Quote:
Originally Posted by Folwren
When I create a horse character, I know what it looks like and what it's qualities are, and I hoped that if others do the same thing, they would be able to describe their horse to me so we could figure out who was the likeliest to be the fastest.  |
I know what purpose the horses serve, and I know what they look like, but I rarely pause to do anything more than intuitively create one.
The horse that Degas originally had was left in Gondor with Farlen (Degas had just ridden in from the coast, and left immediately once he heard the news; the new horse was a gift from his future family, to get him home quickly). Consequently, Degas's mount right now is a spritely mare bred for endurance over long distances, but not necessarily for being the fastest in a short race. Also, Degas has been riding her the distance from Southern Gondor to Scarburg (and just got there this morning). So he might not even want to ride her in a race, since it's been a long haul. Though, like Rowenna, he might borrow somebody else's mount just to take part. Still, he's a lot more likely to win a marathon than a sprint; Degas has been traveling for years, but he's not the most competitive guy around unless he's got good reason to be (like defending somebody's honor, being victorious in an actual battle, or being irritated). He's tired, even if he's calm again, and even at his best he'd not win against somebody like Leof, and I've always thought of Saeryn as the more nimble rider of the two, though Degas - as I said - can crank out a journey better than most. It's all to do with who he is: they're Rohirrim, so they all can ride, and he's a man of Rohan, so he's really quite on top of this, but he's a traveling poet. Traveling poets have different expectations of their steeds than warriors and racers.