurer

When buying a horse from another adventurer, you must use the services of a Trader that is circle 25 or above to make the sale. This transaction can only take place in a Brokerage Office.

Horse Appearance

Horses in Elanthia come in all types of colors and sizes, with all sorts of features that make each one unique.

Gender

Horses are available as either mares (female horses) or geldings (neutered male horses). In the horse world, stallions (males who are not neutered) are generally harder to control and are not often used for riding.

Height

Horse height is measured in "hands", which are 4 inches each. Height is measured from the ground to the top of the horse's shoulder. Ponies can range from 8 to 13 hands, while horses generally range from 12 to 18 hands. It's said that only horses 16 hands or higher are able to wear plate armor.

Color

The color of your horse is the first thing someone will see if your horse is standing in a room. They'll see a white horse, a grey horse, a gold-colored horse, etc. There are many colors available - white, grey, black, dark, red, cherry, dappled, gold-colored, roan, flea-bitten (a black spotted pattern), chestnut, dun, blue, rose, smoky, buckskin, and bay, among others.

Detailed Features

Horses can possess a number of different coat and color variations, and it's rare to find identical horses unless you're purchasing a white one. There are several different features you can look for, such as a glistening white coat, or a light reddish brown colored coat and mahogany highlights. Keep your eyes out for all sorts of unique patterns!

Horse Care

Horses are a responsibility. If you don't take good care of your horse, it can become sick, injured, and even die. To check on your horse's condition, APPRAISE HORSE. Appraising your horse will tell you if it is healthy, if it needs cleaning, and other information like its strength.

You can purchase everything you need from a tack shop for the care of your horse, including food and grooming tools.

Feeding

To buy food from a tack shop, simply ASK <shopkeeper> ABOUT FOOD. He will give you a list of items that you can purchase. You can buy things like grain, apples, carrots, salt, and other items. You can also forage for some of these things or even pick apples from a tree, like in the orchards at Baerholdt's, or south of Therenborough. (Free food is great!)

To feed your horse, just hold the food in your right hand and FEED <food> TO HORSE.

Grooming

There are three "sections" of a horse that you can clean - the mane and tail, the coat, and the hooves. Once you've finished cleaning one of those sections, you are not able to clean it again for a short time. To clean your horse, you need four tools - a soft/stiff brush (turnable item), a mane and tail brush, a curry comb, and a hoof pick. These items are all available in a tack shop if you ASK <shopkeeper> ABOUT GROOM.

To clean the mane and tail, CLEAN HORSE with empty hands until you are told you need a brush. Pull out your soft brush, and BRUSH HORSE until you are told to use another tool. Next, pull out your mane and tail brush, and BRUSH HORSE until you are done.

To clean the coat, hold the curry comb and CLEAN HORSE. When you're asked for a new tool, pull out your soft brush and TURN it to use the stiff side. Again, BRUSH HORSE. When that step is completed, turn the brush once more to the soft side and brush again until you are finished.

To clean the hooves, get your hoof pick and CLEAN HORSE four times, once for each hoof.

Stabling

When it's time to stop adventuring for the day, it's important to take your horse to a stable. Leaving it wandering around can allow it to get sick and injured. If you are booted from the game or there is a game crash, your horse will stay at your location for only a short time before it's returned to the nearest stable.

Stabling your horse is simple. First, you need to remove all of your gear from the horse except the bridle, and then STABLE HORSE. There is a small fee, so make sure you have coins. When your horse is safely stabled, you will be given your bridle back. If you're an Estate Holder you can use BUNDLE HORSE to get the stableboys to pack up your gear for you. There is a small fee for this service.

When you're ready to get your horse out again, go to any stable and RETURN HORSE. You will be charged a fee depending on how long your horse was in storage for its food and upkeep. All stables are connected, so you can get your horse out no matter where you happen to be. However, you will pay a slightly higher fee if you don't go back to where you originally stabled your horse. You cannot get your horse back out immediately after stabling, because it's being fed and groomed!