History Main / HorseOfADifferentColor

* SuperMarioBros: Yoshi, to the point of being referred to as such (though in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg8mDRAngZ0 a rather derogatory fashion]]) by the popular {{Lets Play}}er, {{raocow}}.

* ''VideoGame/PokémonXAndY'' allows the use of Pokémon such as Gogoat and Rhyhorn as steeds.

* ''PokémonXAndY'' allows the use of Pokémon such as Gogoat and Rhyhorn as steeds.

''PokémonXAndY'' allows the use of Pokémon such as Gogoat and Rhyhorn as steeds.

* In the classic comic book series, ''ElfQuest'', the focus characters are the Wolfriders. They literally ride wolf companions like mounts, but their relationship goes deeper; there's a literal biological kinship due to the tribe's founder, Timmorn, who was the offspring of a wolf and a shapechanged [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien high one]].
* In ''JudgeDredd'', [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs raptors]] are used to pull coaches in parts of the Cursed Earth.
* In the ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'' chapter "The Terror of the Transvaal", Scrooge [[BadAss rides a lion]] around the savanna. In a later one he also uses an emu (an Australian species of giant flightless bird related to the more well-known ostrich) for transportation, and even [[KangarooPouchRide makes use of a kangaroo]] at one point.

[[folder:Film]]
* Sir Didymus, a bipedal fox, rides an English sheepdog in ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}''.
** This is also an example of FurryConfusion, in that we have a normal, barking and growling canine serving as mount for an anthropomorphic canine (or possibly a squirrel or skunk) who can walk and talk, but also barks and growls along with his mount on occasion.
* The titular hero in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' [[InvokedTrope invoked]] this: when the pet shop told him they had no horses he demanded a dog big enough to ride.
[[/folder]]

* Creator/CJCherryh's ''Finisterra'' series of novels has creatures called nighthorses that could be easily mistaken for horses, except that they are telepathic foul-tempered carnivores whose group behavior is based on being pack hunters. In contrast to herbivorous horses' tendency to form groups for protection, nighthorses formed groups for attacks. The implications of this are shown in the stories in such a way that it becomes quite plain that nighthorses are not just differently colored horses.
* In LloydAlexander's ''ChroniclesOfPrydain'', a bard character domesticates a giant lynx by playing his harp for it. The creature loves the music, and, at first, attempts to attack the other characters when he stops playing. Eventually, it takes a liking to everybody and becomes positively cuddly.
* [[MoreInformationThanYouRequire The mole-men]] have the hated dirt-puma, the giant alligator, and the pseudo-saur (which is actually a giant iguana).
* In Creator/RandallGarrett and Vicki Heydron's ''Gandalara Cycle'', the only animals big enough to ride are [[SapientSteed presentient]] and [[BondCreatures telepathic]] pantherids called ''sha'um'' (which translates to "great cat").
* The Seanchan of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series are among the strangest examples: they have, among other things (see other sections), ''lopar'', large naked-bear-like creatures (with three eyes) used in lieu of horses in combat, and ''torm'', large cats with bronze scales (and three eyes and six-clawed paws), also used in combat but more difficult to control. There are also ''grolm'', three-eyed bear-frog hybrids used in combat but not as mounts, and ''S'redit'', which are probably just elephants, used to carry cargo.
* SheriSTepper's ''Grass'' is a planet with a human settler population, some of whom ride "hippae" to hunt "foxen". Offworlders assume that "hippae" is just the local dialect for "horses". It's not. [[spoiler: The hippae are predatory creatures rather like utahraptors with sharp spikes, and they want to be ridden for reasons which are extremely sinister.]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* Cardassian Riding Hounds in the Franchise/StarTrek universe.

[[folder:MMORPGs]]
* The Guardian faction in ''{{Rift}}'' can acquire valmeras (essentially large two-tailed cats with horns) as mounts.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', orcs ride giant wolves, trolls ride giant raptors, and night elves ride giant felines.
** And to continue this, dwarves ride large rams, draenei ride elephant-like creatures known as elekk, the [[TheUndead Forsaken]] ride skeletal horses, and the tauren ride ''dinosaurs''!
*** Not just any dinosaur, but [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koSq-KecPm4 The Great Kodo!]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
* Common in ''DungeonsAndDragons'':
** Halflings in some ''DungeonsAndDragons'' settings use large breeds of dog (Saint Bernards, mastiffs, and the like) as riding mounts.
** {{Eberron}} also gave us ''[[BearsAreBadNews Bear Cavalry]]!!!''
** Taking a page from Tolkien, Goblins commonly partner with Worgs, a race of evil, intelligent wolves.
* Giant dogs (podogs) are common steeds in the ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' setting, for those who can't afford freaky mutant horse/insect critters.
* Like in Tolkien and ''D&D'', Hobgoblins in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' ride wolves.
* SpaceWolf [[SpaceMarines Marines]] can ride huge wolves called Thunderwolves ([[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent who are actually descendants of genetically altered humans. Long story]]).
** Orks can use boar cavalry.
* ''{{Rifts}}'' has many examples, such as the Simvan Monster Riders. They are nomadic aliens who have a psychic power that makes all animals instinctively subservient to them. This allows them to use anything from a horse to a ''T. rex'' as a mount. Also of note are the Larhold Barbarians, who ride mounts called War Bison, which, despite their name and appearance, are predators.
* You wouldn't expect ''Mechwarrior'', ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'''s tabletop RPG, to feature these, but they do. Played straight with the tabiranth, an alien [[PantheraAwesome big cat]] that takes surprisingly well to riders. At about eight and a half feet long, four and a third feet tall at the shoulder, and over five hundred pounds, tabiranth are essentially riding tigers. Averted with the other noted alien riding beast, the Odessan raxx. In spite of looking like a six-legged elephant-sized monitor lizard, it is actually an implied herbivore, explicitly noted to be a GentleGiant, and an extreme MamaBear to boot.

