History Main / HorseOfADifferentColor

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', the ''protagonist'' serves as a mount to his NinjaButterfly while he is transformed into a wolf. Link himself rides a horse (or a ginormous boar on occasion).
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' introduces Loftwings, large birds almost the entire culture of Skyloft is built around.
** Link is at it again in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. Besides the usual horses, there's Stalhorses (skeletal undead horses), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9-ZmH_KYSY deer]], desert-going seals chariot-style, [[BuffySpeak mythical mountain king ghost deer]], one of his [[BirdPeople Rito allies]], and ''{{bears|are bad news}}''. And in some parts of Hyrule, ''Bokoblins'' ride bears, turning them into full-blown DemonicSpiders.

* In the first ''VideoGame/Grandia1'' 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.

** Pokémon riding returns in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', where you can register various Pokémon to your Ride Pager to call up when you need them. It plays a bigger role than in ''X and Y'', replacing the HM moves of the previous games (Surf, Fly, Rock Smash...) as the way to move past obstacles. You can ride the bull-like Tauros to move fast and smash boulders, the huge dog Stoutland to sniff out hidden items, the plesiosaur-like Lapras to move over water, the draconic Charizard to fly between certain spots on the map, the huge horse Mudsdale to cross rocky terrain, the shark Sharpedo to move fast and smash boulders in the water, and the four-armed humanoid Machamp (which carries you in its second pair of arms) to shove boulders out of the way. ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' adds the manta ray Mantine that allows you to surf between islands in a surfing mini-game.
* In the multiplayer mode of ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', the player can unlock mounts other than horses and donkeys, including a bull, a zebra, and the American bison. In the ''Undead Nightmare'' DLC, you can ride the Four Horses of the Apocalypse (only one at a time, though).

* In a {{Homage}} to the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' arcade games, [[RecurringBoss Shadow Man]] rides a frog in Bright Man's stage in ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity''.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', the player can ride mounts for the first time in the series. These include horses, harts, dracolisks, giant nugs, and other exotic mounts. Of particular note is the "Bog Unicorn", a possessed zombie horse whose "horn" is a sword shoved into its skull. The horsemaster finds the nugs particularly disturbing since they have [[UncannyValley hands]].
* In ''VideoGame/SinsOfASolarEmpire'', some planets are described as having "Native Megafauna" improving commerce (presumably by using these beasts as pack animals across the planet).

* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic III'' has wolf riders and, with the first expansion, boar riders.
** In ''Heroes of Might and Magic V'' every faction except Inferno has a different mount for their heroes: wizards go to war on the backs of elephants, elves on unicorns, dark elves on ''T. rex''-like monsters, human knights on ordinary horses, necromancers on skeletal demonic steeds, dwarves on mammoths, and orcs on giant bulls.
* In ''VideoGame/GemsOfWar'', some of the goblins ride into battle on boars.
* ''VideoGame/MoCreatures'': In this ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' mod, besides various horse hybrids and fantastic equines such as unicorns, regular and dark pegasi, fairy horses, nightmares, bat horses, and skeletal and zombie horses, a number of tamable creatures can be ridden if given saddles. These include [[OurManticoresAreSpinier manticores]], all big cats, [[DragonRider wyverns]], ostriches, bears, scorpions, and komodo dragons. Finally, Wild Wolves can spawn with a zombie, skeleton, or silver skeleton riding them.
** Likewise, the ''Dinosaur Age'' mod has rideable mammoths and sabertooths.
** In the unmodded version of Minecraft, the player can ride pigs if they put a saddle on them.

* In the Sugar Rain series, characters ride 'horses'. This functions to emphasize that English is really a 'translation' when a rider settles in for the night he gives the 'horse' a feedbag of meat.

* ''ComicBook/'': Greldinard rides a Krell into battle, a giant armored four-legged XenomorphXerox which usually resides in volcanic landscapes. In fact, the only reason he survived the encounter was that his mother helped him from the spirit world to subdue the beast.

* Along with giant flying animals, the characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' have been seen to use other mounts. The leader of the senselessly evil Boggins uses a star-nosed mole on one occasion, though this may just be due to his status as resident [[TheBeastmaster Beastmaster]] rather than that being a normal Boggin mount. On the good guys' side, the heroes take a ride on a deer--which is ABSURDLY large compared to them--though this is not considered typical either.

