History Main / TheAllegedSteed

* On the ClassicDisneyShort "They're Off!", Goofy bets on Snapshot III, the even money candidate, while someone else bets on the 100 to 1 shot Old Moe. Snapshot easily takes the lead and even trips up the other racers... except Old Moe, who through sheer perseverance closes up the gap, leading to a photo finish. The winner is [[spoiler:Old Moe, because Snapshot couldn't resist posing for the camera.]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor,'' Quentyn is very excited by the prospect of riding a unicorn...[[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00590.html until he sees it.]]

* In ''LordOfTheRings'', Bill the pony is expected to be this. While he's not ''quite'' a CoolHorse, he's no Alleged Steed either--it takes an ''EldritchAbomination'' to make him bolt.

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', Jaime Lannister is given an ancient gelding with a blind eye to prevent him from outrunning his captors while being escorted back to King's Landing for a prisoner exchange.

* An episode of ''{{Bottom}}'' revolves around ASimplePlan to raise £500 to place a bet at long odds on a three-legged blind horse called Sad Ken, after the bookie tricks them into thinking it's a dead cert. His performance is about as good as you'd expect, and the commentator informs us that they've had to shoot him [[RefugeInAudacity (and his jockey).]]

* In ''RedDeadRedemption'', the cheapest horses (as well as the easier ones to unlock in multiplayer) are diseased, weak, and tend to be very slow. You can also find donkeys in Mexico, which look healthier but move even slower.

* The title horse in the [[NewberyMedal Newbery]]-winning novel ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Wind King of the Wind]]'', Sham, is treated as an Alleged Steed for much of the book. After he's sent from the Caliph's stables (where he's prized as one of the finest horses) to the King of England as a gift, the English stablemaster considers him a long-necked, undersized, weedy runt and an insult to the stables, and sends him to the horse auction. Even his final owner considers him an Alleged Steed until the colt that he sired (on a mare he was never supposed to be allowed near) outraces all of the man's other, carefully-bred, racehorses, and realizes what he has in Sham. The epilogue explains that Sham is the horse known as the Godolphin Arabian, one of [[http://tiny.cc/nuwqv the three foundation sires]] of modern thoroughbred horses.

* [[WesternAnimation/DogtanianAndTheThreeMuskehounds Dogtanian]], like [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers d'Artagnan]], has an elderly yellow horse, this one called Sandy. (Although Sandy is a far better horse than he looks).

* From ''SilverSpoon'', we got ugly and temperamental Chestnut. [[spoiler:Of course, like many subversions on this page, [[WhatAPieceOfJunk in the hand of competent rider....]]]]

** The mismatched team that draws his chariot in the Roman Empire segments of ''ThreeAges''.

* The Disney animated short ''TheSmallOne'' is about a boy and his beloved donkey whom he can no longer afford to keep. The donkey is too weak to work, and the only person interested in buying him is a tanner who plans to make him into leather. [[spoiler:In the end, the boy gives the donkey to the biblical Mary and Joseph so the pregnant Mary can ride him to Jerusalem.]]

* In ''TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' segment of ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'', Ichabod Crane borrows a skin-and-bones, broken down plow horse to ride to Von Tassel's Halloween ball, traveling at a plodding pace. When faced with the Headless Horseman on the way home however, he panics and [[RunOrDie takes off like a champion racehorse,]] outrunning the Horseman's [[HellishHorse black steed.]]

* The nag the crew from ''{{Hustle}}'' attempt to pass off as a race horse in "Signing Up to Wealth".

[[folder:Borad Games]]

* ''{{DynastyWarriors}} 3'' has the horse the random soldiers use from time to time. Anyone can use em, and they move faster than walking, but they're scared of EVERYTHING!!! Wanna move across the battlefield? Better hope there are no troops in the way whatsoever. Yes, even your own. Otherwise, you're better off walking.