[[folder: Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', the ''protagonist'' serves as a mount to his NinjaButterfly while he is transformed into a BigBadassWolf.
* ''BattleForWesnoth'''s goblins use wolves as mounts.
* [[TheEmpire Empire]] factions in ''ElementalWarOfMagic'' may use wargs (giant wolves, unsurprisingly) as mounts for their soldiers, assuming they can find any. Heroes of ''either'' faction may purchase and ride warg mounts. If you want your {{Badass}} leader to ride into battle on top of a white wolf, then why the hell not?
* Warg Knights in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'', found in the Inverted Castle. These Wargs are large enough to easily take a man's head off in a single bite.
* Goblins in VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III use wolf cavalry.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* In ''{{Goblins}}'', the members of the Viper clan ride Worgs (this is not that unusual in a D&D setting). One of them is riding [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/11232006/ some other]] BadAss creature (namely, a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howler_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29 howler]]).
* Koark from ''OrderOfTales'' rides Potok, who resembles a giant cross between a dog and an aardvark. (Hey, insectivores are carnivores!)
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': It has one paladin riding ''[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0432.html Argent]]'', a kick-ass wolf, and another one riding ''[[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0479.html Razor]]'', a shark. The halfling riding dogs are spoofed in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' when Belkar ends up [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0140.html riding a dachshund.]]
** The Empire of Blood utilize dinosaurs as cavalry.
* ''{{Unsounded}}'' has giant dogs that appear to replace equids and bovines altogether.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* ''DinoRiders'' is a show/toyline that's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* And who could forget Battle Cat, huge, occasionally talking, green Tiger (or is it a Liger?) with a shiny red saddle for ''WesternAnimation/{{He-Man and the Masters of the Universe}}''. Likewise, Skeletor has Panthor, although he practically never rides him for some reason. In the 2002 show, he and his evil cohorts preferred to ride giant humongous griffins, instead.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheWorldOfDavidTheGnome David the gnome]] is known for traveling on his fox pal, Swift, as well as several other woodland animals like rabbits.
* ''TheLegendOfKorra'' has a polar bear-dog named Naga.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/voytek.html Private Wojtek (pronounced Voytek) the Soldier Bear]], who served in the Polish 22nd Transport Artillery Supply Company during WorldWarII. To quote from the article:
---> During the fighting, Voytek the Hero Bear actually hand-carried boxes of ammunition, some weighing in at over 100 pounds, from supply trucks to artillery positions on the front lines...His actions were so inspiring to his fellow soldiers that after the battle [of [[http://www.historicaleye.com/montecass.html Monte Cassino]]] the official insignia of the 22nd Artillery was changed to a picture of Voytek carrying an armful of howitzer ammunition.
* Dogs are used for pulling light carts or, particularly, sleds. (e.g. sled dogs such as Huskies) for both recreation and working purposes. Dog carts were once common due to dogs being cheaper to care for than horses but were outlawed in some areas due to somewhat misplaced animal welfare concerns.
** Not a Husky, but a coworker of mine had twins who were 2-3 years old at the time and a German Shepherd who is highly protective of them. They would sometimes get on its back and the German Shepherd would sometimes wander around the house with a 2-3 year old on its back.
* Orcas have been trained to allow riders on their backs at the surface, or to tolerate humans clinging to their flukes below the water. Bottle-nosed dolphins or beluga whales can also drag human swimmers along in the water, but aren't large enough to carry a person on their backs.
[[/folder]]

'''{{Giant Flyer}}s'''

