How Would A Pony Hold A Sword?

[Doctor Blueberry 18]

Horses have some of the strongest jaws of land mammals. Upwards of 800 pounds of pressure just on the teeth. That's probably somewhere around 350 psi considering the low surface area. That'd crunch your arm in half, no problem

 

Their necks are also strong enough to swing it with great force.

 

Overall if a horse charged me with a deer horn knife in mouth and it was trained to use it, I would be freaking terrified, lol.

 

Of course, ponies are weaker than full horses, but I would estimate a Shetland could put out at least 150 psi, enough to damage if not outright fracture your arm bones.

o_O ...scary strength, yeah I too would run...though how to outrun a horse?

Awesome information, great post/answer there

This thread makes me wonder how they have handled weapons in that Pathfinder Pony rpg that (kinda) recently got full backing on kickstarter.

[Dusknight Haze 161]

o_O ...scary strength, yeah I too would run...though how to outrun a horse?

Awesome information, great post/answer there

 

1. You couldn't outrun, but you could parry it. Horses are, like all things moving at high speeds and with great momentum, bad at turning. If you were brave enough to wait until the last few seconds to dodge to one of its shoulders you would have a good bit of time to run.

 

2. Thanks! I am basically google according to my friends, since I know so much random crap/am able to find random internet crap way faster than them.

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

Like that, bro.

 

In all honesty, Earthlings and Pegasai probably don't even use swords or the like. They probably have their own little weapons system to accommodate hoofs.

[Doctor Blueberry 18]

1. You couldn't outrun, but you could parry it. Horses are, like all things moving at high speeds and with great momentum, bad at turning. If you were brave enough to wait until the last few seconds to dodge to one of its shoulders you would have a good bit of time to run.

 

2. Thanks! I am basically google according to my friends, since I know so much random crap/am able to find random internet crap way faster than them.

1. the more I know, if I now ever makes any sentient intelligent horse-enemies.

 

2. Good, good. I myself usually searches for answers too, some people I know gives up to easily XD

 

Now onwards for me to read more fun topics...all while listening to some music by adrisaurus 

[Crispy 5,563]

Unicorns can levitate swords. Pegasuses and Earth Ponies will use their mouths. We have in-universe evidence for this, people:

 

bscap0136.jpg

 

Voila. Next question.

 

How this answer didn't end the thread is beyond me.  Canon trumps speculation.

 

Though the battle saddle from Fallout Equestria is a great idea.

[Dusknight Haze 161]

How this answer didn't end the thread is beyond me.  Canon trumps speculation.

 

That's a rapier, though. Useless in heavy battle for the most part, especially considering that, well, it has to be pointed the wrong way if holding it with a mouth! It could only be used for friendly fencing the way they're holding it.

 

When it comes to heavier swords being used maliciously, I doubt that method would be so efficient.

 

Also, why do they even use anthro swords? Doesn't make sense to me.

[Dawn Stripes 301]

How exactly can they hold and maneuver anything with their wings? lol

 

I don't doubt they could carry something, but actually fight while holding a sword? I doubt it.

 

Mm-hmm. I've always envisioned--well, multiple things, like the battle-saddle and its earlier incarnations in the form of Crystal-empire style jousting weapons...of course unicorns have no trouble if they want to train with TK...but the normal way I always envisioned was using the mouth. It's a pony's primary manipulator.

 

As for wings, however, I have this odd Winningverse-ish deal where most Pegasi fight like other ponies with the mouth, (or kicking from the air, because, frankly, with that kind of height advantage it's more valuable than a blade) but for ancient pegasi soldiers who were trapped on the ground--kind of like the samurai of old--there was a martial art called Krav Pega, which taught a pegasus to use their wings as striking limbs while keeping all four hooves on the ground, making them incredibly balanced and deadly opponents, or using 'wing-blades' which I guess would be some kind of blade fitted onto the crest of the wing. But Krav-Pega would basically come down to a ****load of conditioning, so that one's appropriate wing muscles are hard instead of sensitive and weak. 300 Wing-ups, on the wood! Gah...sounds just like my jiu-jutsu instructor...that's what I envision.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,307]

Personally, I think the hilt would be a sort of form fitted sleeve or cuff that would fit over either the front right or left hoof of the swordspony.

[Slaigh 118]

Actually, I gave this a bit of thought and thought that it was an excellent idea, so I made a rough model of a handled sword and got this, what do ya think?  

 

demo 1.png

 

demo 2.png

 

Demo 3.png

 

Thanks! (even though it's the artists idea, not mine )

 

So far it looks good, you just have the hoof turned the wrong way, it needs to be pointed inward, not outward.

 

Potentially unnecessary 3D advice below:

 

PS. I apologize if you know this already, but due to my history with teaching 3D, I must say it: To increase realism slightly smooth the object and/or increase subdivisions. The Polygons are divided, so the object is smoother, but edges are still defined. Unless of course you're going for that square-style that anime/RPGs love using, then you're all good!

 

The only example I have is from an old jet I made:

I wish I had a better example for you, (I used to make swords, shields, etc. out the wazoo!) but if you look aaround the engine intakes you can kinda see what I mean.