* In the Sky1 adaptation of ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Moist begins his long career as a con artist by selling off his family's worthless old nag - after cleaning it up so that it actually looks capable of being ridden.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''OnePiece'': Doc Q's horse, Stronger, which is as perpetually ill and frail seeming [[UncattyResemblance as his owner.]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''{{Asterix}}'': [[HonestJohnsDealership An extremely sharp-smiling horse dealer]] sells Asterix a carriage pulled by an awesome shiny black CoolHorse. Then it rains and the paint peels off, revealing it's a beaten down pale horse, shortly before the carriage's wheel falls off.
* Wit's horse in ''ComicBook/KajkoIKokosz''. He sure looks the part and is cowardly enough to climb trees when threatened. Since his master is a WarriorPoet with dreams of heroism and little common sense, a steed that actively avoids danger is an asset most of the time.
* A ''MickeyMouse'' comic had him tricked into buying a horse intended for the glue factory named Tanglefoot, who is useless as Mickey tries to teach him how to race. [[spoiler:Eventually, Mickey discovers that if Tanglefoot believes he's being chased by bees, he will run like the dickens.]]

[[folder: Film - Animated ]]

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Shrek}}'': {{Lampshaded}} with Donkey. [[spoiler:Until he becomes a stallion in ''Shrek 2''.]]
* The Disney animated short ''TheSmallOne'' is about a boy and his beloved donkey whom he can no longer afford to keep. The donkey is too weak to work, and the only person interested in buying him is a tanner who plans to make him into leather. [[spoiler:In the end, the boy gives the donkey to the biblical Mary and Joseph so the pregnant Mary can ride him to Jerusalem.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'': The Grand Chawhee, which only won the race because it was his birthday and the other horses wanted to do him a favor.
* In ''TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' segment of ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'', Ichabod Crane borrows a skin-and-bones, broken down plow horse to ride to Von Tassel's Halloween ball, traveling at a plodding pace. When faced with the Headless Horseman on the way home however, he panics and [[RunOrDie takes off like a champion racehorse,]] outrunning the Horseman's [[HellishHorse black steed.]]

[[folder: Film - Live-Action ]]

* Creator/BusterKeaton worked with a few:
** The deaf, denture-wearing horse in ''Film/{{Cops}}''.
** The mismatched team that draws his chariot in the Roman Empire segments of ''ThreeAges''.
* In ''Film/DeadMan'', the crazy {{Western}} industrialist (Robert Mitchum) not only hires three of the most "vicious killers of Men and Injuns in the West" to hunt down the murderer of his son, he wants them to return his "most prized posession"... ''a Pinto.'' Which he takes even more offense at.
-->'''Dickinson:''' Last night, my youngest son, Charlie was gunned down in cold blood right here in our own hotel. The gutless murderer... also shot to death Miss Thel Russel, the fiancee of my beloved son. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Not only that, but he stole a very spirited and valuable horse, a beautiful young Pinto that belonged to my personal family stable.]]
-->'''Conway Twill:''' Hell, only, a Pinto ain't rightly a horse to fret much about, if the truth be told --
-->'''Dickinson: Shut up!''' My boy Charlie is ''dead!'' Oh, I ain't askin' this time. I'm tellin'. And if somebody don't like it, I'm prepared to do a little killin' of my own. ''(later)'' I want this out over the wires. Post a $5000 reward from here to hell and back. Bring everybody in. I want that bastard's head. And make sure you include a full description of my Pinto. I want that horse back.
-->'''Twill:''' ''(cut to)'' ...goddamn Pinto is a stupid damn animal. Stupid as the day is long. Got his heart so set on one. Buy yourself a sorrel horse, and paint some white spots on him as far as I'm concerned. Course, ya can't put much stock in a man who spends the most part of a conversation... [[ItMakesSenseInContext talking to a bear... talking to a goddamn bear]].
* [[Film/TheThreeStooges Moe, Larry, and Curly]] ended up with one of these plugs [[RunningGag more than once]].
* Chong's horse in ''ShanghaiNoon'' devolves into this once it starts drinking.
* Kid Shelleen's horse in ''Film/CatBallou'' is apparently just as drunk as he is.

