ESO's obsession with ponies

gamer559

So I've noticed one thing since playing the game for a while now. ESO (or maybe its Zeni or Bethesda) has this obsession with ponies for pets and I just don't get it. I'm not talking about horse mounts (understandable since most fantasy MMOs often have horses as mounts because IRL horses are used a lot for normal means of transportation outside of vehicles). I'm talking about the pony pets like this month's Dire Pony available in the Crown Store. I think I have like 5 pony pets that I've obtained not from single item purchase but through crates or bundles. I just don't get the appeal or obsession I've seen for something that seems odd to have as a pet. Yes you could also say the same for the French Bulldog that has about 100 variations of in the game but it understandable that a game (even a fantasy game) would have different variations of a dog in it. Same could be said of skeevers & mudcrabs which are kind of "inside jokes" with mobs within the game goo. Its ponies that just don't make any sense to me. Pic for reference.

SandandStars

u apparently never collected My Little Pony dolls as a child.

😘

Carcamongus

I find ESO's ponies to be scary. Perhaps this started when I got one from the daily rewards and I was watching it in 1st person. All of a sudden, it emits a hellish sound that was probably supposed to be a neigh. So, yeah, welwas are fine, undead pets are cool, but ponies give me the creeps.

fizzylu

The focus on pony pets is weird and I'm happy to see someone commenting on this. What goes on at Zenimax that they keep choosing to release ponies.... I can't even imagine.
@SandandStars and I was just about to say that maybe there's a bronie working at Zenimax, haha.

Ashryn

Its for all the little girls out there (who are now grown), whose parents never got them a pony!

Danikat

I don't know if lots of players actually like having a pet version of their mount or if ZOS just assume they do, but it seems like they make pet equivalents of a lot of the mounts, and the pony's are that for the horse mounts.

Lugaldu

Hoghorn

they are low maintenance beyond some regular brushing and hoof trimming, and handy if you are in a bad way and need emergency victuals while adventuring. for instance in coldharbour, where there is little to sustain mortals, beyond what they bring with them

LunaFlora

there really aren't that many pony pets compared to the dog and cat pets.

i love the ponies though. and the donkey pet is also awesome

spartaxoxo

There isn't one? People like ponies, and there's not that many of them. There's way more dogs, I think. Why doesn't a pony make sense? You can put any non-combat pets in your houses too. And if you have horses, it makes sense you might have ponies too.

ArchangelIsraphel

Relative to other types of pets in the game, we really don't have that many ponies, and haven't had a new recolor released since the abomination that was the Sadrith Mora Spore Pony. The one you've highlighted is a returning pet and is already many years old at this point. There really isn't an obsession with them at all, as they aren't used very frequently.

I like the pony pets. I personally have 14 different recolors, and there are likely more. We had a small influx of them back when they were making preview crates containing pets that matched the crown crate mounts. However, the number of ponies created was equal to the number of guars, wolf puppies, senche cubs, and other pets created.

Honestly, we have FAR more wolf puppies and senche cubs as in game pets than we do ponies.

M0ntie

What’s wrong with ponies as pets? I’d much rather a pet pony than some of the awful or visually annoying other pets

Monte_Cristo

Since ponies look like small horses, they can make a pony version for each horse mount. Pretty sure they did that with the indriks.

gamer559

spartaxoxo wrote: »

There isn't one? People like ponies, and there's not that many of them. There's way more dogs, I think. Why doesn't a pony make sense? You can put any non-combat pets in your houses too. And if you have horses, it makes sense you might have ponies too.

Two things. Ponies = young/mini versions of horses and most people who have horses do not have ponies. Real ponies are very ornery jerks who are prone to biting people including kids. Other thing is you could make/add ponies as housing items that can move like other stuff that are house items that can move or be interacted with (example being the new house guest ghost thing). Also there are a total of 28 pony pets specifically in ESO while there are only 9 bunnies (I'm including the 4 jerboa there too since they are "bunny-like"). If we're going for realistic comparisons, more people own a rabbit for a pet or livestock than a pony even in fantasy stories. Also dogs & cats are traditional pet in not just real life but in most games that have pets a player can obtain. Games go even further to have tons of wolves, bears, and other animals that a real person would never have as a pet because they are literal dangers to own. Having a dog, cat, wolf, bear/bear cub, demonic being, etc following you around in a fantasy video game makes sense. Having your choice of 28 ponies to have as a pet follow you around in a video oddly enough does not.

