Horse
Friendly
Current:	Neutral
Past:	N/A
Creature Type
Creature:	Horse
Species:	Equus ferus caballus
Book Appearances
Living:	Crookedstar's Promise, Midnight, Starlight, Sunset, Sunrise

Horses are large,^[1] swift animals that have long legs and hooves like weathered stone.^[2] Often they gallop in fields enclosed by Twoleg fences, most notably known to the Clan cats as the Horseplace which is near the Lake territories, and sometimes they run across WindClan's territory.^[1] They have angular faces and big eyes. Colors and patterns of the coat vary (ie. Palomino, Dappled, Isabelline, Bay, Black, Grullo, Gray, etc).^[3]

Contents 1 Description 2 Relation to Cats 3 History 3.1 In the Super Edition Arc 3.1.1 Crookedstar's Promise 3.2 In the New Prophecy Arc 3.2.1 Midnight 3.2.2 Starlight 3.2.3 Sunset 3.3 In the Power of Three Arc 3.3.1 Sunrise 4 References and Citations

DescriptionEdit

Horses are large animals that have long legs and hooves, who are used by Twolegs as a form of transportation at times, police work,^[4] and in competitive events.^[5] Horses have a strong sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight instinct, enabling them to escape from predators successfully at most times, and they have the unusual trait; horses can sleep standing up and laying down.^[6]

Female horses, called mares, in pregnancy, carry their young for approximately eleven months.^[7] Young horses of either sex less than one year of age are called foals. They can stand up and run well shortly after birth.^[8] Colts, are male horses under the age of four and who are not foals (over than one year of age).^[9] A filly is a female horse under the age of four, and over the age on one.^[10] A mare is a female horse over the age of four,^[11] and a stallion is a male horse over the age of four years who has not been gelded.^[12] Horses over the age of five are considered adults.^[13]

Wild horses usually stay in herds^[14] of 3 to 35.^[15] horses. A male horse leads the herd with female horses and young foals making up the rest of the herd. When the male foals become colts,^[16] the stallion drives them away. The young horse wanders with other male horses until he can gather his own herd.^[17] Usually the male leader of the herd won't allow other males to stay, but occasionally other, less prevailing horses may stay, in the outskirts of the group.^[18]

Relation to CatsEdit

As the Horseplace is beside the Clans' territory, the Clan cats often see the horses within the fences of the Horseplace when traveling past them,^[19] especially the WindClan and RiverClan cats who's territories are beside the Horseplace.^[20]

When the Twolegs ride on the horses, the horses can be a danger to the cats because of their large hooves which would kill a cat if stepped on by the horses. However, the horses are not any harm to the cats; if the cats stay clear of the horses' hooves.^[21]

Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

HistoryEdit

In the Super Edition ArcEdit

Crookedstar's PromiseEdit

When Stormkit and Oakkit sneak out of camp, they stare at the green wetland which stretches out toward a smooth meadow where the horses graze.

Later in the book when a patrol is checking on a Twoleg barn, looking for mice to hunt, Crookedjaw creeps past a horse, careful not to spook the animal, and then continues on with the patrol.

In the New Prophecy ArcEdit

MidnightEdit

The cats on the Great Journey see some enclosed horses, and are unsure if they are dangerous or not. Crowpaw remarks that he has seen Horses on the edge of WindClan territory before, with Twolegs riding them, and that they must be really dumb to let that happen. The cats agree to avoid the horses, since if a cat got stepped on by their strong, muscular legs or large hooves it would be killed instantly.

When he hears about the Twolegs riding on the horses' backs, Brambleclaw jokes that sometimes Twolegs want four legs.

StarlightEdit

When the Clans arrive at the Lake, they see the Horseplace with its fenced area containing many horses. Many warriors are nervous and frightened. Tawnypelt comments that she hopes the "horse-things" take care of themselves, so that twolegs won't bother them. Brambleclaw agrees and Squirrelpaw adds that as long as they stay away from the horse's feet, they'll be fine.

SunsetEdit

When Brambleclaw and Cloudtail go to the Horseplace to look for Daisy, they creep through the fenced area where the horses are kept, but suddenly the horses spook and stampede. The two warriors run for their lives, frightened, until Smoky ran out and helped get the warriors inside the barns, away from the horses.

In the Power of Three ArcEdit

SunriseEdit

After the ThunderClan warriors on the patrol searching for the loner, Sol, stop briefly at the Horseplace to visit Smoky and Floss, they need to cross through the area where the horses are to continue their journey. The younger warriors, Hazeltail, Birchfall, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf, fear being crushed by the horses' giant hooves, and run through the area as fast as they can, ignoring the senior warriors' warnings to be careful. They end up nearly running onto a Thunderpath, and Brambleclaw scolds them for being foolish and letting fear control them.

End of Spoiler Warning

References and CitationsEdit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Revealed in Midnight, page 198
2. ↑ Revealed in Midnight, page 199
3. ↑ Revealed on Equusite
4. ↑ Revealed on nps
5. ↑ Revealed on infoplease
6. ↑ Revealed on horse.about
7. ↑ Revealed on coursesonhorses.blogspot
8. ↑ Revealed on animals.howstuffworks
9. ↑ Revealed on Dictionary.com
10. ↑ Revealed on Dictionary.com
11. ↑ Revealed on Dictionary.com
12. ↑ Revealed on English Oxford Dictionary
13. ↑ Revealed on Cowboy Way
14. ↑ Revealed on National Geographic
15. ↑ [1]
16. ↑ Revealed on National Geographic
17. ↑ Revealed on National Geographic
18. ↑ Revealed On Horseconnection.com
19. ↑ Revealed in Starlight, page 154
20. ↑ Revealed in Starlight, page 150
21. ↑ Revealed in Midnight, page 200