[[folder: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' features a group of knights who ride on Wyverns (Heraldic creatures similar to dragons).
* Franchise/{{Naruto}} Has [[ArtInitiatesLife artist ninjas]] Sai and Deidara ride paintings and clay sculptures of birds brought to life respectively.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Giant eagles were favored as steeds by Winnowill's people in ''{{Elfquest}}''.
* In the prequel comic book to the video game ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls Adventures: Reguard'', itself entitled [[http://imperial-library.info/rgbooks/cyrus_index.shtml The Origin of Cyrus]], depicts Dark Elves riding astride giant wasp-like creatures. None of the games feature this, presumably for time/budget/technical reasons. However, in Morrowind, you CAN ride giant tick-like creatures from one town to another.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', the Na'vi have ''ikran'', called "banshees" by the humans. Subduing and [[BondCreatures mentally linking]] to an ''ikran'' is a RiteOfPassage for young Na'vi.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''DragonridersOfPern'': the dragons were genetically engineered from small flying lizards. They form a mind bond with a single rider at hatching.
** Although both horses and oxen exist on Pern ("Runnerbeasts" and "Cartbeasts") and are in far wider use, for obvious reasons. Though they are not horses and oxen as we know them, but they are instead descendants of each respective species.
* The Skybax Riders of ''{{Dinotopia}}'', who train and fly on huge Pterosaurs, rest very proudly in the realm of the RuleOfCool.
* The ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' is all about this.
* Dragon riders are fairly widespread in fiction, to the point of being savagely parodied in Terry Pratchett's 1983 ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic''
** Speaking of Literature/{{Discworld}}, herons and buzzards qualify as "giant flying steeds" if you're a gnome.
** And one of the Nac Mac Feegle has a hawk as his steed of choice.
* The tarns (large flying birds used as steeds) of John Norman's ''Literature/{{Gor}}'' novels.
* In Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-earth stories (''TheLordOfTheRings'', etc.), Sauron's Ringwraiths ride the wyvern-like flying 'fell beasts'. There are also the giant eagles have been known to give people rides. Notable example, Gandalf's escape from the tower of Orthanc.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': There are a number of different breeds of winged horses (based in part on the legend of Pegasus and Bellerophon), according to ''[[WordOfGod Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them]]''. Hogwarts employs thestrals, probably the ''least'' horse-like breed.
** Don't forget hippogriffs.
* In one of [[TheMunchausen Baron Munchausen's]] tall tales, the Baron tames and rides a roc.
* In the {{Dorian Hawkmoon}} trilogy by MichaelMoorcock (also known as the History of the Runestaff), there are flamethrower-wielding warriors who ride ''giant flamingos''.
* The Seanchan in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series have, among other things (see other sections), ''raken'' and ''to'raken'', large bird-like creatures used mainly for scouting and surprise attacks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:MMORPGs]]
* Most flying mounts in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Gryphons, Wyverns, Phoenixes, Dragons of many kinds, too much to list.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* One obscure tribal culture in the {{Mystara}} [[DungeonsAndDragons D&D]] setting rides giant ''pelicans''. Not cool, but handy if you're carrying cargo.
** The mainline D&D setting also has pegasi, griffins, and hippogriffs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* Wyvern Knights are a common type of cavalry in the ''FireEmblem'' franchise, as are Pegasus Knights.
* In the classic video game ''{{Joust}}'', your character rides a generally ostrich-sized and shaped bird that is capable of flight.
** In the lesser-known sequel ''Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest'', your ostrich can transform into a pegasus. Also, in both that game and the original Joust, your computer-controlled opponents are all mounted atop giant buzzards.
* A few Flying-type Franchise/{{Pokemon}} are Dragons...or at least look like one in the case of Charizard (not to mention several final form Flyers are quite big). Parodied in the anime when Ash tries to use his own Charizard as a proper mount for the first time and fails horribly. Justified in the fact that Ash's Charizard is actually much smaller than a regular Charizard apparently should be, and took a while to learn how to do such things. The next time they try it in the third movie, Charizard is able to maneuver around deadly spikes with Ash on his back with apparently no negative repercussions.
* ''BattleForWesnoth'''s Dwarves use Gryphons as mounts.
* The Loftwings of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. Link's is special because of its [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority rare red coloration]].
* Balkoth, leader of the Death Faction in ''{{Lords of Magic}}'', rides a giant bat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* Like many other worlds, in ancient times Dragons were used as mounts in the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' world, before being hunted to near extinction. The Sky Bison of the air-nomads are in a similar state; giant, intelligent six legged oxen with beaver tails that could fly, now with only one member of their species - Appa - believed left alive. As of the SequelSeries ''TheLegendOfKorra'', however, a new colony of Sky Bison have been found, which gives hope that the species can be repopulated.
* ''ThePiratesOfDarkWater'' was set on a world without wide-open spaces of dry land. Flying critters called Dagrons (small dragons, really) were the ride of choice. [[HumanResources Turns out they had a secret]].
[[/folder]]

'''Other/Multiple'''

[[folder: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Sesshoumaru's preferred mount is something that can only be described as a two-headed [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]]-horse in what might have been inspired by certain types of [[http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRdojZQ9gWjX1GTzFiLna6BvaLHiZ1vls0QNOo3h0mMMMxCztimkw kirin imagery]].
* In ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', the hero of the story rides what is referred to as a "red elk," but looks more like a (slightly modified) siberian ibex. Not only can the beast comfortably carry a rider, but is so strong that he can do that kind of animal's graceful leaping so burdened.
** Ashitaka calls his mount "Yakkul," and it is entirely fictional. Indeed, it goes as far back as the short manga ''Shuna's Journey'', Hayao Miyazaki's first written story, where the entire species is called "yakkul."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Collectible Card Games]]
* ''MagicTheGathering has all sorts:
** [[http://magiccards.info/cs/en/101.html Dinosaurs]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/shm/en/20.html Deer-like "cervins"]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/lw/en/41.html Goat-like "springjacks"]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/wwk/en/83.html Giant lizards]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/wwk/en/82.html Worm-like, vaguely crustacean... things called "skrill" ]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/sok/en/2.html Giant moths]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/dpa/en/59.html Weird frog-things]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/ala/en/27.html Lion-like "leotau"]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/som/en/121.html "Vorrac" beasts]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/in/en/248.html Seahorses (for merfolk)]]
*** Including [[http://magiccards.info/fe/en/58.html a very horse-like variety]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/br/en/43.html Manta rays (also for merfolk)]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/m11/en/37.html Winged lions]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/po2/en/79.html Moose]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/ds/en/87.html Giant wolves]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/m11/en/10.html Griffins]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/cs/en/12.html Giant bulldogs]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/roe/en/27.html Oxen]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/mm/en/26.html "Jhovall" cats]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/cfx/en/26.html Giant robot gargoyles]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/shm/en/163.html Wasps]] and [[http://magiccards.info/eve/en/142.html cicadas]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/som/en/13.html Raptor-things]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/ia/en/264.html Giant birds]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/cs/en/24.html Pegasi]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/shm/en/190.html Scary bat-demons]]
** [[http://magiccards.info/mbs/en/66.html Robot horses (on fire!)]]
** And of course, [[http://magiccards.info/roe/en/152.html dragons]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Go-Backs from ''ElfQuest'' use their world equivalent of reindeer and such as their mounts when hunting or traveling.
** And the Sun Folk used zwoots (horse-ish camels), while humans occasionally used no-humps (horses).
* [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] WonderWoman comics had the Amazons ride on the backs of Kangas, vaguely kangaroo-like animals.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* The [[Film/{{Avatar}} Na'vi]] also ride ''fa'li'', or "direhorses", six-legged, nectar-drinking horse-things.
* ''TheDarkCrystal'' had Landstriders, long-legged beasties with stinger tongues.
* The racing snail in ''Film/TheNeverendingStory'' movie.
* The inhabitants of Dirt from ''{{Rango}}'' primairly use bats, roadrunners, and peccaries as horses.
* ''StarWars'' had several; Tauntauns on Hoth, Dewbacks and Banthas on Tatooine, [[strike:[[WebComic/DarthsAndDroids Baby Dinosaur Ponies]]]] Kaadu on Naboo, etc.
* ''[[Film/TheHobbit The Hobbit]]'' presents a ''Megaloceros'' deer-like steed Thranduil rides on during the film's prologue.
** Radagast's sledge is pulled by ''rabbits'', making them Sled Dogs Of A Different Color.
* During ''Film/{{Thor}}'', when the god of thunder needs to leave town, he walks into the most logical place to look for transportation: A pet shop.
-->'''Thor:''' I need a horse!\\
'''Pet Shop Clerk:''' We don't have horses. Just dogs, cats and birds...\\
'''Thor:''' Then give me one of those large enough to ride!