Grizzbeorn

I personally find horse mounts and pony pets to be boring, but I see a lot of people praising both and asking for more.

Lots of players want them.

colossalvoids

Wait until molag bal imp comes to eso, better see ponies tbh.

spartaxoxo

gamer559 wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

There isn't one? People like ponies, and there's not that many of them. There's way more dogs, I think. Why doesn't a pony make sense? You can put any non-combat pets in your houses too. And if you have horses, it makes sense you might have ponies too.

Two things. Ponies = young/mini versions of horses and most people who have horses do not have ponies. Real ponies are very ornery jerks who are prone to biting people including kids.

I know a pony is a baby horse. It doesn't matter if most people who own horses don't own ponies. Of the people who DO own ponies, many of them also own horses. So, a person who owns horses is also a logical person to own ponies.

This point is like saying it doesn't make sense to have a character wearing glasses as a fashion statement because most people who wear glasses need them as corrective lenses. Like, yes, most people need their glasses. It doesn't make fashion glasses illogical. They exist in the real world and plenty of people who own them.

It does not make more sense for a person to be able to keep a bear as a pet than a pony. Even in the world of ESO, pony ownership is going to be higher than owning a rare creature from another realm as well. But, we have plenty of daedric pets. More than ponies, iirc.

Dagoth_Rac

Danikat

gamer559 wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

There isn't one? People like ponies, and there's not that many of them. There's way more dogs, I think. Why doesn't a pony make sense? You can put any non-combat pets in your houses too. And if you have horses, it makes sense you might have ponies too.

Two things. Ponies = young/mini versions of horses and most people who have horses do not have ponies. Real ponies are very ornery jerks who are prone to biting people including kids. Other thing is you could make/add ponies as housing items that can move like other stuff that are house items that can move or be interacted with (example being the new house guest ghost thing). Also there are a total of 28 pony pets specifically in ESO while there are only 9 bunnies (I'm including the 4 jerboa there too since they are "bunny-like"). If we're going for realistic comparisons, more people own a rabbit for a pet or livestock than a pony even in fantasy stories. Also dogs & cats are traditional pet in not just real life but in most games that have pets a player can obtain. Games go even further to have tons of wolves, bears, and other animals that a real person would never have as a pet because they are literal dangers to own. Having a dog, cat, wolf, bear/bear cub, demonic being, etc following you around in a fantasy video game makes sense. Having your choice of 28 ponies to have as a pet follow you around in a video oddly enough does not.

So the argument here is that they don't fit your personal definition of acceptable breaks from reality for a fantasy game?

You're welcome to do as you like of course, but I don't see why your preferences should apply to anyone else.

I_killed_Vivec

I can see how it might open up some interesting dialogue...

You: "Hi, Moley! Can you hold off our final battle just a moment? I need to feed the pony."

Molag Bal: "Oh sure, take your time. I have a donkey sanctuary myself... do you need some hay? Can't be easy feeding your pony here in Oblivion."

You: "No, thanks for the offer but she only eats Columbine. Can get a bit pricey, but what Pony wants, Pony gets."

Molag Bal: "Fine, so let's get it on! I already have your soul... I think I'll dine on your pony tonight!"

You: "I'm sorry Moley, you know I can't let you do that."

16BitForestCat

I've honestly never looked around in game and thought, "Wow, ZOS is REALLY overusing this one pet!" unless it's a new one that just popped up in game. And even then, I'm more likely to think, "Cool, people really seem to like that new pet!" while rocking it myself.

(Later edit for clarity: I did get tired of indriks after a while, but that was because we had nonstop new indriks for years thanks to events. It hasn't been the same for other mount or pet types.)

Not many people get to have ponies, miniature horses, or horses IRL, so I'd imagine a lot of people want something different in their fantasy game life. I'm mostly confused that we have so many pony pets, but no foals/colts/fillies. We have deer fawns and other baby pets, but no baby equines.

