Longhorse

The mountain dwarf kingdom mines are vast and extensive, with long winding paths who's surface is rough and craggy. Over the centuries and through manipulation of naturalized pack animals, the longhorse came to serve as the go-to animal for their operations.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The longhorse is stockily built in comparison to domesticated horses, with shorter legs. Typical height is about 12–14 hands (48–56 inches, 122–142 cm), length is about 8 ft. They weigh around 700 lb. The coat is generally dun in color with pangaré features, varying from dark brown around the mane (which stands erect) to pale brown on the flanks and yellowish-white on the belly and around the muzzle.
The legs of longhorse are often faintly striped. The tail is shorter than typical horses of its size, about 30 in long, but with a longer dock and shorter hair than seen in domesticated horses.
Beyond the length of it's broad muscular back, the feet of the longhorse are what sets it apart. Rather than ending in hooves, the legs of the longhorse end in a grasping palm similar in size to an ape, but thickly padded like that of a camel. This is beneficial to the craggy mountain terrain as it enables the animal to grip on to wide, rounded, yet uneven surfaces.

Dietary Needs and Habits

As an magically adapted species, it was also altered to enable it to eat a wide variety of both grains and mountain vegetation. With it's combination of palm, leg, and back strength, the long horse has been seen to climb cliff side to get a particularly tasty crop of vegetation.

Scientific Name

Equus ferus proten

Origin/Ancestry

Toril