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xx. judgment - omana cousland viii. strength - garrett hawke xiii. death - russ lavellan xv. the devil - lorraine "rook" mercar

inspired by cosplay by sora5005 and manulysart on twt!

The Amaranthine Charger, or the English Thoroughbred

The Amaranthine Charger is described as "spirited but not unruly" and an "uncommon mount, sure to impress." Amaranthine is still within the borders of Ferelden--or at least neighboring it--but its proximity to the Free Marches had me stumped. It's my opinion that the Amaranthine Charger could go two ways: a lighter, faster breed, or a thicker one that's been crossed with that fineness. So, there are two good options I feel are representative of the Amaranthine Charger.

The English Thoroughbred or the Irish Sport Horse (otherwise known as the Irish Hunter). Both breeds are brave, both have some speed, both are generally seen as being handle-able, and they both come in an array of colors that could be fun for any artist wanting to try their hand at some funky markings and patterns. I only chose a black coat since that's what we see in the game.

The Orlesian Courser, or the Selle Francais

The Orlesian Courser is breed that is spirited, with a "lineage longer than most noble names." While technically the Selle Francais is a newer breed, it is made of a bunch of older French breeds being merged into one studbook. The range of height (155-180cm at the withers), more elegant conformation and refinement lends itself perfectly to a faster, more 'respectable' horse that still may be capable of carrying a knight or mounted combatant.

The Selle Francais typically comes in shades of bay, grey and chestnut, but other coat colors are possible, especially when crossed with other breeds.

The Dalish All-Bred, or the 'Some Sort of UK Pony Breed'

Dalish All-Breds are described in-game as being hardy and sure-footed, as well as a breed of "humble origins." New Forest Ponies are generally well-temptered and loyal, often used as family mounts or for children. Being a breed that often roams New Forest, these ponies are also rather brave and perhaps exceptionally well-suited to navigating challenging terrain, making them great parallels for the Dalish All-Bred. Ironically, while piebalds and skewbalds (the pattern presented in-game) disqualify New Forests from being added to the studbook, it isn't entirely uncommon to find such patterning within the breed. Other options for Dalish All-Breds might be Exmoor and Dales Ponies.

Green Dales Feral, or the American Mustang

The Green Dales Feral is said to have descended from stock that escaped the Qunari invasions in the North, which sounds an awful lot like the Spanish horses that worked their way over to America and became feral. Mustangs aren't often used by your average Joe, and the Green Dales Feral is also "rarely seen on the field." The horses are hardy, sure-footed and brave, and come in a variety of fun and interesting colors and patterns that are sure to dazzle and make for fun art studies. Mustangs also come in a lot of different shapes, so you can really customize your pony however you'd like them to look.

The Free Marches Ranger, or the Oldenburg

The Free Marches Ranger is a palomino in-game, so I did want to make sure the breed I referenced had horses in this particular coat color. The Oldenburg is a German breed; it's sporty, athletic and also rather even-tempered. Other options might be Holsteiners or Hanoverians, depending on how stocky you want your reference to be. With the Free Marches being such a loosely connected place, it's difficult to really pin down each city-state as being of a certain region, so I used the idea that often gets circulated that the Marches resemble German city-states and worked backwards from there.

The Asaarash, or the Iberian Horses

The Asaarash was another one difficult to pin down, as the model in the game seems to just be an armored version of the Green Dales Feral. However, the actual information blurb tells us that the breed is Rivaini in origin, resilient, and is used to carry messages across Seheron. There's a couple different directions here, but I chose to focus on the Rivaini origins of the breed and chose the Lusitanos and Pura Raza Espanolas to represent the Asaarash. They're powerful breeds that are tall and stocky, capable of carrying heavier loads as well as being used to work cattle. They're brave and particularly adapted to war, having been used as cavalry horses. Both also come in the chestnut coat.

If looking for a horse that would more closely match the 'speed' and desert adaptability of Seheron, I would recommend Egyptian Arabians as your starting point.

The Frostback Mountain Horse, or the Trotters and Saddlers

The Frostback Mountain Horse is used by the Avaar in the Frostbacks, making the horse hardy and adapted to cold by nature. I chose to look to Scandinavian horse breeds for this and discovered the Swedish Coldblood Trotter, a horse with some feathering (hair) around the legs that matches the in-game equivalent and comes in varying shades of brown and black. The game codex describes the Frostback Mountain Horses as being "fierce, loyal and not quite tame" which doesn't exactly match the psychological profile of these Trotters, but I felt the region and build apt enough regardless to overlook it.

Other options for mountain horses would be the American Rocky Mountain Horse or the Kentucky Mountain Horse (sometimes referred to as the Kentucky Saddler/Saddle Horse).

The Taslin Strider, or the Italian Saddle Horse

The Taslin Strider is described as a refined breed and is most common in Antiva's warmer areas. It's also described as being suited to long distances and spirited charges. I thought the Italian Saddle Horse, or Sella Italiano, would best fit this particular description. The Sella Italiano is a breed with a great degree of refinement, as evidenced by the beautiful floaty trot above and pricked ears. The Sella Italiano is also bred for show-jumping, giving it a degree of power and force. The breed also competes in three-day eventing and endurance, meaning it checks off the boxes for long distance riding as well.

The Imperial Warmblood, or the Lipizzan

You may be familiar with the elegant Lipizzan from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, with their elegant caprioles and levades. The Imperial Warmblood, being this beautiful grey and described as imposing, made perfect sense to be represented by the Lipizzan. The horses have all the refinement of a dressage horse with all the warlike structure of a good cavalry horse (the two are actually more entwined than you'd think). Additionally, the Lipizzan has near world-wide fame, lending itself further to the Imperial Warmblood's omnipresence when the Tevinter Imperium was at its height. Nowadays, the breed seems to feature more often in the Imperium's homeland, mirroring the current concentration of Lipizzan horses today.

The Anderfel Courser, or the Altai

The Anderfel Courser was a tough one, and I'm torn between two options. The Altai is a breed that is suitable for mountainous terrain as well as cold climates, which I think makes it perfect for the areas of the Anderfels that are freezing and rocky (think Hossberg in Veilguard). However, the Anderfels also has areas of arid, rocky and cavernous deserts, which left me stumped. I think a combination of the Altai and the loose 'Afghan horse' category (Qatgani would be an excellent keyword to start on those horses, or the sport of buzkashi for action-packed poses) would be best suited to this strange combination of climates. It also fits the Anderfel Courser's description of being highly uncommon across Thedas. Being bred for the Grey Wardens, I think the Altai and Afghan horses would likely be the best suited for their particular brand of excitement.

Some Quick Diagrams

I realize not everyone is as into horses as I am, and may be stumped on how to search for certain colors and patterns when looking up references. As a final little send off, I've compiled here a group of diagrams designed to help beginners look for color, markings and patterns without drowning in resources on [insert your search engine of choice].

As always, feel free to play with keywords and markings, and really, just go buckwild. These are fantasy horses, after all. But I know sometimes finding references that fit the image in your mind's eye can be tough, so I hope this post helps out, either with finding drawing references or just showing off some cool kinds of horses you may have never heard about before!