History Main / InvulnerableHorses

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Ordinary horses (and most other similar-sized mounts) are effectively invulnerable; a mount has its own attack but in combat only the rider can be hit, and if he's killed then both rider and mount are removed (in one case, the mount is sufficiently intelligent and attached to its owner that it drags his body away from the battle). Thus it's impossible in the rules to, for example, unhorse a knight and have him stick around and fight on foot. In fact, cavalry units generally have an extra [[HitPoints Wound]] than infantry, so horses even make their ''riders'' more invulnerable. In some versions of the fluff, it's noted that a "killed" cavalryman may have simply lost his horse, dismissing a knight without his steed as ineffective.

Come to think of it, the "expensive" and "wasteful" parts make this a JustifiedTrope in some situations; trained horses have a pretty good resale value if you manage to kill the rider instead.

[[folder:Film]]

** A notable subversion occurs in the Orient cycle. Upon confronting a group of enemy Beduins, Charlie tells his friends to "aim for the horses", in one of his attempts to avoid taking human lives. Then he notices how ''good'' the bandits' horses are: "I changed my mind. Shoot the bandits." (They end up shooting the Arab's spears in two and their guns out of their hands, because, let's face it, that's much more awe-inspiring.

** Bayek's mounts are nigh-indestructible. They can ride through the desert for hours on end, be stabbed, slashed, shot, set on ''fire'', and soon get back up again fresh as a daisy... except in ''Curse of the Pharaohs'', where the Pharaohs can kill Bayek's steed (and even then, only for as long as they're around. Once the ghosts are gone, Bayek's able to summon them again).

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Horses are no less mortal than any other mobs in the game. They can easily fall from too high places, stumble upon cacti, fall into lava or get in the way of exploding Creepers. Good thing they have RegeneratingHealth though.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' has an interesting case. The Titans, the primary antagonists of the series, solely target humans and ignore all other organisms. However, horses are the most likely to get injured or killed since Titans are [[SuperPersistentPredator so damn persistent]] when trying to capture and devour humans and a human's only chance of escaping a Titan is on horseback. In fact, horses used by the Survey Corps are specifically bred to outrun titans. The Female Titan took this UpToEleven, when she charged up to a riding soldier and ''punted'' him and his horse, sending them flying football fields away.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/EldenRing''. Your steed, Torrent, has his own separate health bar and hitbox, and you can fall off if his posture gets broken or gets killed. Drinking a Flask of Crimson Tears also heals Torrent, and you can use one flask charge to revive Torrent.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Averted, as not even horses are safe from being killed horrifically, [[{{Gorn}} like everyone else]].