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In Julian May's ''Literature/SagaOfTheExiles'', the mount of choice for the Tanu dwelling in Earth's prehistoric past is the chaliko- short for chalicothere. Chalicotheres are extinct relatives of horses, rhinos, and tapirs. (Unfortunately they're also generally pretty slope-backed and have a gait that really wouldn't work well at all on a riding animal. Oh well.)
* The thoats and zitidars used as mounts in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian/[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsoom Barsoom]] stories featuring [[JohnCarterOfMars Captain John Carter of Virginia]].
* In Creator/NealStephenson's ''Literature/TheDiamondAge'', the upper-class transport of choice is the Chevaline, which is a kind of robot horsey with a vestigial knob for a tail.
* In ''{{Dune}}'' the Fremen ride the sandworms of Arrakis. Great-worms and lesser-worms are used in teams to pull a chariot.
* ''TheDuelOfSorceryTrilogy'' featured rambuts (something like [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft talbuks]], or possibly [[PrincessMononoke Yakkul]]) and macain (reptilian mammals, or mammalian reptiles, that hatch from eggs and resemble ornithopod dinosaurs).
* HBeamPiper mentioned in ''Four-Day Planet'' that most people in the Terro-Human Future History universe believe (incorrectly) that horses are extinct. The narrator mentions having seen "so-called Westerns with the cowboys riding Freyan ''oukry''."
* The Weber/Ringo collaboration that is the ''Literature/PrinceRoger'' series has a species referred to variously as 'flar'ta' and 'pagee', described as a hexapedal triceratops, almost. They are herbivorous, and mostly placid, although there is a related species ('flar'ke' or 'pagithar') which is far more aggressive (the analogy drawn is to Cape buffalo). The flar'ta fills much the same role as an elephant- pack animal, mount and occasionally war beast. There are also the ''civan'' that are used as cavalry mounts. They are described as horse-ostriches, and are two-legged, omnivorous, scaly and have a vicious streak about two miles wide.
* OlderThanFeudalism: In ''Literature/TrueHistory'' by Lucian, the king of the Moon rides on a vulture-horse.
* Taylor Anderson's ''Literature/{{Destroyermen}}'' trilogy has domesticated elephant-sized dinosaurs which the U.S. destroyer crews, not knowing the "brontosaurus" was actually an apatosaurus, think of as miniature brontosaurs and call "brontosarries."
* In "The Atlantean Age", a setting book for [[HeroSystem Fantasy Hero]], the Tellat Empire fields units mounted on "battledons" -- take a rhino, make it 50% bigger, and add extra horns, claws, and bad attitude. Meanwhile the Hazarians look almost normal with their knights in plate armor riding giant wolves.
* The ''Literature/PlanetOfAdventure'' series by Creator/JackVance has "leap-horses" as the native substitute quadruped. They have heads resembling a horned tapir and exaggeratedly long necks as shown [[http://membres.multimania.fr/jackvance/covers/tschai1v.jpg here]]. As their name implies their motion is more of a bounding motion that a horse-like gait. All in all riding one sounds like a fast-track to lower back problems.
* Creatures called "chimelos," which [[CallARabbitASmeerp may or may not be dromedaries]], are used as mounts by desert-dwellers in ''[[Literature/{{Indigo}} Infanta]]''.
* John Maddox Roberts's ''Stormlands'' series has "cabos" (the word is implied to be derived from the Spanish ''caballo''; essentially four-horned horses) and "humpers" (basically camels, only with horns and tusks).
* The Lorini in ''StarTrekExMachina'' use animals resembling protoceratopians as beasts of burden.
* The Hokas in The Earthman's Burden use large, dinosaur-isque lizards as mounts. Particullarly apparent in the first story, in which the influence of the WildWest has even led them to call them "ponies".
* Gargants in Jim Butcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series, are mentioned in the first book, but, aside from being the size of a freakin' minivan, not described until the second. WordOfGod says they are related to giant ground sloths (which went extinct sometime around the end of the Ice Age in real life).
** In books five and six, we see Canea, the Canim homeland, and their riding beasts the "taurga" [singular "taurg"], creatures that are depicted as fairly bull-like (with some rabbit-ish features), extremely large (they're cavalry for wolf-warriors that can reach 9 or 10 feet in height, with proportional weight), incredibly ill-tempered, and enthusiastically omnivorous.
* The MythAdventures series has featured some pretty bizarre mounts, including the hiphippohippus (think: rhino slimmed down for agility) ridden by Aahz in "Myth-ter Right", or the many-legged armored beast (think: glyptodont with millipede feet) used by the Ta-hoe team's rider in ''Myth Directions''.
* Asides from the above mentioned Skybaxes of ''{{Dinotopia}}'', dinosaurs are also frequently seen being used as mounts.
* The ''Literature/DyingEarth'' series of Creator/JackVance featured "oasts", huge humanlike primates whose riders sat on their shoulders. On at least one occasion, the hero Guyal was chased by a mounted troop on these creepy things.
* In his speculative non-fiction book ''Profiles Of The Future'', ArthurCClarke pondered possible future transport innovations. One of his more fanciful ideas was that genetic engineering might produce a new riding animal superior to the horse: a miniature elephant that could use its trunk to open doors, handle packages, etc.
* In AndreNorton's ''Literature/IceCrown'' and other works, duocorns take the place of horses. (With, as you may guess, two horns.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:MMORPGs]]
* The MMOG ''UltimaOnline'' has an array to choose from. Bipedal dinosaurs without front arms called ostards, llamas, ki-rins, and giant beetles are among the choices.
* GaiaOnline has a few mount options, mostly from the Wild Things set. The Roc is pretty obviously a chocobo knockoff, and the other Wild Things are a wolf (Fenrir) and a tiger (Khan). In addition, the Fallen Wish item has a serpentine dragon that you can ride, and the Kelp o' the Loch gave you a proper horse... as well as a hobby horse.
* The Defiant faction in ''{{Rift}}'' can get vaiyuu (which look like a cross between an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviraptor Oviraptor]] and an antelope) and {{mechanical horse}}s. And that's only a sampling of the weird mounts in the game.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series, particularly ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', features such a wide variety of mounts that listing them all would be impractical. For starters, each of the ten playable races has a distinctive basic mount, ranging from undead horses to mechanical ostriches to [[CallARabbitASmeerp elephant-like]] elekks. In fact, humans are the only race that gets an actual honest-to-goodness horse. Then there are the various flying mounts, starting with griffons and giant furry bats and later progressing to sporebats, drakes, miniature helicopters, hippogriffs, etc. Lastly, ''Wrath of the Lich King'' introduced a variety of new land and flying mounts including mammoths, proto-drakes, flying carpets, motorcycles, and turtles; not to mention achievements for acquiring as many mounts as possible. The highest of these requires 100 mounts, and grants as its reward ... yet another mount.
