Ok, so maybe my sister-in-law is rubbing of on me but I got to thinking as the PC's picked up horses from a party members ranch (long adventure hook, not going to go into it). Not all horses are the same, I know it is easier to just break them down into riding horses, war horses, and draft horses. Certainly some breeds of riding horses are faster than others, and some draft horses can pull a heavier load than others.
Any one have any ideas as to how I can reflect this in game?
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Horsie traits
Taldan Prancer: gives a +2 to handle animal checks
Dwarven pony: Has +2 to acrobatics checks for staying on a narrow surface
Nidal charger: gains 10 feet of movement when charging
Elven White shadow: gains +3 to stealth checks on forests.
Irrisean pony: +4 on survival checks vs cold thanks to a shaggy coat.
They probably cost an extra 150 gold or so.
You can also alter what the default feat that they come with is. You can replace endurance with fleet for a thoroughbred for example
Historically, Knights and Men-at-Arms referred to their horses by 4 types (these are not breeds, just categories):
Palfrey - A light, fast horse for everyday riding
Rouncey - A light, agile horse suitable for riding or for light cavalry
Courser - A strong, balanced horse capable of carrying a heavily armored knight into battle
Destrier - A powerful horse, likely a heavy draft breed, nearly unmanageable unless carefully, and expensively, trained from birth
Assigning horses to a limited categorical set might help to prevent a potential breeding glut. Anyway, at least it's a place to start.
Palfrey and destrier could be of the same breed, except that the palfrey would be gaited, while the destrier isn't.
I gave much thoughts on the matter myself, but I think Wolf is on the right track. Treat the RaW warhorse as your standard, non-descript horse and give small bonuses to breeds or traits.
of the potential bonuses, I could think of (in addition to those proposed by BigNorseWolf):
Palfrey and destrier could be of the same breed, ... I could think of (in addition to those proposed by BigNorseWolf):
+2 bonus on master's Handle Animal to learn tricks
kindness
Can learn tricks in 1/2 time, and/or can learn 1 extra bonus trick
magic
+2 bonus to ride checks
+2 bonus on saving throws and skill checks made to stay on saddle
honesty
+2 bonus against fear effects
laughter
Will naturally attack rather than flee when undirected
loyalty
+10 overland speed
treat mountainous terrain as hills for the purpose of determining overland distance in one day of travel.
New attack form (such as a trample attack)
+4 bonus on jump checks
bonus feat
generosity
and of course, HD advancement (which result in higher attacks and saves).
My serious advice is to that you should go with the standard method for adding racial traits (when it comes to PC's or their stuff), a specialized bonus with what is usually a more generic, but small, penalty.
The advantages can outweigh what is lost if the horses still cost more (which makes sense for pure breeds), but I still feel like a normal horse has something where they have the advantage, even if it is a tiny one.
Cool Ideas thanks...I have also been looking through the old 3.5 & 2nd edition stuff for ideas as well.