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Top-level
Yes, so much fantasy is based on the European Middle Ages, it's becoming a bit boring to see. Most of it, however, is filtered through Hollywood and not at all true to what the records say. Horses were my first hyperfocus. I love them, used to ride them and miss them. (So yeah, I wrote a shapeshifter who turned himself into a mule, one of my favorite characters.) I live at GMT+2, and I'm looking forward to chatting more. 6 comments
Yeah, oxen are much easier to handle, and they might actually also be easier to feed. They are slow but strong. Horses are very fickle about food and colic quickly. They also were more expensive.  @Firlefanz Horses are also, if you'll excuse me for saying so, something you'd need to breed and keep specifically for the purpose. Bovine bull calves is something you get all the time anyway if you keep cows. Which is another reason why it makes sense to put the bull calves to some use, rather than *also* keeping horses. (Unless, of course, that is, you have some *additional* reason to want horses specifically.) @Firlefanz Easy to obtain / cheaper; easier to feed; easier to handle. Sounds to me like a solid choice. 🙂 I never thought about this, but it makes perfect sense. I run a lot of tabletop games, so this is just going to be a thing now in my worlds. Thanks so much for sharing! I've loved getting to wake up and unexpectedly have so much to learn. |
Gregory's Server
@Firlefanz I read a book series set in a largely present-day Sweden through a technological collapse, and one thing that author brought up actually in the storytelling was how horses were far less common as draft animals than is often depicted; oxen having been far more common. I haven't looked up the facts, but I wouldn't be surprised if that actually was the case. Another Hollywoodism, I imagine.
@shom @shadowcheets