Well for me, a nice perfume, some lipstick and just a dash of rouge…
What?
Zebras dont live and travel in herds?
I’ve ridden an ostrich. They are really stupid. When I got on it, they put a bag over its head to confuse it (no shit). You steer basically by grabbing them by the neck and pointing their head in the direction you want to go. I’ve even seen people in South Africa have ostrich races. Their brain is the size of a lemon so I’m unclear if they actually understand what is going on. I’m not sure how long of a ride would be feasible on an ostrich, because, as others have mentioned, they do have a bit of an ornery streak in them.
I would think at least some level of domestication is necessary for riding. This neatly explains why cattle, horses, and donkeys can be ridden but wildebeest and zebras cannot. Ostriches are probably an exception, because they are not wholly domesticated but they are really stupid.
I have nothing to add except this thread is absolutely hilarious!
I plan on having yaks at some point and now I’m going to have to try and ride them! (I had just planned on using them for packing.)
Anyways, have some Camel races!
I was told once that there were a people somewhere in Russia that used to ride moose. It was word of mouth and I’ve never seen anything in writing about them. No idea how far back in history this is either, but I’d love to know more. (I’ve seen a Scythian headress for a horse that had antlers, so maybe that’s where the story came from?)
I’ve seen people ride reindeer but I always feel sorry for the deer since they’re so small!
I took a great photo in the Mekong Delta of a guy standing on the back of his water buffalo as it walked down the bed of a river. Looked like he was surfing it. Clearly Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore was wrong…
Who was the first to decide that horses need to be saddled to make them more rideable? What is it that horses don’t like about being bare-backed?
I thought the saddle wasn’t so much for the convenience of the horse as for the rider.
Here’s a picture of a Siberian herder riding a reindeer. Note that he is riding on the shoulders, possibly because the back may be weaker than that of a horse.
I think ride-ability is largely a matter of size and trainability. If an animal can be trained, and is large enough to bear a human’s weight, then usually it can be ridden. Some hoofed animals, however, may have relatively weak legs for their size. I have read that llamas are not ride-able, but they’re pretty small. And even if a large carnivore could be trained, they are probably not built well for carrying much weight on their backs over long distances. (I have seen circus acts in which monkeys rode dogs, however.)
The largest antelope, such as eland and nilgai are probably ride-able if they could be trained. Mid-sized antelope might be ride-able for smaller humans.
I know my neighbor’s kid used to ride their Saint Bernard …
just sayin’…
At a Renaissance festival we regularly visit, there’s a “pony ride” that includes, along with the ponies, a zonkey (half zebra, half donkey), an alpacca, and another non-pony or two. My daughter particularly likes riding the zonkey.
I hate drinking moose. It has a good head but the antlers keep getting stuck in my moustache. But now, for something you’ll really like, give me a Flying Squirrel…
You could always try drinking Moosehead.
And people think the Great Canadian Moose Cavalry is a myth…!
This thread reminds me of the King of Id with his “steed”.
Rather than come up with another anecdote about this or that animal which has been ridden, I’d like to submit a hypothesis.
We don’t ride cats because cats have flexible spines, yes? Is there some anatomical difference which makes equine-type animals more ride-able (as per the OP) than, say, canine or feline or ursine?
FISH
I thought we don’t ride cats because we would squash them as soon as we sat down on them.
i thought the side with teeth was a proper deterrent aswell…