 

 

So yea, fix that hoof direction and *potentially* increase dem polygons and it'll be great! Btw, I like the gunmetal/purple color scheme. (It reminds me of Rarity )

[NavelColt 22,880]

I would think they would master the ability to hold it in their mouths, as they do with most things. Probably my inner One Piece fan talking.

[Slaigh 118]

I didn't see these mentioned. I doubt they'd use swords proper. I'd imagine they'd use their mouths to hold something more akin to Deer Horn Knives, since they'd be perfectly balanced and thus be able to move extremely fast with them, and also be able to charge along with swinging:

 

or 

 

are good examples of their design.

 

But the handle sword is also a good idea, it's just not as dynamically efficient as something they could use with their mouths. I could see either working, though.

 

Hmm I guess they will have to have quite the strong jaw to wield this, right?

Not that one can apply real-life logic to a cartoon but...do you know if a horse/pony do have strong teeth/jaws?

 

 

I think these would work better as horseshoes. Martial arts are pretty much canon, (Applebloom tries karate at one point) so why not have some Shaolin monk styled ponies fighting with these on their hooves rather than in their mouths? I think it could be pretty cool...

 

Also, if they carried these in their mouths swinging them, every time they took a swing they would leave their necks completely open to a dodge-counter attack *not a good tactic,* and if they charged straight like rams they would just skewer each other's eyes.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Slaigh

[Lunas Sorrow 21]

logically a pony couldn't hold a sword or spear, so if you actually think about it most items in Equestria shouldn't even exist becoz ponies have no reason for having them but rather they were used so that the viewers specifically the intended target viewers (little girls) to have a connection with mostly coz children knows what those things are and rather than invent things that the viewers might not be able to relate to the writers just used things that we humans know too well (sadles in particular arent suppose to be in a world where there are no riders for ponies)

[TheMangoPony 146]

You've all got it wrong. A pony holds a sword the same way a pony holds a rusty double edged Bavarian salami knife. There, I hope I helped clear things up.

[DippyOryan 6]

Well earth-ponies could use their mouths to swing a sword. And I am sure if Equestria were to make guns it would be fit for pony use.

I would think that Unicorns could use magic to lift a sword.

And Pegasi could possibly use their wing to hold a sword. This is just an assumption. 

[BmkCZ 3]

To be honest, one thing that I despise is when ponies use their front hoofs to hold a sword. (I don't see how that could work) what I like to see is better blacksmithing during the creation of weapons, and different classes to be implemented for different ponies.
Unicorns can use any weapon thanks to their magic, as long as they know how to use it.
Pegasuses are a little more difficult, but I can imagine them having more attached weapons, for example, helmets with spikes or even special hoof gloves to use during flight.
Earth ponies are more difficult, but I can imagine them having pole-type weapons, Spears, halberts, and so on, being mostly used to be physically stronger than the other two, it would be easier for them to maneuver or even move with the said weapon somehow hooked or attached to their side, with a simple move of their hoof allowing for it to switch from defense to offense.
Of course, it's hard to come up with ideas for it right on the spot.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

A handful of unicorns aside, ponies are shit at combat. You'd be better off with non-pones. Also, swords are overrated. Now that we've gotten this out of the way, let us explore some options:

 

One could try putting heavy barding on your dirt ponies. They could use their hind legs as war hammers. Designing a proper weapon for charged attacks would be tricky as merely having spikes on chanfron (helmet) would put too much strain on a pony's neck on impact. You'd need to design a pack saddle that could side-mount a lance and absorb the impact. It would be cumbersome to balance and hard to aim properly. Such saddle would probably be better used as a platform for a ballista that would be handled by another pony. A less sophisticated and very useful option would be for them to just drag a chariot with a field weapon. To evolve this idea further, an armored, spiked wagon that could shield a pony (or multiple ponies) from the front and sides could serve as a charging "tank". Still, the best weapon would be a creature that could ride a pony, but that's neither here nor there.

 

Pegasi would be best utilized by just giving them a sack of rocks each and let gravity do the rest. The more sophisticated option would be to use a long saw blade carried by a team of two pegasi. They'd swoop down and mow through a group of soft targets. Having a long blade would mean that the two pegasi wouldn't be in direct contact with the enemy. Having a slicing weapon carried by only one pegasus could open them to being countered by a simple polearm. However, for heavily armored targets, sacks of rocks would still work best. If you want to be more fancy, give them iron war darts instead.

 

Unicorns ... well, there are plenty of fans that fancy the use of swords via telekinesis. I say that's stupid AF. Every unicorn that can use such magic should use the magic itself as that's far better against heavy armor than any blade. Use telekinesis to disarm and hinder. That would use less mana and be far more helpful in organized combat. I believe other types of magic do not need to be addressed here.

[rascalrat 38]

tape 5 swords tto body

unicorn can use magic but would be kinda dangerous

[Rafa Stary 2,991]

I like the concept of Ponies using weapons, I would probably make a unicorn use telekinesis to hold a sword, while Earth Ponies and Pegasi would use some kind of equipment to attach swords to their hoofs