** It's worth noting that pre-release promotional material for the ''Burning Crusade'' expansion referred to the Blood Elf mount as a Cockatrice; eventually, however, someone at Blizzard realized that introducing a creature with "cock" in its name into a game largely played by teenagers and immature twentysomethings was just ''[[TemptingFate asking]]'' [[TemptingFate for trouble]]. They were renamed Hawkstriders.
** Elekks look more like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrotherium pyrotheria]] than elephants, really.
** Averted by the [[WolfMan Worgen]] race. They don't have their own mount, they just run around on all fours.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology]]
* The gods of most religions often have some unusual mounts. Examples include the golden boar of the Norse god Frey, the [[DragonRider dragons]] who pulled the chariot of the Titan Kronos, and most Hindu gods ride an animal that has particular symbolism.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
* Other than the aforementioned Podog, in ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' there also is the Hopper (a giant mutant jackalope who is as dumb as a brick), the Centisteed (a horse with a whole lot of legs, as well as bug-eyes and antennae) and the incredibly odd Pineto (think of a cactus plant merged with a horse, and you'll get the idea).
* In ''DungeonsAndDragons''' Eberron campaign setting, the Kingdom of Breland is famous for their bear cavalry. As a certain image macro says: "[[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BearCavalry.jpg Bear Cavalry: Yeah, you're pretty much fucked.]]"
** Unless you have [[MemeticMutation Cat Snipers]].
** Or are a halfling, in which case you ride freaking ''dinosaurs''.
** The standard steed in the '"DarkSun'' setting, a kank, is a giant beetle.
** D&D has several entries under every category of this trope, so it's worth pointing out that you can ride essentially anything in this game under the right circumstances, including a gelatinous cube.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' has tons of these: cyber-horses, boars, cyber-boars, giant lizards, daemons that look like weird worms, daemons that look like metal rhinos...
** In addition, the chief source of meat in the Imperium is the Grox, a large, rather ill-tempered lizard-like creature.
** As usual it's overshadowed in the [[RuleofCool sheer awesome]] department by its sci-fi brother, but TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Fantasy also has a variety of fantasy mounts, including wolves, boars, giant spiders (pony-size), gigantic spiders (rhino-size), cold ones (featherless giant velociraptors), pegasi, sauropod dinosaurs, griffons, woolly rhinoceros', small carnasaurs, various sorts of daemonic mounts (including the metal rhino ones), and naturally, dragons.
* Frankly, ''DungeonsAndDragons'' has a million of these things, some of the odder ones including Giant Bees and enormous {{Wall Crawl}}ing lizards popular among the subterranean drow. If it's got the strength score to carry you, you can hypothetically train it for riding (or in the case of intelligent creatures, ask it politely).
** You can ride a gelatinous cube. Well, really, you ride IN it and wear protection from the digestive acids, otherwise kind of in trouble. Illithids ride inside a cyst in a purple worm's mouth. Or you could ride on a soarwhale, basically a living blimp...whale...
** The brixashulty is basically a mountain goat domesticated as an all-purpose livestock animal by halflings. Mundane, yes, but it's fun to see the look on everyone's faces when your "halfling riding goat" singlehandedly (singlehoofedly?) ''splatters'' half the enemy in a single critical bull rush.
** In ''DarkSun'', people ride a lot of weird stuff, though mostly bugs the size of a good ox and bigger-than-elephant lizards; halflings can ride even more various... uh... ''things'', including giant dragonflies [[OrganicTechnology they are growing for this purpose]].
** 4e has added a "mount" property to beasts you can ride. Those include, among others, blade spiders.
* Likewise, ''{{Rifts}}'' features just about everything, from {{Cool Horse}}s to Dinosaurs to giant beetle-like monsters to bears and even giant chickens (Fun Fact: Cossacks refuse to ride the giant chickens). Plus [[MechanicalHorse Robot and Cybernetic horses]]. ''Magic'' robot horses, too. Some species, such as Psi-Ponies and Blood Lizards, can even be chosen as player characters.
* The Savlar Chem-Dogs in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are an [[RedShirtArmy Imperial Guard regiment]] taken from the inmates of a [[PollutedWasteland toxic nightmare]] of a prison planet. Their Chem-Riders tend to saddle up bizarre, vile-looking mutant critters, Emperor knows what.
* The third-party ''[[DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'' setting book ''Nyambe: African Adventures'' follows the lead of the ''Literature/SagaOfTheExiles'' and includes chalicothere mounts. Here, however, it's clearly stated that they require special saddles.
* In ''Warzone'', some human soldiers ride on horse-sized bipedal dinosaurs/lizards in the jungles of Venus.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* Ussal Crabs in ''{{Bionicle}}''.
** Also Rock Steeds, which, [[CallASmeerpARabbit despite their name]], are actually large carnivorous dinosaurs. And then there are the Tahtorak (Bionicle {{Kaiju}}) on whose backs the members of the Skakdi race rode. Sand Stalkers may also count, since they look like armored dicynodonts.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* In ''FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'', the party's covered wagon is pulled by what resembles a giant blue mouse called a Papaupamus.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has the gargants, a species of giant beetles that crawl upside down on special tracks. Wild gargants can be bribed with food, and partially controlled by their fear of water. Domesticated gargants are trained to carry special carriages.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has a giant blue elephant-like creature called a "Shoopuf" that carries large amounts of people at once.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series replaces cows with Netches on the island of Vvardenfell, home of many strange and unique beasts, which are herded and slaughtered for leather. For some reason, the game feels the need to prepend "Netch" to every piece of leather equipment (so, instead of wearing a leather cuirass, you wear a "Netch Leather Cuirass," just like a real person would wear a "Cow Leather Jacket"). Still, they get a bit of a pass, since netches, being enormous floating jellyfish-esque monsters, fall squarely under the RuleOfCool. Seriously, it's an enormous ''jellyfish.''
** Vvanderfell also has Guars, which are basically large and fairly cute bipedal lizards used as draft animals, and the enormous insectile Silt Striders used as mass transit.
*** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''s concept art book depicted people riding Guars. This never made it into the game either due to time constraints or because it would be absurd (Other creatures in Morrowind tend to follow common sense when it comes to anatomy, but Guars have heads almost as big as the rest of their bodies.
*** Note that regular animals were always part of the series - it's just that Vvardenfell is ''very'' strange, but the rest of the world is much more like our own, and contains ordinary horses (and cows), as seen in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]''.
* In ''VideoGame/PuzzleQuest: Challenge Of The Warlords'', you can capture and ride a number of creatures, from a giant rat or wolf to a giant, ''fire-breathing spider''.
