The Horse is an animal that appears as a campaign unit in Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III. In Age of Empires and Age of Mythology, it is a beta unit cut from the retail releases of both titles, though it was officially introduced to the former game with Return of Rome.
Age of Empires[]
Riderless Horses were only officially introduced in the Return of Rome expansion. The black Horse in the original Age of Empires is a Gaia-only hidden unit.
The unit in Return of Rome has a unique icon, which corresponds to the black coat appearance in the original game, but in-game they use the same assets as the Horses of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, and none feature a black coat as portrayed in the icon.
They are decoration units, and thus cannot be hunted and do not yield any food. Unlike other animals, and like non-animal Gaia units, they are also capturable by a human player. Like their Age of Empires II counterpart, if they are placed under the control of the player in certain game modes or maps such as MegaRandom, they can function as scout units.
The Horse has a non-capturable counterpart that behaves like Deer: the Wild Horse.
Before Return of Rome[]
In the original game, the Horse does not appear in-game by default, despite being seen on the pre-game maps for the The Holy Man and The Assassins scenarios. If accessed via special game editors, the Horse can be placed in a scenario as a Gaia unit.
It is a large black Horse with spots near its tail, and much bigger than other cavalry in the game. It produces the same sounds as other horses. If other units approach it, it will run away much like a Gazelle, but is startled more easily. Unlike other animals, it is a purely decorative unit that holds no food. Despite this, it can be hunted by Villagers in the original Age of Empires, and instantly disappears when killed as it lacks a dying animation. Other units can't be ordered to attack it.
The Horse underwent some changes in The Rise of Rome. No player-controlled unit, including Villagers, can attack Horses anymore, even though the words "Right-click to hunt this animal" will still appear if the mouse is hovered over a Horse. Right-clicking will just send the player's Villagers to the spot where it is/was standing. CPU Villagers will approach it to hunt it, but they will simply follow it around without ever turning into Hunters. On the other hand, Lions will chase Horses the same way they attack Gazelles in The Rise of Rome.
Additionally, in The Rise of Rome, the Horse will disappear while in running animation, reappearing every time it comes to a stop. The Horse has the dying animation of a Gazelle and the carcass of a Lion in the expansion.
If "gaia" is typed in as a cheat, the Horse can be controlled just like any other animal in the game, although it cannot attack. In The Rise of Rome, it does not disappear if the player is moving it around. This is because it is configured to use different animations for moving after an order and for running away, with assets for the latter missing. It can be killed if the player presses "Delete".
Another way to kill it is by activating "Attack Ground" at the spot where it is standing, with a Catapult or other similar unit. Horses are affected by the splash damage of melee units like War Elephants, too.
During development, it was planned that Horses (and also Goats) would be created as food sources in a building called "Pasture" that was similar to the Livestock Pen in Age of Empires III.
Age of Empires II[]
The Horse, like the Camel and the Bactrian Camel, is an untrainable unit that is found mostly in campaign scenarios. Two exceptions are the random maps Steppe, where each player begins with a horse instead of a Scout Cavalry and MegaRandom, where the same is possible. The Horse is also considered a scout unit, and can use Auto Scout. Horses do not cost any population space. They are immune to conversion.
Horses appear in the Units tab of the Scenario Editor. If assigned to Gaia, they will behave just like regular military units in that they switch allegiance to human players as soon as they are seen by one of their units and will never switch again, unlike Herdable animals. Similarly, enemy units in aggressive stance attack Horses.
Horses outside of campaigns fulfill the role of Scout Cavalry or Eagle Scouts, as they have the same speed, line of sight and armor class as a regular Scout Cavalry in addition to having 5 more hit points. Unlike these scouts, however, they are unable to attack other units or profit from upgrades.
Up until hotfix 39515, the Horse (and its functional counterparts) were of very limited use, as their ability of scouting was limited by a poor Line of Sight of only 2, fulfilling a mostly decorative role. In this hotfix, these units were changed to have the same speed, line of sight and armor class as regular Dark Age Scout Cavalry. Further, in update 39284, it was made possible to load them into Transport Ships.