I know a pony is a baby horse.

Oh my gosh, it is always hilarious to me when spartaxoxo comes in spouting incorrect nonsense to try and make herself look smart, but just makes a fool of herself. Hey, sparty, remember when you disagreed with a post, so you tried to discredit it by claiming the study linked in it wasn't a scholarly resource? But the linked study turned out to literally be the study that not only defined the topic of discussion, it's also the study that always gets brought up when discussion of that topic happens? Because it's so thorough, ethical, and accurate? Yeah, I'm still laughing myself sick at you over that one.

ArchMikem

Ponies are just smaller Horses. The game has the skeleton model as a baseline, they're easier to make.

Rogue_WolfESO

Ponies for the bronies

Sailor_Palutena

gamer559 wrote: »

So I've noticed one thing since playing the game for a while now. ESO (or maybe its Zeni or Bethesda) has this obsession with ponies for pets and I just don't get it. I'm not talking about horse mounts (understandable since most fantasy MMOs often have horses as mounts...

I play here since 2018 and I believe this game has more than 1000 skins for horses. I find it unbelievable how Tamriel has such a rich fauna yet, all they do is reharsh the same mounts and pets based on horses and similar animals. I don't feel inclined in getting a new mount as I used to, when playing Blizzard's mmo.

It also helps nothing when they finally decide to put an original cool mount available and lock it behind legendary boxes.

ArchangelIsraphel

gamer559 wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

There isn't one? People like ponies, and there's not that many of them. There's way more dogs, I think. Why doesn't a pony make sense? You can put any non-combat pets in your houses too. And if you have horses, it makes sense you might have ponies too.

Two things. Ponies = young/mini versions of horses and most people who have horses do not have ponies. Real ponies are very ornery jerks who are prone to biting people including kids. Other thing is you could make/add ponies as housing items that can move like other stuff that are house items that can move or be interacted with (example being the new house guest ghost thing). Also there are a total of 28 pony pets specifically in ESO while there are only 9 bunnies (I'm including the 4 jerboa there too since they are "bunny-like"). If we're going for realistic comparisons, more people own a rabbit for a pet or livestock than a pony even in fantasy stories. Also dogs & cats are traditional pet in not just real life but in most games that have pets a player can obtain. Games go even further to have tons of wolves, bears, and other animals that a real person would never have as a pet because they are literal dangers to own. Having a dog, cat, wolf, bear/bear cub, demonic being, etc following you around in a fantasy video game makes sense. Having your choice of 28 ponies to have as a pet follow you around in a video oddly enough does not.

Incorrect, in more ways than one. First of all:

Ponies are not "young horses". The correct term for a young horse is a foal. In the horse world, the word "pony" is often used as a term of endearment for horses of any age or size, leading to some confusion among those who are inexperienced with horses. But the words "pony" and "foal" are not synonyms for one another. The term "Colt" can be used for an ungelded young male horse or pony, and the word "Filly" can be used for a young female horse or pony. The only time you call a foal a pony is when it is the foal of an actual pony. A pony is a horse that is less than 14 hands high as a fully mature adult not when it is still a foal and growing.

The temperament of a pony depends on the breed, and how it has been handled and trained throughout it's life. Ponies aren't one and the same from breed to breed. Many, like the Connemara pony, which I have had the pleasure of working with in my life, have a very sweet and curious disposition. They are hard workers, pick up on new commands easily, and are absolutely lovely with children. There are certain breeds of pony which have cranky reputations, but ponies, like people, are individuals. Bad training, bad handling, and children not being taught how to behave around ponies is what leads to kids getting bitten. This is a problem with the adults handling the situation, not the pony.

Not all people who have horses own ponies, however ponies are often used as companion/friendship animals for horses so that they are not left alone in the field.

I've read quite a number of fantasy books that have ponies in them, either used as mounts, companion animals, or pack animals- functions for which the pony once served in the past and still serves today. Its more common than you might think, especially if you read a lot.