* The [[FullBoarAction giant pig-like Bulbos]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''
* In ''AgeOfWonders'' most mounted units ride horses or wolves, but the Lizardmen are the most unusal ride giant frogs. There are also specialized units which ride giant eagles, wyverns, giant moles, and giant beetles.
* Before she became an expert {{Miko}} and learned to fly on her own, [[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Reimu Hakurei]] used to mount an intelligent, talking, flying turtle named Genji.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has all three:
** Noishe, the party's overworld mount, is a giant white green dog with massive ears. Who's deathly afraid of monsters. And in one of the skits is speculated to be an ancient ever evolving creature.
** Some enemies are seen to ride oversized raptors called "Velocidragons".
** Actual dragons are sometimes trained as mounts, and the party even rides them at one point.
* Flynn from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' uses a horse-like monster with reptilian traits as a steed in one scene.
** The same variety of monster is also seen being used to tow merchant caravans in ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia''.
* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Grandia}}'' game, there was promotional material as well as [[http://comenzarjuego.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/grandia-1.jpga small cameo]] in the game proper of a large, long-legged turtle which was used as a mount. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Unfortunately]], you don't get to ride it at all, and disappeared after one town.
* In the point-and-click adventure ''[=AmerZone=]'', you get to ride one of the natives' mounts: a [[ItMakesSenseInContext smooth-skinned, swamp-adapted giraffe]].
* In ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'', various things are used as rides: unicorns (Sylvan heroes), dinosaur-like lizards (Dungeon heroes and units, [[AndZoidberg and]] [[DefectorFromDecadence Agrael]]), elephants (Academy heroes), ''mammoths'' (Fortress heroes), {{bears|AreBadNews}} (Fortress units), and oxen (Orc heroes).
** While the original ''Heroes III'' is mentioned under Predatory (goblins riding wolves), with the expansions it moves into multiple (goblins riding ''boars'').
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' both feature skags, reptiles that behave like feral dogs. The first game's third DLC introduced midget skag riders; the second game has the full-sized version. Skag riders in ''Borderlands 2'' are very specifically meant to stand in for horsemen -- they only appear in Western-themed Lynchwood, acting as the tyrannical Sheriff's enforcers and outriders.
* ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'' has quite a few heroes who use mounts - Chaos Knight, Mirana, Luna, Batrider, Chen... Chaos Knight even {{Lampshade}}s it in some of his lines after killing other heroes with mounts.
--> '''Chaos Knight (to Mirana):''' [[http://www.dota2wiki.com/images/b/b5/Chaknight_rival_29.mp3 "That is an ugly horse you ride."]]
--> '''Chaos Knight (to Batrider):''' [[http://www.dota2wiki.com/images/4/46/Chaknight_rival_31.mp3 "You taught your horse to fly?"]]
* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'' featured the saddle saurus, a bipedal variety of dinosaur seemingly based on the Muttaburrasaurus. These saurus are prized by the locals due to there great resilience to heat, their ability to go days without water, their compass like sense of direction and their loyalty. The hero's saurus seems less inclined towards this last trait, however.
* In VideoGame/PokemonXAndY player characters are finally able to ride Pokemon. Granted at the moment the only Pokemon seen mounted is Gogoat who can be ridden as long within you stay in Lumiose City.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has all sorts of this: wagons drawn by [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070316 horse-headed men]]; the DarkActionGirl jaegermonster Jenka rides a [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050606 red]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070326 grizzly bear]] (construct?) named Füst; Baron Wulfenbach's cavalry troops have the beetlesque [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070105 Hoomhoffers]]; and the Geisterdamen have... well, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050321 giant riding spiders]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050323 for traveling the Wastelands]], and [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060710 a whole profusion of other creepy stuff besides]].
* In ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' (loosely based on ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''), one of the characters, Richard, is turned into an infant temporally and uses a bunny as a mount.
* In ''RiceBoy'', the Frog-men use giant lizards. Maquìn has a horse-like creature that's able to contract its entire body into its cubical head.
** And in ''OrderOfTales'', Koark rides this... thing which appears to be a cross between a horse and an anteater. I don't even know.
* The Denizens (LivingShadow minions) in ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'' [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=383 tried]] to ride a ''platypus'' for fun.
* ''{{Erfworld}}'' is home to a broad variety of mounts, including spidews, dwagons, gwiffons, unipegataurs, megalogwiffs, tankeroos (kangaroo-formed cloth golems), elephant-formed cloth golems, and a glass golem which appears to actually be in the form of a horse.
* ''{{Megatokyo}}'' gives us the Rent-A-Zilla whom [[spoiler: Yuki Sonoda takes to riding once her MagicalGirl abilities really start to kick in.]] Largo has made use of them in this way, too.
* {{Doodze}} features a [[http://seguemediagroup.com/doodze/?p=942 squirrel.]] (Not a giant squirrel. Doodzes are tiny.)
* ''{{Uncreation}}'' features the centitrains, which are giant centipedes that (unsurprisingly) function as trains. They even have the ability to seperate like train carriages - by ''ripping themselves in half'' and then regenerating a new head out of the wound.
* In the world of ''{{Drowtales}}'' it's actually pretty rare to see a regular horse, and the 9 Great Clans seem to prefer using their clan's symbol as a mount. To count it off:
** Sarghress: BigBadassWolf
** Sullisinrune: PantheraAwesome
** Sharen: Dragon (who are in fact really transformed elves)
** Kyorl'solenurn: Unicorn, which in this setting is closer to a goat
** Beldrobbaen: Giant spiders, or failing that, [[SpiderPeople Driders]]
** Illhar'dro: Giant birds, which fans jokingly refer to as [[FinalFantasy Chocobos]]
** Nal'sarkoth: Haledri (essentially a type of yak)
** Vloz'ress: Giant snakes
** Jaal'darya: [[ArtificialHuman Biogolems]], which can look like pretty much anything
* In ''Webcomic/TheBeastLegion'' the characters use various mounts at different stages in the comic:
