I am alive, Was waiting on this thread's first post.

On a side note. If we're gonna have fantasy creatures as well. I'd probably go with using Raptors as a standard mount of my nation :P

[img]http://dulfy.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/gw2-raptor-mount.jpg[/img]

Main rule of domestication. You want to make sure the animal won't bite you if you feed it from your hand. This one would be pretty questionable. It'd mean that at some point of time, someone looked at that and said "I want to climb on its back."

Due to the storms, lack of shelter, presence of canyons and chasms, a standard horse wouldn't work well. Either you need something large and heavy so it won't be bothered by the winds. Or you need something hardy, fast, and mobile to clear land quickly and leap over large chasms so you can make it to safety before the next storm.

The largest problem that would prevent a large calvary of Raptors is how hard it would be to train a rider. Wouldn't do a rider any good if they suddenly go flying off when this thing leaps over a chasm. And they aren't going to be too great at carrying a lot of junk or pulling wagons.

So... favored mount of Desert Rangers, Scouts, Messengers, and Outriders