Overview
Appearance and Traits
The Sereti horse's most defining features are their high held tail, their arched neck, concave profile, delicate yet sturdy skeleton, large nostrils and long eyelashes. Their build makes them ideal horses for riding both in arid and rocky landscapes. They're a brave breed that will go places where other arid horses will dare not.
Other horse breeds rarely match their endurance and speed.
These horses come in various coat colours like black, grey, chestnut, palomino and bay, with some even sporting unique white markings.
Certain sub-strains are renowned for specific coat patterns.
Temperament
They are easily trainable, though mileage may vary depending on the strain.
The Sereti horse's fierce loyalty is unique among horses, with many able to report how these steeds not only returned to their masters but also escaped captivity from the enemy to return to their home stables.
Habitat
These horses are bred in the eastern side of the Seret mountains, as well as its lowland and desert.
They are adapted for both rocky and sandy terrain, making them a highly versatile breed of horse.
Those horses that are raised in the mountains have better aerobic metabolism, letting them put more energy in any given task with better results. While those horses bred in the desert have wider hooves that make treading the desert easier for them.
Prestige and Rarity
The Sereti horse is prized among the populace, no doubt for its effective use in the military and transportation. Breeders do not sell outside of their native range, as to not give advantage to their enemies, and if an outlander does happen to have one, it is usually a gelding.
Rarely a horse of high prestige may be gifted to foreign nobles, those horses (Usually Hamtus or Damaqus) may have contributed to lineages of excellent racehorses.
Traits
There are three distinct strains of the Sereti horse.
Beauty, speed and a feminine look. Hamtu horses are slender with long, slim, pillar-like legs. There is a certain kind of angularity to their form, pronounced with a serpentine neck. The Hamtu horses are characterised as highly spirited in nature. Their slim grace made them an ideal horse for mounted archery. These horses are commonly ridden for races or atacks involving ambushes.
The most common type of Hamtu is the Ṣerru Hamtu also known as the 'snake hamtu'. There is another type, a substrain called the Šanû Hamtu, which has a straighter neck and face- Some breeders prefer the more angular look of the Šanu Hamtu.
Power, strength, endurance and a masculine appearance. The
Shadadu horses have a broad chest and strong hindquarters, however, they do not have as pronounced of a forehead bulge. These horses are fighters, their strength and compact stature make them ideal horses for heavy cavalry and due to their muscle structure, are the quickest horse to accelerate and are best adapted for delivering high bursts of energy at any given time. Equally so they can change direction at any given time and come to a full stop in a mere moment, which makes them idea for close quarter combat.
Refinement, beauty, balance. Such is the
Damaqu horse. Their body appears as if drawn with a paintbrush; their lines of the body flowing gracefully onto each other. Their back has a saddle-like appearance and their temperament and gait are lively.. Their waist is broad but not as deep as a Šadadu's. They are generally prized for their beauty and endurance, though they have proven themselves as versitile war mounts as well, however, they are not as specialised as the Šadadu for close combat, preffering to be used in charges and hit-and-run ambushes.