What about ostritches? Could one of those big birds be a reliable mount? ( I know, I’ve misspelled it, but I’m lazy and at work :-)).
You are a gentleman, sir, and a scholar (unless, of course, you are a lady and a scholar).
According to the History of Science and Technology in Nova Scotia, the year, 1923, when that province converted from driving on the left to driving on the right became known as “The Year of Free Beef” because the oxen were too stupid to be retrained to walk on the right. So they had to be replaced with new oxen that were so trained…
So maybe oxen wouldn’t do.
OTOH, are current domestic oxen dumbed-down versions of a smarter primeval beast? I seem to recall reading that wild pigs are pretty intelligent, even if domesticated pigs aren’t (and I’m not so sure that they aren’t).
Supposedly the Swedish king Karl XII (maybe better known abroad as Charles XII?) tried to use moose-mounted cavalry in the early 18th century.
From what I have understood they are not suited to carry heavy weights, but can carry a lighter weight far and fast. They were also very easily scared by gunfire.
The mooses they used were tamed wild ones, as opposed to specially bred war-mooses. I’m sure that these defects could have been bred out in a few generations.
Well oxen can be used to plow (and have been for ages). I just suspect that, being stupid critters, they aren’t as efficient as mules.
Oxen are just castrated bulls. Whether wild cattle are smart, I don’t know. I just know that the domestic variety isn’t much smarter than the average carrot.
Hogs, both domestic and wild, are very intelligent critters. Spend some time around the domestic version and you will be struck by their curiosity and playfulness.
Also, what kind of critter is it that’s used to work the fields of Southeast Asia? Is that a water buffalo?
That scene in the Godfather would certainly have been different. Maybe a moosehead?