[[folder:Literature]]

* ''Literature/DonQuixote'': Rocinante, the noble steed of Don Quixote, has achieved TropeNamer status in the Spanish language.
* In ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'', d'Artagnan is introduced riding a yellow horse (later named Buttercup) so old and funny-looking that it is mocked by Rochefort, thus establishing the enmity between the characters. The resemblance of d'Artganan and Buttercup to Don Quixote and Rocinante is {{Lampshaded}} by the author.
* ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'': Ichabod Crane's borrowed mount, Gunpowder, in Washington Irving's story.
-->"The animal he bestrode was a broken-down plow-horse, that had outlived almost everything but its viciousness."
* The title horse in the [[NewberyMedal Newbery]]-winning novel ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Wind King of the Wind]]'', Sham, is treated as an Alleged Steed for much of the book. After he's sent from the Caliph's stables (where he's prized as one of the finest horses) to the King of England as a gift, the English stablemaster considers him a long-necked, undersized, weedy runt and an insult to the stables, and sends him to the horse auction. Even his final owner considers him an Alleged Steed until the colt that he sired (on a mare he was never supposed to be allowed near) outraces all of the man's other, carefully-bred, racehorses, and realizes what he has in Sham. The epilogue explains that Sham is the horse known as the Godolphin Arabian, one of [[http://tiny.cc/nuwqv the three foundation sires]] of modern thoroughbred horses.
* ''Literature/LandOfOz'' series:
** The Saw-horse in ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'', who has no joints in his legs and, at first at least, has no ears and can't follow directions, starts out as this. Later, he is revealed to be completely tireless and the fastest ride in Oz.
** Jim the Cab Horse is one of these before he came to Oz.
* ''The Brogue'': In the short story by Creator/{{Saki}}, the eponymous gelding is known throughout the neighborhood for violently startling at little to no provocation, recklessly endangering its rider. At the beginning of the story, its owner has finally managed to sell it . . . to his daughter's wealthy fiancé.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'' has Lieutenant Blouse's horse Thalecephalus, a skinny, bad-tempered brown ''mare'' named after a legendary stallion. (Blouse is ridiculously shortsighted.)
** ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' has Moist von Lipwig's talent to make Alleged Steeds look much better than they actually are, "for about ten minutes, or until it rains."
* In Douglas Hill's ''Blade of the Poisoner'' and ''Master of Fiends'', Scythe's horse Hob is a subversion, as he's a stealth CoolHorse.
* In ''LordOfTheRings'', Bill the pony is expected to be this. While he's not ''quite'' a CoolHorse, he's no Alleged Steed either--it takes an ''EldritchAbomination'' to make him bolt.
* In ''Literature/{{Cerberon}}'', Thedrik's old mule is half blind, unreliable, and cranky. He still chooses her over a good horse when given the chance.
* In ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Magic's Promise]]'' by MercedesLackey, there is a vile-tempered horse that's alleged to be a Shina'in stallion. All he's got is the colour.
* Talat from ''Literature/TheHeroAndTheCrown'' becomes this after a severe injury. Aerin helps to restore him to CoolHorse status.
* The parson Yorick in ''[[Literature/TristramShandy The Life And Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman]]'', owned one, explicitly compared to Rocinante. Despite a love of fine horses, he keeps this one to avoid the expense of constantly replacing them when worn out from being loaned out to fetch a doctor over several miles of bad road.
* In ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'', lord Venandakatra presents the Axumites with his largest, unruliest war elephants. The Axumites, being used to African elephants, soundly dissect the allegation that these runts are real elephants.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'': In "Crystal Hawks", Brisco is separated from Comet the Wonderhorse and has to buy a temporary replacement horse. Problem is, he's only got thirty dollars in his pocket. The resultant horse is so slow, stubborn, and dumb that Lord Bowler calls it a lemon when he sees it.
* An episode of ''{{Bottom}}'' revolves around ASimplePlan to raise £500 to place a bet at long odds on a three-legged blind horse called Sad Ken, after the bookie tricks them into thinking it's a dead cert. His performance is about as good as you'd expect, and the commentator informs us that they've had to shoot him [[RefugeInAudacity (and his jockey).]]
* The nag the crew from ''{{Hustle}}'' attempt to pass off as a race horse in "Signing Up to Wealth".
* In the Sky1 adaptation of ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Moist begins his long career as a con artist by selling off his family's worthless old nag - after cleaning it up so that it actually looks capable of being ridden.

