About Horses

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About Horses - This information is from Eq.Stratics, I thought it was excellent! So here is is...

Horses were a feature put into the game with the Luclin expansion of EverQuest. To some, they are merely a pricey status symbol, to others, they are a boon to travel. In the early days of the introduction, some features came with a horse, which were not intended. One of those features was the ability to levitate in the Plane of Air, where all levitation spells are disabled. Another feature which we do not know if it was intended, is the ability to meditate and regain mana while mounted, negating the requirement for a character to sit, and thereby increasing Mob aggro from that action.

Where can you purchase a horse?

You do not purchase a horse. You actually purchase a bridle, which then can be activated by right-clicking on it, to summon the horse. Bridles are purchased in one zone only: from the Stable Hands in the Bazaar.

Can you sell your horse?

Technically, no. The bridles are no-drop. However, a quest has been implemented whereby you give your bridle to a named quest NPC in exchange for an item, which can then be sold. Moreover, you will lose about a third of the original purchase price of the horse. There are four NPCs, each standing in an empty horse stall. Each one “buys” a different type of bridle.

Horse Facts

There are four speeds according to bridle material, four colors and four sizes to suit the character size of the buyer. The sizes and color are also only for show and do not affect the speed of the horse.

Bridles, cost and speed comparison:

Rope	10,000 pp	Slowest – pretty much for the looks. About as fast as Journey Boots
Leather	30,000 pp	A little faster than Journey Boots or about as fast as Spirit of Wolf speed cast by a low level player.
Silk	70,000 pp	Spirit of Wolf speed as cast by a post 50 player.
Chain	100,000 pp	A little slower than a post 50 bard with Selo’s and a Nostrolo tambourine. Faster than Spirit of Cheetah.
Ornate Chain	Dropped by high level Luclin mobs	Fastest movement in game. The Paladin and Shadowknight AAXP summoned horses are equivalent to this. Equivalent to a level 60 bard with Selo’s and a Nostrolo tambourine or better.

Colors:

Black, White, Tan and Brown. The colors do not make any difference to speed, but as Black and White are more popular colors, the pricing is higher than the Tan and Brown.

Why own a horse?

Apart from being a status symbol, a horse is a fast way to get from point A to point B. There are also several advantages and disadvantages to owning a horse.

Advantages to Horse Ownership:

You are always meditating when you are mounted on a horse.

You gain an innate Safe Fall skill of roughly 150.

You move at the speed of the horse, independent of encumbrance.

Disadvantages to Horse Ownership:

You cannot duck to interrupt a spell if you are mounted on a horse.

You cannot forage while mounted on a horse.

Most illusions will not stack with a horse.

Pixels take up space and often for melee characters; you can be too far from your target even though they can still continue to pound on you.

Other Tidbits of Horse Ownership

Horses may only be summoned in outdoor zones and will not cross into an indoor zone with you.

You are automatically mounted when you summon a horse.

Your horse is essentially a spell, and when you summon one, a shield icon will take up one spot on your buff window.

To dismount, simply left-click on the icon to turn it off. A manual /dismount command is also available if a player experiences any difficulties.

Horses require maintenance and will eat food and water out of your inventory.

Horses require a few seconds of acceleration to reach their top speed.

Horse buying strategy

Raise your charisma to 110 if possible. The difference in purchase price beyond that seems to be minimal.