** [[http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-07-page-17-lift-off/ Brilight]] is a soul beast that belongs to Master Surya & can fly as well as track the Beast Transfers.
** [[http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-01-page-28on-the-verge-of-battle/ Dragos's giant Shadow Beast]] that makes a small apperance in issues 1 & 2.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Doomhounds are demons specifically bred to act as mounts, scouts and magic detectors.
* One of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_586_31-life-lessons-you-can-only-learn-from-video-games/ 31 Life Lessons You Can Only Learn From Video Games]] is that "if you have the right saddle, you can ride on freaking anything."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' there are various different riding animals for the different nations due to MixAndMatchCritters. The Earth Kingdom has the Ostrich Horse (basically an {{Expy}} of Nausicaa's Horseclaw), the Air Temples flying bison (only used for companionship and transport, the only one seen in the series being Appa), the Fire Nation has the Komodo Rhino and Mongoose Lizard, and the Water Nations has a less used Buffalo-Yak for the Tundras (otherwise they use boats).
** Promotional material for The Legend of Korra adds polar bear dogs to the list.
** And can't forget the eelhounds, for those times when you aren't just satisfied with running on land.
** Flashbacks have also shown that people in the Fire Nation used to have Dragons fill in this role too, before Fire Lord Sozin happened. Roku, and Sozin himself, can be seen flying on two dragon's backs.
* The dinosaurs in ''TheFlintstones''.
** Also, Boy during the "Caveman's Best Friend" episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBackyardigans'', in a way that reminds most people of Dino. {{Expy}} anyone?
* Seahorses are the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' equivalant to horses.
* The 'Buggalo' (giant ladybugs) in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' are the equivalent of cows.
** And only those who ride Buggalo may have Buggalo. And [[FantasyCounterpartCulture that's]] [[MagicalNativeAmerican us]].
** And when driving Buggalo, you ride a giant tarantula. Farnsworth will have you know that it's not a giant ant:
---> '''Farnsworth''': [[YouFailBiologyForever Its not a magic bug you idiot, its a magic arachnid!]] [[BerserkButton See, count the legs, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!]]
* One episode of ThePowerpuffGirls had the girls invaded by giant broccoli aliens after they spiked the town's broccoli supply with MindControl broccoli that left all the adults incapacitated, leaving the girls and the kids to confront the green threat. As part of their vegetable motif, the broccoli king rides a carrot-shaped mount.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Both ordinary horses and horses of a different color can be found in the land of Ooo, among them a a yellow lemon camel ridden by the manic and over-reacting lemon person, Lemongrab.
** The topper is an ordinary horse being ridden by a creature that is a cross between a rainbow and a unicorn. (Who is usually herself ridden.)
* HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse: He-man's typical transportation is Battle Cat, a green tiger.
* WesternAnimation/TheTransformers: In the season 3 episode ''The Face of Nijika'', the inhabitants of the planet Zamojin ride on quadrupedal, long-tailed reptiles.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In RealLife history, several non-horse animals have been used as transport. Most notably, elephants have been used in war quite effectively due to their [[{{Badass}} intimidating nature]].
** They're also useful for heavy work, such as logging- they're bright, social animals and can have a good relationship with humans with the right training.
* During the 18th century the Swedish military supposedly experimented with moose cavalry. Compared to horses a moose has better stamina and is far better equipped at traversing difficult terrain. Also they're really big and scary, especially to Johnny Foreigner who often had never even heard of a moose. The Swedes were able to ride and train them as horses in all respects but one: Moose are pretty damn headstrong animals and no-one was ever able to persuade them to stop running away from pikes, bayonets, muskets, and cannons.
** This project was revived in Soviet Russia, but was abandoned because of the Winter War an, later, World War 2.
* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Camel_Corps U.S. Camel Corps]], proving that, yet again, RealityIsUnrealistic. Essentially, since the Southwestern United States is a big desert, they decided to experiment with using camels to help the troops operate in the region. The camels were well-suited to the environment, but they did not get along with horses at all, and got along with soldiers even less. The whole project was disbanded around the time of TheAmericanCivilWar, and the last confirmed sighting of a live wild camel in the United States was in 1941.
** There are camels in Australia (both dromedaries and bactrians) for similar reasons. They were imported for use in the 19th century, then abandoned as automobiles came in. The freed beasties are thriving, (the only feral (i.e. ex-domesticated) camels in the world) to the extent that today Australia frequently ''exports camels to Arabia.''
** A 20th century Camel Corps fought for the British Empire in the North African campaigns as late as WorldWarTwo. They are commemorated by a statue on the Victoria Embankment, London. (Most of the men listed are Australian, with a few New Zealanders, though there are other then-colonies represented)
** The Roman Emperor Claudius is said to have included camels in his invasion of Britain because the smell and unfamiliarity of camels to the Britons' horses disrupted the chariot tactics the Britons were using against the Romans.
* Some people have managed to ride [[EverythingsBetterWithLlamas llamas]] (or better said, to be tolerated by them), but all serious attempts to turn them into real riding animals have ended in failure. On the one hand, they are too light and weak compared to a horse or a camel (hence why most pictures of "llama riders" you'll ever find show children). On the other, they simply hate to have living beings on their back. Also, they can spit. [[{{Squick}} And turn their necks 180º back]]...
** Llamas often get the cold shoulder from historians, who lament that them being the sole surviving camelid in the Americas (which in ancient times were also inhabited by camels and several species of equids) deprived the Native Americans of indigenous cavalry. A far more sympathetic look can be found in an early Spanish missionary's chronicle, who praises God for making the perfect mix "of sheep and donkeys".
* Cattle and water buffalo can be saddle-trained, although they're not all that fast compared to horses.
** Not to mention the fact that their skin is much looser than a horse, so that no matter how tightly the saddle is fastened, the rider will be swaying from side to side as the animal walks.
* American bison have been saddle-trained on occasion, although it's likely mostly an entertainment/recreational thing, ie circuses.
* Zebras have been trained to pull carriages or let people ride them before, but it is more impractical than horses because of their temperament and because zebras have less speed and endurance than horses.
* Reindeer [[EskimosArentReal (yes they exist)]] are the only deer that can be said to be domesticated. They can be ridden or trained to pull carriages.
* Yaks.
* And donkeys of course.
** Mules and hinnies each technically fulfill half of this trope.
** It's often ignored that horses were in fact not known in the Fertile Crescent at the time the first civilizations arised there, and donkeys were the only equivalent found for a long time in their native Egypt. Some also believe that the ancient Sumerians experimented with onager-led chariots before horses became available.
[[/folder]]