[[folder:Music]]

* "Feetelbaum" from Music/SpikeJones' version of "The William Tell Overture", which was rendered on kitchen implements and used a horse race as a background. [[spoiler:He wins the race, and also manages to win ''the Indy 500'' in a later rendition of "Dance of the Hours".]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]

* [[RussianMythologyAndTales Russian]] hero of TheFool archetype is the youngest of three brothers who inherits The Horsie-Hunchie and was laughed at and dismissed for one more reason. It turns out not only Horsie [[SapientSteed can give a good advice]], but having him compete with normal steeds in running jumps is like [[GameBreaker bringing a grasshopper to cockroach racing]]. Whether he and/or the hero will [[TheMakeover look better]] later or whether he gets wings varies in different versions.
* CelticMythology: The hero Conn-Eda recieves a 'shaggy pony' from an old druid to bring him to fairy-land. The horse not only successfully does so, once they reach the outskirts of the fairies' city, [[SapientSteed it tells him]] that the only way for him to get in safely is for him to kill the pony, skin it, and wear its skin over his head until he gets inside the city. [[TearJerker He does so.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]

* ''{{Tumbleweeds}}'' had the main character's horse Epic, who chews tobacco and is a textbook Alleged Steed. One trail boss, on being told that Epic was a "quarter horse", responded "You've got change coming".

[[folder: Stand-Up Comedy ]]

* ''{{Seinfeld}}'': Jerry Seinfeld had a bit about horseback riding: the "U-shaped" horses he usually gets have names like "Almost Dead" and "Glue Stick."

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

* ''DungeonsAndDragons'' adventure T1 ''Village of Hommlet.'' If the {{PC}}s aren't careful when buying from the traders they can end up with a couple of "swaybacked, potbellied, spavined old plugs" pretending to be draft horses. The horses are 50% likely to stop every turn to rest, and if pushed by hard riding or carrying a heavy load they have a 50% chance of dying '''every 10 minutes'''.
* It is believed that in Chaturanga, the original form of TabletopGame/{{Chess}}, each King could move like the Horse (=Knight) exactly once.
* In TabletopGame/{{Shogi}}, when the Horse piece promotes, it moves like a Gold General (i.e. one square at a time in any direction except diagonally backward).

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''TalesOfTheQuestor,'' Quentyn is very excited by the prospect of riding a unicorn...[[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00590.html until he sees it.]]
* Played with in ''PennyArcade'': Gabe plays Bella Sara and accidentally creates [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/5/26/ The Unhorse]], which is this trope [[ExaggeratedTrope and then some]].

* ''FamilyGuy'': The brain-damaged horse Peter gets.

* ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'' has Lieutenant Blouse's horse Thalecephalus, a skinny, bad-tempered brown ''mare'' named after a legendary stallion. (Blouse is ridiculously shortsighted.)

* "Beetlebomb" from Music/SpikeJones' version of "The William Tell Overture", which was rendered on kitchen implements and used a horse race as a background. [[spoiler:He wins the race, and also manages to win ''the Indy 500'' in a later rendition of "Dance of the Hours".]]

-->'''Twill:''' ''(cut to)'' ...goddamn Pinto is a stupid damn animal. Stupid as the day is long. Got his heart so set on one. Buy yourself a sorrel horse, and paint some white spots on him as far as I'm concerned. Course, ya can't put much stock in a man who spends the most part of a conversation... talkin' to a bear.

* ''AllDogsGoToHeaven'': The Grand Chawhee, which only won the race because it was his birthday and the other horses wanted to do him a favor.
* In ''TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' segment of ''TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'', Ichabod Crane borrows a skin-and-bones, broken down plow horse to ride to Von Tassel's Halloween ball, traveling at a plodding pace. When faced with the Headless Horseman on the way home however, he panics and [[RunOrDie takes off like a champion racehorse,]] outrunning the Horseman's [[HellishHorse black steed.]]

* Talat from ''TheHeroAndTheCrown'' becomes this after a severe injury. Aerin helps to restore him to CoolHorse status.

* ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'': Ichabod Crane's horse, Gunpowder, in Washington Irving's story.

* ''{{Asterix}}'': [[HonestJohnsDealership An extremely sharp-smiling horse dealer]] sells Asterix is sold an awesome shiny black CoolHorse. Then it rains and the paint peels off, revealing it's a beaten down pale horse.

* ''{{Asterix}}'': [[HonestJohnsDealership An extremely sharp-smiling horse dealer]] sells Asterix is sold an awesome shiny black CoolHorse. Then it rains and the paint peels off, revealing it's a beaten down pale horse which faints a few panels later.