History Main / HorseOfADifferentColor

* ''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]].

* ''Literature/TheDuelOfSorceryTrilogy'' featured rambuts (something like [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft talbuks]], or possibly [[Anime/PrincessMononoke Yakkul]]) and macain (reptilian mammals, or mammalian reptiles, that hatch from eggs and resemble ornithopod dinosaurs).

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': The player can ride the prehistoric pokemon Koraidon in Scarlet, and the futuristic pokemon Miraidon in Violet. The present day counterpart: Cyclizar, is used as transportation by many in the Paldea region.

* Goblins in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' ride on Wargs -- huge, intelligent, evil wolves.

* 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.

** 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 (''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', etc.), orcs/goblins cooperate with wolves known as Wargs (which roam around on their own in packs) and often the orcs will ride them. Sauron's Ringwraiths ride the wyvern-like flying 'fell beasts'. There are also the giant eagles that have been known to give people rides. Notable example, Gandalf's escape from the tower of Orthanc.

* In one of [[TheMunchausen Baron Munchausen's]] tall tales, the Baron tames and rides a roc.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'': 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.

Subtrope of FantasticFaunaCounterpart. SisterTrope to ChariotPulledByCats for unusual draft animals and carriage pullers. Compare CallARabbitASmeerp, when the animal actually is, for all intents and purposes, identical to a real-world animal. SuperTrope of ZebrasAreJustStripedHorses, KangarooPouchRide, SeahorseSteed, and WarElephants, and sometimes DomesticatedDinosaurs and OurCentaursAreDifferent (if they let people ride them). For actual horses (or other animals) with unusual colors, see AmazingTechnicolorWildlife.

** Numerous types of creatures, besides common horses, are available as mounts for characters who specialize in mounted combat (such as the cavalier class, for instance). Among others, these include clockwork steeds, lions and hippogriffs.

* The gods of most religions often have some unusual mounts. Examples include the golden boar of the Norse god Frey, and most Hindu gods ride an animal that has particular symbolism.

* In '''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries''', the genie-hunter Mukhtar rides on a creature called Saurus, which somewhat resembles a reptilian ostrich.

* Cayna of ''LightNovel/InTheLandOfLeadale'' has a Crimson Pig summon, "P-chan"/"Li'l P", who is the size of a small house and is easily ridden by her like a horse or used as a draft animal. It should be noted that Li'l P is still a baby and in adulthood, could easily grow up to ''25 meters''.

** In ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterStories'' the aptly-named Riders can use their [[{{Mons}} Monsties]] as mounts, from the docile Aptonoth to more ferocious beasts like Rathian and Rathalos to elder dragons like Kirin and Teostra.
** ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'': The ''Iceborn'' expansion pack introduced the ability to learn how to ride smaller monsters around by befriending the local Grimalkynes.
** ''Monster Hunter Rise'' introduces the canine Palamute, which not only fights alongside you like your Palicoes but can be ridden.

** The planet Tatooine has several native species seen being used as mounts or for haulage: Tusken Raiders favour the bantha, [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dewbacks]] were used by Imperial Sandtroopers, and ronto are used by Jawas, although it has been suggested that ronto were imported from Nubia rather than native to Tatooine.

* In ''The Saga of the Borderlands'' of the Argentine writer Liliana Bodoc, the Desert Shepherds has dedicated themselves to the breeding of llamellos (a combination of the word camello -- camel -- and llama), [[EverythingsBetterWithLlamas basically llamas big enough to be ridden by grown men.]] However, when the sideresios of The Ancient Lands arrive with horses, they are quickly adopted as a mount.

* Ostrich riders, though they (the ostriches) tend to be pretty unhappy about people riding on their backs, making them impractical for any use other than recreation. They also have an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnKBQquzGXE unfortunate habit of losing their riders]]. Professional horse jockeys describe them as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53p-go2DOnE "like riding a giant football"]].

* Yaks.

** Halflings and gnomes also use riding dogs to get around in other settings, due to their smaller size.

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-earth stories (''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', etc.), Sauron's Ringwraiths ride the wyvern-like flying 'fell beasts'. There are also the giant eagles that have been known to give people rides. Notable example, Gandalf's escape from the tower of Orthanc.

* A Jägermonster is seen riding some sort of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20131009 horned pointy-toothed purple monster]] in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' and the Geisterdamen usually ride giant spiders, but are also seen riding a number of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060710 other many-limbed monsters.]]
* In ''Webcomic/LittleRobotBigScaryWorld'', BIP uses a robotic beetle, named Go-Ship, as a steed.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' had the girls invaded by giant broccoli aliens after they spiked the town's broccoli supply with MindControl spores 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.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': "Riding dogs" (read: big, working breeds) are common mounts for small characters, especially gnomes and halflings, in many settings.
** The Drow are also commonly depicted riding giant lizards.

* ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'''s goblins use wolves as mounts.
* Cocco, the heroic dwarven knight of ''VideoGame/TheCrystalOfKings'' rides a giant anteater as a steed. Said anteater ''can'' be killed during gameplay if Cocco receives too much damage, at which point Cocco is an easy sitting duck without the height advantage, but if Cocco dies and respawns he gets a new anteater steed.
* [[TheEmpire Empire]] factions in ''VideoGame/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 are not horses and oxen as we know them, but are instead descendants of each respective species.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', a sidequest earns you Baumren's Bell, an item that allows you to summon and ride sabretooth tigers on the Western continent.
* In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'', the Orc Raider units, and their Hero, Thrall, make use of rather large wolves as mounts. The game's Night Elf faction also includes mounted warriors riding large predatory cats such as Panthers and White Tigers. There is also the windrider: which is a wyvern (not a dragon but a winged lion).
** This is carried over into World of Warcraft: where orcs ride Draenor's large wolves and Night Elves ride tigers in a dizzying variety of colors. You can also use these mounts as other races. There are also rideable lions, bears, wyverns, chimeras (which are two-headed wyverns), sharks, etc. Some of the other mount creatures may be predators, it's occasionally hard to tell.
* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', you can ride [[KingOfBeasts Caragors]] and Graugs into battle. Graugs apparently are ''not'' trolls, but they do vaguely resemble them.
* People, particularly military cavalry, in ''VideoGame/QueenAtArms'' ride reindeer instead of horses.

* ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'' has two istances of a taoist character riding on the back of a tiger to show off his power. In both istances, there's a gag of normal soldiers panicking upon seeing the tiger approaching, only for the rider to reassure them that the beast is domesticated.

* The Defiant faction in ''VideoGame/{{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.