Desert Sprinter

The Desert Sprinter, also known as a Horned Horse, is an animal found within the Burning Plain and Tovak deserts. The Desert Sprinter is known for its fast speed even in heavy sand and are one of two creatures used Tovaks as a mount, the other being the Armored Lizard.

Description

The average Desert Sprinter stands at thirteen hands high, although varying breeds can have varying sizes with being known to be as a large as seventeen hands high and as little as ten hands high. It has a grey coat with a white underside, separated from the grey by a stripe of black, with black stripes where the head attaches to the neck, along the nose, and from the eye to the mouth and on the forehead. The mane is small and chestnut-colored; the ringed horns are thin and straight. They are found on both sexes and typically measure 30–31 in.

Desert Sprinters live in semi-deserts, deserts, and steppes, where they eat grass, leaves, fruit and buds. They are able to store water by raising their body temperatures (so as to avoid perspiration) and their kidneys preventing water loss from urination. They can survive without water for nine to ten months and can get water from water-rich plants such as the wild melon. They gather in herds of five to 40 animals, often with females moving at the front and a large male guarding from the rear. Some older males are solitary.

Their natural predators are lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, golden jackals, vultures and wild dogs, who mostly kill weak and young desert sprinters.