I'm unclear as to how to manage a level 1 Druid's horse animal companion.
Is it automatically trained for riding? Do you have to spend 3 in-game weeks teaching it to be ridden? Does it get the 3 tricks listed under riding in Handle Animal for free if it can automatically be ridden? What is the literal, non-extrapolated consequence of riding an animal that isn't trained to be ridden? Instead of making a DC 20 Ride check to control a non-combat trained mount in battle, can you make a DC 10 Handle Animal check to have it perform a trick instead?
I'm unclear as to how to manage a level 1 Druid's horse animal companion.
Is it automatically trained for riding? Do you have to spend 3 in-game weeks teaching it to be ridden? Does it get the 3 tricks listed under riding in Handle Animal for free if it can automatically be ridden? What is the literal, non-extrapolated consequence of riding an animal that isn't trained to be ridden? Instead of making a DC 20 Ride check to control a non-combat trained mount in battle, can you make a DC 10 Handle Animal check to have it perform a trick instead?
Level 1 Animal Companion gets 1 bonus trick that doesn't need to me trained. Under Handle Animal it also says that an animal with an Int of 2 can have a max of 6 tricks. You say you need 3 for Riding, but what you'll prolly want it Combat Riding. I think what you want is Combat Training. Under the Handle Animal skill look for training for a general purpose and you'll see Combat Training. It cost 6 tricks, you have 7 total 1 free and 6 the Horse can learn. Talk to your GM about it. He might make you roll your Handle Animal skill to see if you get it or he just might give it to you.
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I'm unclear as to how to manage a level 1 Druid's horse animal companion.
Is it automatically trained for riding?
Yes and No. You need to train your companion tricks to get it to do things. If you want to train it in "Riding" for Come, Heel, and Stay you will need to succeed on a Handle Animal (DC 15) check and spend three weeks doing so). If you just want to ride it, start making your ride checks (but expect it to not do anything when you're not riding it).
Do you have to spend 3 in-game weeks teaching it to be ridden?
Yup. Unless it's a society character, then it's assumed to be trained between adventures.
Does it get the 3 tricks listed under riding in Handle Animal for free if it can automatically be ridden?
You have three options to train a mount for "riding".
1. You spend three weeks training the companion the and succeed on a Handle Animal (DC 15) check to train the animal in the "Riding" purpose.
2. You spend one week each on training the animal companion come, heel, and stay with a successful Handle Animal (DC 15) check each.
3. You wait until level 6 when your animal companion gets three bonus feats which you could have spent each of the three your companion got for free on the tricks of come, heel, and stay.
4. At level 4 you put your companion's first bonus attribute point in Intelligence making it an INT 3 creature that no longer needs to be ridden via tricks.
What is the literal, non-extrapolated consequence of riding an animal that isn't trained to be ridden?
I'm not sure this is the question you want to be asking. Any animal suitable for riding can be ridden. You just need to succeed on Ride checks to control it. The "Riding" tricks are there to help control your mount when you're not riding it (getting it to come to you, follow you, or stay where you want it to so it doesn't run off). Now if your companion isn't "combat trained" then you might have trouble when you try to ride the mount in combat and it starts getting spooked (the rules I believe are under the Ride skill and in the Mounted Combat section).
Instead of making a DC 20 Ride check to control a non-combat trained mount in battle, can you make a DC 10 Handle Animal check to have it perform a trick instead?
No. Non combat-trained mounts are going to get spooked in battle, and if you're riding it, it's a ride check, not a Handle Animal check.
I'm unclear as to how to manage a level 1 Druid's horse animal companion.
Is it automatically trained for riding?
It would appear that it is. Even though irl an animal takes a long time to be taught to obey a rider and put up with something squirming on its back with the pack and the sadle, handle animal has no "will be ridden" trick, nor is one included on the list of tricks taught under general purpose ride. This would seem to be a glaring oversight unless the animal comes ready to ride.
Do you have to spend 3 in-game weeks teaching it to be ridden?
You should probably assume that the animal has gone through training with his druid as the druid leveled up and get to the fun part of adventuring.
Does it get the 3 tricks listed under riding in Handle Animal for free if it can automatically be ridden?
The animal gets 6 tricks (three times its intelligence score) plus the bonus 1 for being a druid animal companion, of the players choice. The druid will most likely want to train the animal for combat.
What is the literal, non-extrapolated consequence of riding an animal that isn't trained to be ridden?
If you want to get technical and say that there's no "be ridden trick" you'd also have to get technical and point out that there is no "animal not trained to be ridden" penalty under the ride skill.
Instead of making a DC 20 Ride check to control a non-combat trained mount in battle, can you make a DC 10 Handle Animal check to have it perform a trick instead?
No. Being combat trained is a general task, not a specific trick. A druid can push an animal to perform a TRICK it doesn't know, but combat training is not a particular trick, its an entire group of tricks. Encouragement and orders from a druid won't give it the breadth and depth of training it needs not to panic when the monster is trying to eat it.
I just look at it this way. Talk to your GM before game. If your willing to roll Handle Animal checks for the tricks. I don't see why as a Druid you would have had time or took the time before you decide to adventure to train your Animal Companion in riding or combat training.
I just look at it this way. Talk to your GM before game. If your willing to roll Handle Animal checks for the tricks. I don't see why as a Druid you would have had time or took the time before you decide to adventure to train your Animal Companion in riding or combat training.
Because
1) you're starting trained in the handle animal skill. Presumably you've actually had an animal present to practice on.
2) Even non adventuring druids rarely set up shop in the middle of a safe town. They LIVE where you adventure. Having a trained animal companion from the day they're let off the apron strings is a good way to ensure novice druids have a slightly higher survival rate than carp.
3) You are spiritually bonded to this creature. Presumably that didn't happen over coffee at starbucks. More likely it came about during a long process of training together and learning to trust one another.
4) the druid's animal companion gets 1 bonus trick. No muss, no fuss, no training roll, no intelligence limit. If your dm insists the animal needs to be trained to ride, use that for riding and then train the animal for combat asap. For your second bonus trick, teach the animal to attack anything. otherwise it won't go after undead and a few other nasties.