Line #25 Main/SeahorseSteed


1	[[quoteright:300:[[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stockartseahorse_4514.gif]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Hi-yo, [[StealthPun Seabiscuit]]. Away!]]
3
4	Due to the animal's appearance and name, sometimes seahorses are portrayed as the underwater equivalent of horses, and can be [[HorseOfADifferentColor ridden by characters]] or used as [[ChariotPulledByCats chariot pullers]].
5
6	This is particularly humorous, since RealLife seahorses are very, very small, the largest not exceeding 8 inches in length, and as slow as a fish can get without being totally immobile. Unlike most fish which move by using their pectoral fins to go slowly or their entire bodies to move quickly, seahorses swim by pushing themselves forward using only their dorsal fins. Since they spend most of their lives among coral or seaweed sucking up tiny crustaceans, they really don't ''need'' to be fast or agile.
7
8	SubTrope of ArtisticLicenseMarineBiology, HorseOfADifferentColor, PunBasedCreature. Compare and contrast OurHippocampsAreDifferent. See also SeahorsesAreDragons for another creature that seahorses are often compared to.
9	----
10	!!Examples:
11	[[foldercontrol]]
12
13	[[folder:Art]]
14	* In ''Art/TheApotheosisOfWashington'', Neptune rides two horses while navigating the seas that are just like normal horses, but with fins in the place of their hooves.
15	[[/folder]]
16
17	[[folder:Comic Books]]
18	* ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} sometimes rides a giant seahorse, named Storm (in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age\|of Comic Books}}, anyway). Storm returned a couple of times in the modern age, with writers and artists doing their best to make a giant seahorse DarkerAndEdgier. In ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', Black Lantern Aquaman rides a [[RaisingTheSteaks zombified]] Storm.
19	* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': A story where WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck, Scrooge, and Gyro discover an underwater kingdom near one of Scrooge's drilling sites. The seapeople have seahorse ''racing''.
20	* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfLuthor'', Kara and her Atlanteans friends Jerro and Lori ride three giant seahorses as searching the sea bottom for a rare isotope called "element z".
21	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: A few of the merfolk from Ronno's undersea village off the coast of Paradise Island ride giant seahorses sidesaddle.
22	[[/folder]]
23
24	[[folder:Films - Animation]]
25	* There is a seahorse race in Creator/DreamWorksAnimation's ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale''; Oscar lost all his money trying to bet on the races.
26	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'', Jiminy Cricket rides what appears to be a sea ''donkey''.
27	* In ''WesternAnimation/HelpImAFish,'' Sasha the seahorse helps carry the main characters around. [[spoiler:In the end, she is turned into an actual, land-bound pony.]]
28	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': King Triton has his chariot pulled by them.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]
32	* Giant seahorses are the steeds of choice for Xebelians (Mera's people) in ''Film/{{Aquaman\|2018}}''. Atlanteans prefer sharks. Arthur/Aquaman, of course, gets to ride a seahorse in the finale.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Literature]]
36	* In ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' in the far Eastern Sea Lucy sees a race of merpeople who ride seahorses
37	* In the children's book series ''Literature/MermaidTales'', one of the main characters owns a couple of seahorses for riding.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
41	* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Poseidon was often shown with his chariot pulled by horses or seahorses. However, these were originally different from regular seahorses, with the head of a horse, fins for hooves, and a dolphin tail. Note that Poseidon was the originator of horses (depending on the version, either from when he raped his sister Demeter or when his seed hit some rocks).
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
45	* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', aquatic elves and locathah sometimes capture and train Giant Sea Horses and use them as steeds.
46	* More than a few merfolk cards in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' have seahorses. These range from [[http://magiccards.info/in/en/248.html actual, if huge, seahorses]] to [[http://magiccards.info/fe/en/58.html a full-on hippocampus.]]
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Video Games]]
50	* In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'', Graham does this. They even have saddles. Do the mermaids ride them sidesaddle or something?
51	* Naija can ride seahorses in ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}'' for a boost in speed. There is a mini-game and a corresponding achievement for running a race on a seahorse.
52	* The city-building game ''VideoGame/AtlantisUnderwaterTycoon'' has a building, the "Atlantean Castle", that spawns merman knights that ride seahorses to protect your city.
53	* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Horsea and Skrelp (and their other evolutionary relatives), despite being very small, can be taught the move Surf via TM, which lets them ferry their Trainer around. You don't actually get to ''see'' yourself riding them, due to the game using a generic sprite depiction for all surfing Pokemon.
54	** Their fully evolved forms are around six feet long/tall and make more plausible steeds.
55	* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
56	** An early quest in the Vashj'ir underwater zone of the ''Cataclysm'' expansion allows the character to obtain such a mount, which is the fastest way to move there (and it is only usable there).
57	** Also since ''Cataclysm'', a seahorse mount that can be used in all of the other water zones of the game is obtainable, although it's a very, ''very'' rare drop.
58	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', Sora can ride the Tatsu Steed and Tatsu Blaze Dream Eaters if he performs a [[CombinationAttack Link Attack]] with them. Notable in that they're [[FlyingSeafoodSpecial the flying sort of seahorse]], and they also move extremely slowly like actual sea horses. The purpose of the move is to use them as a turret of sorts rather then transportation, though.
59	* ''Videogame/KingdomOfLoathing'''s "Under the Sea" quest was updated to include this. After rescuing the Sea Monkees, you can ask about the currents and you end up on a quest to tame a sea horse, granting you access past the currents and into the Merfolk's city as well as increase combat initiative. Hilariously enough, the sea horse side-quest is also one massive reference to ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' as the seahorse's random name generator produces a pony-like name and it's implied to be as colorful as they are.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Webcomics]]
63	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Eridan's lusus is a giant flying seahorse that serves as his steed while he hunts other trolls' lusii, [[https://www.homestuck.com/story/2408 as seen here]].
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Web Original]]
67	* In the credits of Yahtzee Croshaw's WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation "review" of ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', he's riding a seahorse. (With Music/JimiHendrix?)
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Western Animation]]
71	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' where Scrooge, Gyro, Launchpad, and Doofus visit {{Atlantis}} has all of [[FishPeople the Atlanteans]] use seahorses as mounts.
72	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', [=SpongeBob=] befriends a seahorse he calls Mystery. Seahorses are also regularly depicted for horseback riding scenes or as chariot-pullers, such as the seahorses that pull King Neptune's chariot in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie''.
73	* Naturally, ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1992'' has Ariel tame an uncontrollable, purple seahorse named [[ShoutOut Stormy]]. Other episodes had merpeople riding seahorses, as well. Averted with Herald the seahorse, however.
74	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'' featured Mon Calamari riding giant seahorse-alikes and other aquatic creatures.
75	* No actual ''riding'' was involved, but it nevertheless bears mentioning that the original ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' cartoon got in on the act as well with the Seaponies, their debut involving an infamously trippy musical number.
76	* In the {{Atlantis}} episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', Isabella mentions that she could get an [[MeritBadgesForEverything underwater equestrian badge]] if they find a seahorse. When they come across some, Baljeet brings that up, only for her to say that she was only joking and [[LampshadeHanging point out that they are far too small to ride]]. After that, Buford [[DoubleSubversion rounds several up together and proceeds to ride them]].
77	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SeahorseSteed