Ponies make more sense to have in this setting than you might think, especially if you know a thing or two about horses in history. Commonly used medieval horses were frequently no larger than a pony in many areas of the world, and were the backbone of societies which relied on them for war and the transport of goods, along with farming. The horse as we see it today is the result of many hundreds of years of selective breeding for larger, stronger animals. Not to mention the role evolution has played upon the horse in general.

Its actually weird, for the way the society in ESO operates, to not have MORE ponies. However, we have the Guar, who seems to be fulfilling the role of the medieval pony in this world. It also seems that this world has already selectively bred it's horses to be larger. In order for horses as you see them in game to exist, ponies would also have to exist in some manner, as horses evolved from the much smaller Eohippus in our own world. We even see the Guar, and the much smaller "Pony Guar" in this world. (Unless you want to pull the "because magic" card in this game, which personally, I feel, makes for bad storytelling)

But regardless, it isn't weird in the least for ponies to exist as pets, especially when you consider human nature- or, rather "mer" nature- I imagine, some equestrians of this world would find them just as lovely and useful as equestrians of this world do today, and they'd end up breeding them and selling them to adventurers inclined to train and own a pony alongside their other equine mounts.

A note on the rabbit comment- As someone who has owned both rabbits and ponies in their time, I have to say, I prefer the ponies in terms of temperment- but my rabbits were lovely, if impractical for this world due to the sheer amount of specific dietary needs they have to prevent their little digestive systems from going haywire. Meanwhile, many ponies are so hardy they can survive off of rough forage, and many do out in the wild. Keeping a rabbit alive on an adventure would be MUCH more difficult than keeping a pony alive. My ponies were always fed very well, but they loved going in search of tough grass and roots. Ponies are called "easy keepers" for a reason- they put on weight like there's no tomorrow, foraging as nature intended them to.

If you really want to get into why rabbits make difficult pets to care for, and why an adventurer really wouldn't want to be caring for one, Clint's Reptiles over on youtube has an excellent breakdown of rabbits as pets and the difficulties of owning them.

As to why there is more ponies than rabbits in this game? Simple- the rabbit mesh is much newer than the horse mesh, and hasn't been around quite as long. ZOS seems to be keeping it rare and mostly locked behind the crown store and crates in order to induce people to purchase it. The pony, having been around longer, has far more variations, especially since they think in terms of "matching" them to existing horse mounts, which I think has more to do with selling fans of horses and ponies shiny things than it does "making sense". But either way, it does make sense in the context of history and human nature.

TaSheen

As a long time horsewoman, I do agree with much you have posted @ArchangelIsraphel - I was never interested in ponies, myself, but I have done a website for a woman who used ponies as "mitigation animals" for children and adults with many issues (the listing of which isn't germane to this post). There was a website (not mine) detailing the whole thing, but it seems to not be viable any more.

My horses were.... not very interested in the "ponies next door". Or goats. Or ravens. They were happy to share the meadow with the mule deer.... but the turkeys sent my paint into hysterics (he was a virtual 2 year old until he died at 20....) I miss my boys but at my age, it's just not plausible to start over with horses. Not to mention the meadow (a quarter acre) isn't enough to feed them except for a month or so - and hay costs the earth around here.

So.... no more horses. *sigh*

ArchangelIsraphel

TaSheen wrote: »

As a long time horsewoman, I do agree with much you have posted @ArchangelIsraphel - I was never interested in ponies, myself, but I have done a website for a woman who used ponies as "mitigation animals" for children and adults with many issues (the listing of which isn't germane to this post). There was a website (not mine) detailing the whole thing, but it seems to not be viable any more.

My horses were.... not very interested in the "ponies next door". Or goats. Or ravens. They were happy to share the meadow with the mule deer.... but the turkeys sent my paint into hysterics (he was a virtual 2 year old until he died at 20....) I miss my boys but at my age, it's just not plausible to start over with horses. Not to mention the meadow (a quarter acre) isn't enough to feed them except for a month or so - and hay costs the earth around here.

So.... no more horses. *sigh*

Lovely to see another fellow horse lover! It's so interesting to read the horse stories of others, and see how different their personalities are. Thank you for sharing!

Your paint sounds like he was a lovely boy with lots of spirit, just how I like them. (Don't you just love paints? So intelligent and dependable.) I do wish you could still visit with horses!

