Kes Horse

Those creatures aren't natural. They are like wolves dressed in the skin of horses and barely kept in check by their waring natures.
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The large horses of the steppe, also known as "Ashkosii" by the nomads, are beasts bred by the ancient Kesum a long time ago as riding animals. To this end they were bred for size, and Stallions are commonly over 7 feet tall at the shoulders.
The horses are most common in the north, where they roam in large feral herds over the grassland, though they can be found all across Tural.

Description

Kes horses are huge broad backed beasts that are usually shades of grey or black in colour, though some have a slight chestnut or red tint to their coats. They rarely have any white markings on their heads or bodies and are generally a uniform colour.
They have an average height of 6.9 and 7.8 feet at the withers and weighing 1200-1500 kg, with mares coming to around 6.6 feet. Kes horses have long arching necks and chiselled, short eared heads that are capped with a chin beard on stallions. Their teeth consist of long sharp canines and flat, sharp incisors to bit and tear food, and flat molars and premolars to crush. They have powerful, sloping shoulders and compact, muscular bodies with strong, sloping hindquarters and low-set tails. Their limbs are comparatively short and strong, allowing them to reach speeds of 46 mph at a full gallop, and have the stamina to maintain this speed for a little over two miles before being fatigued. A Kes horse grows a long and thick mane and tail as well as hair on their lower legs around their three-toed hoofs.

Behaviour

The Kes horse is unique among horses in that they are omnivores, and herds have been seen to go on hunts, attacking cattle to kill and eat calves. This makes them excellent warhorses as they require much less training in order to enter combat like normal horses, having a much more energetic and eager mindset to such things. They are also more willfull, requiring a strong rider to keep them in line lest they run rampant, attacking even their rider if they should be dismounted.
Wild Kes horses travel in herds composed of a matriarchal mare, her stallion, and their offspring, with average herd sizes ranging from 8 to 30. Other stallions mate with the herds mares though after, both usually leave the herd and start their own family. Such pairs are monogamous, and will stay together for life.

Lord of Horses

Elanians, naturally, adore the beasts, and cultivate their own southern breeds with shorter manes and tails, while being considered even more aggressive. Such beasts are rare on battlefields as few are able to tame such creatures and ride them, but those that do are perhaps the most feared cavalry on the continent.
On the steppes, the beasts are herded just as normal horses, though they are used exclusively for warfare, as it is a foolish nomad who would try to milk a Kes mare. Despite their skill with horses even the nomads are unable to fully tame an Ashkosii, and the horses remain in a semi feral state.
For their part, the Kes horses see humans as just another potential prey animal. As long as they are fed enough, or given enough room to graze and the occasional goat or calf they are happy to follow along, especially if it will lead them to a battle. The horses get far more energetic when they learn that lots of armour and shouting means marching to battle, and the bounty of flesh afterward. If they find anything lacking however, the whole herd may leave. Squads, large nomadic parties, and even small villages have been trampled by such herds if they are not caught and stopped early.