* In the MouseWorld of ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'', Mandrake the Boogin rides a star-nosed mole. To the Leaf Men and their insect and slug associates, it's a formidable snaggle-toothed beast.

* The Leafmen in ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' ride hummingbirds into battle, while the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Boggins]] prefer CreepyCrows because they are more tolerant of decay. They also can ride on [[BatOutOfHell bats]] due to their leader's [[TheBeastmaster ability to imitate the cry that bats use to locate others of their own kind.]] However, the bats aren't actually loyal to the Boggins; in one scene, a Leafman knocks a Boggin off his bat and takes the reins, and the bat has no complaints. Birds such as sparrows are considered inferior to hummingbirds and are generally used only for racing.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': "Riding dogs" are common mounts for small characters, especially gnomes and halflings, in many settings.

** Riding dogs (read: big, working breeds) are a very common mount for Small characters.

* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': Greldinard rides a Krell into battle, a giant armored four-legged XenomorphXerox which usually resides in volcanic landscapes. In fact, the only reason he survived the encounter was that his mother helped him from the spirit world to subdue the beast.

** Blood elves ride flightless, vaguely ostrich-like birds called hawkstriders, which are often [[FanNickName referred to as Chocobos]] by fans. The void elves -- originally {{defector|FromDecadence}}s from the blood elf faction -- ride voidstriders, Void-infused versions of the blood elves' birds.

* Comedian David Crowe tells a story of Ostrich riding in South Africa, which went poorly for several reasons. Ostriches are too stupid to train, a lack of safety procedures, and that the guy running it was still excited to have people running them, since your guide should be jaded from doing it everyday.

* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' Bahmoots, velociraptor-like reptiles, are used as beasts of burden on Mars, while the Silthuri use a three and a half metre tall bird called the Royal Karn to pull their chariots. Fanthir are feathered lizards that run on two legs and are used as mounts by the Venusians.

** Imperial Guard Rough Riders mostly ride normal horses but some regiments will field rough riders mounted on other riding animals native to thier homeworld.

*** Savlar Chem Dogs sometimes use the heavily mutated Chem-Beasts from the chemical wastes of thier homeworld.

* The various world-settings in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series use an iconic type of giant bird called a chocobo as a riding mount, which has been the inspiration for many of the other entries in this category. Some variations of them can fly (usually black), though most of them are ground-based. Travelling on one is faster than just walking, and usually [[EncounterRepellant avoids running into random encounters]]. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' also includes chocobos that can run over water, oceans, and mountains, but you have to breed them first. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has chocobos with similar capabilities, the catch being that it's actually all just one chocobo that you can keep upgrading throughout the game. You can eventually have it gain all of the capabilities of the gold chocobo from ''VII'' and if you boost it to the max, it can even fly

* Played with in ''Manga/TheMoroseMononokean'' when Ashiya is given a piggyback ride by a tiger demon while running some errands. The tiger demon turns out to be one of the Three rulers of the Underworld, and he's definitely not a convenient mount, but The Justice still allows Ashiya and the others to ride on his back when they wish to travel across the Underworld, which led to a severe case of MistakenIdentity when several locals see Ashiya on his back while Abeno and the Legislator went shopping.

* In ''Literature/TheBookOfTheNewSun'', noblemen and cavalry troopers ride on animals called "destriers". Readers might assume this is just the author using a fancy medieval word for "horse", until they learn that the destriers have claws, eat meat and generally seem to be some kind of genetically-engineered jaguar.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', a sidequest earns you Baumren's Bell; an item which allows you to summon and ride sabretooth tigers on the Western continent.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Like in many other fantasy worlds, in ancient times Dragons were used as mounts before they were hunted to near extinction. In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' their numbers seem to be recovering, if Zuko's pet dragon Druk is anything to go by.

* Giving their trainers rides or pushing them through the water is a standard exercise for performing orcas and pilot whales. Bottle-nosed dolphins aren't strong enough to haul a full-sized human around the training-tank for more than a lap or two, but pairs of them working together can carrying a clinging human a fair distance or even lunge out of the water with a trainer hanging between them.

