LE Immersive Horse Maintenance

[songofstars]

I had an idea that I thought would be cool, and probably meaningless (and maybe someone already had the idea and it didn't pan out?). I know there is the neat "Immersive Stabling" where you can take your horse to a stable in the cities and towns, and they are presumably taken care of, but I thought it would be cool to be able to care for your own horse. It wouldn't have to be a complicated mod, though maybe compatibility with other popular horse mods like Convenient Horses and Immersive Horses might complicate it enough on it's own. I just thought maybe the option to allow the horse to drink from a stream or a trough, to feed them grains or carrots out of your hand, to brush their coats, and to clean the rocks and muck out of their shoes would be neat and, while small in scope (maybe complex in execution), would add an element of immersion to the game.

 

Actual horse care is very timely, and adding an entire system revolving around horse needs like how "Realistic Needs and Diseases" or "Last Seed" revolves around player needs would be awfully complex and probably not enjoyable for most people... However, if someone was up for it, it would be cool to see something like that in place. We wouldn't be able to race across Skyrim without tending to their needs, just like how using Survival mods forces us to stop and camp, eat, and sleep. The detriments could affect mounts in a similar way, though likely largely revolving around their stamina. Untended horse shoes could slow them down, degrading their speed until they can only walk, and may eventually affect health. Horses consume a ton of water and grain each day, and so it would make sense to have them need to eat at least some. You could add guys at stables (or modify the stablekeepers or the people who work there) to sell feeding bags you hook around a horse's neck, and treats like carrots that maybe boost their stamina or something, and maintenance tools like brushes and picks. Drinking out of a stream would freshen your horse for long runs, and make it reasonable to need to find fresh water when you travel. You could have a "water bucket" for horses, where you melt snow or fill it up in the river for long journeys or on the fly watering. And then needing to brush a horse's coat, keep it clean for their personal health. It could get as extensive as horse injuries that need to be tended when you run them too long without tending to certain needs, or jumping from high places.

 

All of this may be impossible or too complex, or maybe no one is interested at all! I just thought I would post it in case anyone was!

Edited February 19, 2018 by rayne3