Imperial Draft Horse

Treat her right, and she'll go from coast to coast for you without complaining. Haul any small wagon you want, within reason. Don't kick unless you're an idiot and touch somewhere you shouldn't. Won't bite either, if you keep her fed and don't go poking her face. Of course, quality don't come cheap, so let's see those Gryphons.

— Ezral Demetrius, Horse Trader

The Rhyliss Imperium survives largely because of its network of roads which make travel across the large distances between cities easier. The presence of trade or supply caravans drawn by horses is a normal thing, with these caravans often taking the same road together for security and company. The wagons themselves are variations of the common wain, but the horses have been bred for centuries into their own particular type of horse. The Imperial draft horse is about 16 to 19 hands high, and very notably heavy with musculature. Despite this, most of the Imperial horses are bred to be more docile and easily handled by those trained. Almost always, Imperial horses are shod with steel as opposed to iron, usually treated to have a black finish to the metal so it is less obvious. One Imperial draft horse is capable of pulling a wagon bearing six adults with a moderate amount of belongings with them, while teams of four are more common for purposes of conveying wains holding ore, ingots, or stone.

Trained Imperial horses respond to specific cues, which have become common among those who work with them, and thus have come to be considered fairly intelligent - for horses. This is more a result of very carefully constructed training procedures, starting from when the horse is young and only being finished after it's reached maturity. Most of the expense for buying an Imperial horse is due to the training, and among those who make a living traveling with wagons it is considered well worth the expense. There are only a handful of stables inside the Imperium qualified to train these horses, which only adds to the expense. It's considered "common knowledge" these horses may be better treated than workers, working under almost pampered conditions in comparison to people. The truth is far more wildly variant, but anyone who put money into an Imperial horse will certainly agree it's not wise to risk anything happening which would render the investment a waste.

Average Height

16 - 19 hands
66 - 76 inches
167 - 194 centimeters