Some scenarios have objectives revolving around capturing, keeping, or moving around a number of Horses:
- In the third scenario of the Montezuma campaign, the player may opt to defeat Cortéz by capturing 20 Horses from him and bringing them to a walled area controlled by the player. The Horses are controlled by Cortéz and will not turn over to the player's control until the walls around them are breached and Aztec units enter their enclosures. As a result, it is possible for archers in aggressive stance to kill the Horses from outside, complicating the challenge. The player's ally Tabasco may also breach an enclosure and kill Horses but will usually surrender before this happens. After switching to the player's control, Cortéz and his ally Tlaxcala will attack the Horses.
- In the fifth scenario of the same campaign, the player can capture Horses and bring them to a citadel, where they will turn into Elite Tarkans (Xolotl Warriors in the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition). In this case, the Horses are initially controlled by Gaia despite being in walled areas controlled by Cortéz, and will switch over to the player even if the walls are not breached. This can potentially result in Cortéz killing the Horses while still walled in, if the player cannot break the walls in time.
- In the first scenario of the Attila the Hun campaign, the Scythians, in gratitude for Attila's rescue of their prince from the Romans, will ally themselves with the Huns if the Huns bring them ten Horses. The player starts with three Horses but the scenario can be won without giving them up, as there are more than ten Gaia Horses scattered through the map.
- In both the first and third scenario of the El Cid campaign, the player is required to move the titular character near one particular Horse (Babieca) so he will turn into his mounted version, El Cid Campeador. In this case, Babieca is controlled initially by the player's allies, King Sancho and King Alfonso respectively.
- In Pearl of the East, Babur is tasked by Targhai to bring him 10 white Horses before joining Babur's ranks. There is also a non-white Horse present which will not count towards the objective. Once brought enough Horses, Targhai will join Babur in subjugating Samarkand.
- Several Horses are present within Erzincan in The Red Hats, initially dismounted alongside some Villagers. This is an Aq Qoyunlu ambush that needs to be beaten to take over Erzincan.
- Some Horses are present in Yury's camp in The Protectorate.
- Several other appearances of Horses are as placeholder units for certain players to prevent them from being defeated automatically. This is prior to the Definitive Edition, since which they are no longer needed.
All Horses in The Conquerors and HD expansions are bay dun with dark manes. However in the Definitive Edition, Horses appear in five variants: Horse A, Horse B, Horse C, Horse D, and Horse E. They are listed as different units in the Editor as they are internally separate, but are identical in everything except coat. A is the original Horse, B is heavier and with woolly ankles like a draft horse, C is white with dark mane, D is white with blond mane, and E is bicolor brown and white. All variants have the bay dun as their icon.
Just like the Bactrian Camel has the Wild Bactrian Camel and the Camel has the Wild Camel, the Horse has a non-capturable counterpart that behaves like Deer: the Wild Horse.
Hunnic Horse[]
Since The Mountain Royals - update 99311, one Hunnic Horse is spawned at the Town Center for a Hun player in nomad game modes after the Town Center is completed. The Hunnic Horse is identical to the regular Horse, and like the latter, it is also considered a scout unit. It can Auto Scout since update 111772. With update 125283, the movement speed of the Hunnic Horse is reduced from 1.2 to 1.05.
This is to compensate for the lack of starting wood to construct most other buildings that Hun players are limited by in this game mode, especially Docks, that other civilizations are able to construct right at the start. Like Horses, they are also immune to conversion.
Age of Mythology[]
Horses were originally intended to appear in Age of Mythology, but ended up being cut for unknown reasons. However, a close relative, the Zebra, appears.
Age of Empires III[]
| “ | Wild Mustangs. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
In the Respect scenario of the Act II: Ice campaign, the player earns respect from the Lakota tribesmen if they bring them five horses. Like in previous Age of Empires games, these cannot be killed, nor can they attack. However, with decent speed, they are useful for scouting. The horses coats come in a range of colors from white, brown, or a mix of both.
Non-selectable horses also appear in certain native villages like the Cheyenne, Lakota, and Comanche in Skirmish maps.