** ''ComicBook/SupergirlWomanOfTomorrow'': In Ruthye's planet, people ride a species of mammal which looks like a giant moose with mouflon's horns.

* ''Literature/PlanetOfAdventure'' 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.

* ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'' uses, unsurprisingly, dinosaurs of all stripes, mostly hadrosauruses and deinonychuses, although larger beasts such as tyrannosaurs, triceratopses or various sauropods are also ridden in and out of combat.

** Imperial Guard Rough Riders mostly ride normal horses but some regiments will field rough riders mounted on other riding animals native to thier homeworld.

*** Savlar Chem Dogs sometimes use the heavily mutated Chem-Beasts from the chemical wastes of thier homeworld.

** Dark Elves favor scaly, {{raptor|Attack}}-like beasts called Cold Ones, which they share with the Lizardmen. Lords and heroes can mount bat-winged pegasi, manticores and dragons, and a unique variant of a regular cavalry unit likewise flies on dark Pegasi.

* ''Webcomic/TenEarthShatteringBlows'': There is a different type of mount for every country. Vezenians rides giant boars, people of the desert ride giant lizards.

---> '''Farnsworth:''' [[ArtisticLicenseBiology Its not a magic bug you idiot, its a magic arachnid!]] [[BerserkButton See, count the legs, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!]]

* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' takes it to a LiteralMetaphor, as the Gatekeeper states that the purple horse is "a horse of a different color!" Sure enough, in every camera shot featuring the horse, it's a different color -- purple, yellow, red, and so forth.

* Several real-life examples feature in ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'', notably elephants and camels. The unusual smell of camels was known to make horses skittish; accordingly, camel units have an attack bonus against horse cavalry.

* In ''VideoGame/Dota2'', Chaos Knight hilariously refers to the mounts other riding heroes have as horses, be they equine or not.

* Before she became an expert {{Miko}} and learned to fly on her own, ''Franchise/TouhouProject'''s Reimu Hakurei used to mount an intelligent, talking, flying turtle named Genji.

* 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''.

* Horses ''do'' exist in Creator/TerryPratchett's Literature/{{Discworld}}, so when some Mad Max-style raiders trying to get at Mad the dwarf's water supplies show up in ''The Last Continent'' riding and/or being pulled by a variety of things that are very notably not horses (including an emu, as described by someone who has never heard of such a thing), it's mostly to illustrate how utterly insane Fourecks is.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'': The Kingdom of Breland is famous for its bear cavalry, while the halfling of the Talenta Plains ride freaking ''dinosaurs''.
** ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'': The standard steed in Athas, 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.

* ''ComicBook/AntMan'' Hank Pym Pym took to riding Korr, his flying ant companion, after Janet's flying power made the catapult superfluous.

** For starters, each of the playable races have a distinctive basic mount. In the Horde, the Orcs ride giant wolves, the Forsaken ride skeletal horses, the Trolls ride raptors, the [[ALoadOfBull Tauren]] ride giant lizards called Kodo, the Blood Elves ride giant flightless birds, the Hoblins ride three-wheeled motorbikes, the Nightborne ride big cats, the Highmountain Tauren ride moose, and the [[FoxFolk Vulpera]] ride hyenas; in the Alliance, the Dwarves ride rams, the Gnomes ride mechanical birds, the Night Elves ride saber-toothed cats, the Draenei ride elekks (a cross between an elephant and a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrotherium pyrotheria]]), the Void Elves ride Void-infused birds, the Dark Iron Dwarves ride [[LivingLava core hounds]], and the Mechagnomes ride {{Chicken Walker}}s. In fact, the Humans are the only race that gets an actual honest-to-goodness horse (although from an in-universe point of view, these are likely no more or less unusual than giant birds or tame rams). The Pandaren, which are the only playable race that can be either part of the Alliance or the Horde, ride dragon turtles, fittingly as they are from the Azeroth equivalent of China.

* In ''Webcomic/TenEarthShatteringBlows'' there is a different type of mount for every country. Vezenians rides giant boars, people of the desert ride giant lizards.
* ''Webcomic/{{Astray3}}'' has bird-like creatures usable as mounts as well as a whirling bug creature that pulls carts.
* One of the many horse alternatives in ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'' are alpacas with a single spiral horn.