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A Horse for Bandobras  by Lindelea 1 Review(s)
shireboundReviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/22/2024
Bandobras froze, but Friend did not: the horse nudged the hobbit, folded his front legs and dropped his nose to the earth.

Such wonderful intelligence and communication!

Author Reply: I find myself wondering about Ranger horses. Did the Dúnedain raise and train their own horses? Did they have contact with the Rohirrim? (After all, Aragorn was said to have lived with the Rohirrim for a time.) Did the heirs of Isildur receive Elvish horses from Rivendell?

In any event, their horses would have to be intelligent and well-trained. They'd probably have to be capable of "intelligent disobedience" as well. (The best example I can think of is a guide dog that disobeys a direct order from its blind partner because it can perceive a danger that its partner can't. I've heard of such dogs taking their partners around obstacles instead of in a straight line, refusing to move forward when commanded, choosing a different route to a destination than their partner directs them to take, or even throwing themselves in front of their partner's knees and shoving them backwards out of the path of some oncoming danger.)

Here's hoping Friend's actions are believable, based on those ideas.

Thanks for reading and stoping to leave a good word. (((hugs)))

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