In contrast, my own american paint gelding, Liberty, loves my elderly connemara pony. He gets nervous when he's away from his other horse and cow friends, so an older pony is the perfect companion for him.

In game, I like to apply that concept to my many horses rp wise- pony field companions for high strung war horses, that serve my characters as much loved pack animals when on an adventure. (How I wish my bosmers could ride them)

TaSheen

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

As a long time horsewoman, I do agree with much you have posted @ArchangelIsraphel - I was never interested in ponies, myself, but I have done a website for a woman who used ponies as "mitigation animals" for children and adults with many issues (the listing of which isn't germane to this post). There was a website (not mine) detailing the whole thing, but it seems to not be viable any more.

My horses were.... not very interested in the "ponies next door". Or goats. Or ravens. They were happy to share the meadow with the mule deer.... but the turkeys sent my paint into hysterics (he was a virtual 2 year old until he died at 20....) I miss my boys but at my age, it's just not plausible to start over with horses. Not to mention the meadow (a quarter acre) isn't enough to feed them except for a month or so - and hay costs the earth around here.

So.... no more horses. *sigh*

Lovely to see another fellow horse lover! It's so interesting to read the horse stories of others, and see how different their personalities are. Thank you for sharing!

Your paint sounds like he was a lovely boy with lots of spirit, just how I like them. (Don't you just love paints? So intelligent and dependable.) I do wish you could still visit with horses!

In contrast, my own american paint gelding, Liberty, loves my elderly connemara pony. He gets nervous when he's away from his other horse and cow friends, so an older pony is the perfect companion for him.

In game, I like to apply that concept to my many horses rp wise- pony field companions for high strung war horses, that serve my characters as much loved pack animals when on an adventure. (How I wish my bosmers could ride them)

My paint was a VERY intelligent guy. It was a stretch to keep up with him. He hated cows - but he was a marvelous cowhorse - stop, turn on a dime, give 9 cents change, and cut the cow off before she even had a clue! So, yeah, that was "work" - as in, helping various friends get their cattle off the range in late October.

Otherwise, just riding the mountain trails here - ANYTHING would spook him. I forgave him the rattlers, but mud? Jeez horse - give me a break! Seriously he slid, slipped and slithered, and dumped me underneath him, where he promptly landed on my chest.

Yeah, I screamed. He got off up on the bank, and husband plus the three friends bailed off their mounts and gathereed around me. "ARE YOU OKAY?!!!"

Sheesh. I didn't know right then. A few minutes later, yes, I could say I was okay. Bruised, muddy.... but not materially damaged. Took a hose to clean me up enough when we got home just so I could get into the basement though - and no, that's not a joke. I about froze to death (because it was early spring at about 8k feet) before I could strip and get upstairs to a hot shower and clean clothes!

Hapexamendios

I can't say I really noticed.

Tannus15

it's pretty obvious. they make a thing and put it in the store.
if it sells they reskin it and put it back in the store.
as long as the reskins keep selling they keep doing it.

Danikat

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

It also seems that this world has already selectively bred it's horses to be larger. In order for horses as you see them in game to exist, ponies would also have to exist in some manner, as horses evolved from the much smaller Eohippus in our own world. We even see the Guar, and the much smaller "Pony Guar" in this world. (Unless you want to pull the "because magic" card in this game, which personally, I feel, makes for bad storytelling)

There's also the other stock fantasy answer "a god did it".

According to the bosmer (and I think some other groups) everything was chaos and constantly changing until Y'ffre gave each thing in the Mundus it's name and story - defining it's form and purpose (while allowing some room for them to change over time). So it's possible he made horses bigger than wild Earth equines to enable them to fulfil their intended role.

Although it could also be a result of Tamriel's history being quite different to Earths. During the Dawn Era time was nonlinear and incomprehensible, but at the end of it mer society was already comparable to early medieval Europe but then there's been relatively little development in the thousands of years since then. So maybe there was a lot of selective breeding of horses in the Dawn Era (and into the Merethic when a lot of exploration was going on) and they got to something resembling modern horses at an earlier point compared to their technological development.