History[]
| “ | Scientific Name: Equus caballus Approx. Size: 5 ft. at the shoulder, 1,000 lb. Diet: Grasses, feed Horses are long-legged, single-toed mammals that rely on speed and awareness to flee predators. They are social animals, living in herds led by matriarchs. Horses use elaborate body language to communicate with one another, which humans can learn and use to better communicate with horses. Though domesticated, horses are prey animals and their cooperation with man must be learned. There are many characteristics that define various breeds: color, gait, temperament, and size are just a few. Almost all modern horse breeds trace their ancestry back to Arabian horses. When the Europeans arrived in the New World, they brought horses. Many Native American nations saw and embraced the power and utility of horses. Equus is thought to have evolved in North America millions of years ago, spreading to other parts of the world. Around 10,000 years ago they mysteriously vanished from North America and were unknown on the continent until Europeans reintroduced them. |
” |
Gallery[]
| Animals in Age of Empires | |
|---|---|
Until  Definitive Edition | |
| Huntables |  Gazelle ·  Elephant |
| Predators |  Alligator ·  Lion ·  Crocodile |
| Marine creatures |  Shore Fish ·  Tuna ·  Salmon ·  Whale |
| Animal Kings | Lion (Alpha) · Crocodile (Alpha) · Gazelle (Alpha) · Elephant (Alpha) |
| Other | Lion (tame) |
| Decorative |  Bird ·  Dragon |
| Cut |  Horse ·  Goat |
Including  Return of Rome | |
| Huntable |  Deer ·  Ibex ·  Iron Boar · Javelina ·  Ostrich ·  Rhinoceros · Wild Boar ·  Zebra |
| Herdable |  Cow ·  Goat ·  Goose ·  Llama ·  Pig ·  Sheep ·  Turkey ·  Water Buffalo |
| Predator |  Bear ·  Dire Wolf ·  Jaguar ·  Komodo Dragon · Rabid Wolf ·  Snow Leopard ·  Tiger · Wolf |
| Civilian |  Bactrian Camel ·  Camel ·  Donkey ·  Horse |
| Military animals |  Alfred the Alpaca ·  Furious the Monkey Boy ·  Penguin |
| Decorative | Wild Bactrian Camel · Wild Camel · Wild Horse |
| Marine animals |  Box Turtles ·  Dolphin ·  Dorado ·  Marlin ·  Perch ·  Snapper |
| Animals in Age of Empires II | |
|---|---|
| Herdable animals | Cow · Goat · Goose · Llama · Pig · Sheep · Turkey · Water Buffalo |
| Timid huntables | Deer · Gazelle · Ibex · Mouflon · Ostrich · Zebra |
| Aggressive huntables |  Elephant · Iron Boar · Javelina · Rhinoceros · Wild Boar |
| Wild animals | Bear ·  Crocodile · Dire Wolf · Jaguar · Komodo Dragon ·  Lion · Rabid Wolf · Snow Leopard · Tiger · Wolf |
| Marine animals | Box Turtles · Dolphin · Dorado · Marlin ·  Oysters · Perch · Salmon · Shore Fish · Snapper · Tuna |
| Civilian animals | Bactrian Camel · Camel · Donkey ·  Horse |
| Military animals | Alfred the Alpaca · Furious the Monkey Boy · Penguin |
| Hero animals |  Hunting Wolf ·  Ornlu the Wolf |
| Decorative animals |  Bird ·  Stormy Dog · Wild Bactrian Camel · Wild Camel · Wild Horse |
| Animals (non-myth units) in Age of Mythology | |
|---|---|
| Herdable animals |  Cow ·  Goat ·  Pig ·  Yak |
| Timid huntables |  Baboon ·  Caribou ·  Chicken ·  Crowned Crane ·  Deer ·  Duck ·  Elk ·  Gazelle ·  Giraffe ·  Monkey ·  Zebra |
| Aggressive huntables |  Aurochs ·  Boar ·  Elephant ·  Hippopotamus ·  Ram ·  Rhinoceros ·  Walrus ·  Water Buffalo |
| Wild animals |  Arctic Wolf ·  Crocodile ·  Bear ·  Hyena ·  Lion ·  Lizard ·  Panda Bear ·  Polar Bear ·  Serpent (Predator) ·  Tiger ·  Wolf |
| Military animals | Animal of Set · Golden Lion · Relic Monkey |
| Fish |  Herring · Mahi-mahi · Perch · Salmon |
| Decorative animals | Bird ( Eagle ·  Hawk · Parrot ·  Vulture) · Hawksbill Turtle · Orca · Shark · Whale |
| Scenario Editor-exclusive animals |  Alfred ·  Dog · Giant Duck-Billed Platypus ·  Golden Fleece (also herdable) ·  Reindeer |
| Cheat animals |  Chicken Exploding |
| Cut animals | Anchovies ·  Camel · Horse · Musk Ox · Nubian Goat · Shore Fish · Unicorn |
