Horses

Description
Horses are work animals. People use them for a great number of tasks. The adventurer can take advantage of this by buying a horse to quicken travel. Riding shortens the time needed for traveling enormously.

Evolution in the series

 * First appearance: Ultima I


 * Last appearance: Ultima IX (Sort of)

Horses stayed the same in all installments in which they appear, but didn't appear in the Underworlds or Ultima VIII. However, in Ultima IX, all horses are dead and hanged (one is even enclosed into a iceberg). No explanation is given for this horse-ripping, althrough it can be speculated, that time constraints are the reason for this cop-out.

Ultima V is the only game that really describes differences between breeds of Britannian horses. While all horses look the same in the game, several NPCs, usually those who work in Stables identify various types: plough horses, mountain horses, steppes horses, and Valorian steeds which are prized as warhorses.

Notable examples

 * Smith is maybe the most famous example of Horse that can be encountered. When can you meet a talking horse? Smith the Horse lives at Iolo's hut near Yew and usually gives useless clues, because they were important for the last game. Smith appears in Ultima IV, V, VI, VII, VII/2 and Martian Dreams. He is mentioned in Ultima IX, but can't be found and is most likely dead like all other horses.