** The Empire of Blood is implied to utilize dinosaurs as cavalry.

Compare CallARabbitASmeerp, when the animal actually is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a real-world animal. KangarooPouchRide is a subtrope.

->''Pretty [[FinalFantasy Chocobo]], what a happy time on your back\\
They may look like a chick\\
But they go quick\\
With a dramatic kick!''
-->--Hyadain, ''Rap de Chocobo''.

* Halflings in ''DungeonsAndDragons'' {{Eberron}} campaign setting ride two kinds of bipedal dinosaurs, called fastieths and clawfoots. [[hottip:Explanation: Fastieths are basically ornithomimids. Clawfoots are ''velociraptors''.]]

* During ''Film/{{Thor}}'', when the god of thunder needs to leave town, he walks into the most logical place to look for a ride: A pet shop.

* During ''Film/{{Thor}}'', when the god of thunder needs to leave town, he walks into the most logical place to look: A pet shop.

* ''[[Film/TheHobbit The Hobbit]]'' presents a ''Megaloceros'' deer-like steed Thranduil rides on during the film's prologue.

[[quoteright:299:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-Cloudchocobo.jpg]]]]

* "Axebeaks" (''Phorusrhacos'', more or less) have featured in several editions of ''DungeonsAndDragons''. (''{{Pathfinder}}'' seems to have shrugged and openly presented them essentially as predatory chocobos.) White Wolf's ''Scarred Lands'' setting had "tent birds," a desert-dwelling variant with supernaturally heat-resistant feathers that could use its huge—albeit still flightless—wings [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin to shelter itself and its hatchlings (or its rider)]].

* In VideoGame/PokemonXAndY player characters are finally able to ride Pokemon. AndTheFandomRejoiced. Granted at the moment the only Pokemon seen mounted is Gogoat who can be ridden as long within you stay in Lumiose City.

* In "VideoGame/PokemonXAndY" player characters are finally able to ride Pokemon. AndTheFandomRejoiced. Granted at the moment the only Pokemon seen mounted is Gogoat who can be ridden as long within you stay in Lumiose City.

** Although both horses and oxen exist on Pern ("Runnerbeasts" and "Cartbeasts") and are in far wider use, for obvious reasons.

* Space Wolf [[SpaceMarines Marines]] can ride huge wolves called Thunderwolves.