Ratoukhit the Cardassian Riding Hound

[TerokNor]

It is beautiful! Certainly would like one of those. How tall is a riding hound?

TerokNor

[Nerys Ghemor]

I'm not quite sure, but they're big enough to carry a grown man comfortably.

I don't think they can do some of the tasks that a draft horse can, though--not sure if they were bred big enough or if they are patient enough for that. I think different animals have to be used for those kinds of tasks.

[TerokNor]

Wondering...does it has hair in your imagination, there where it has no scales or would the whole hound feel more like snake, crocodile, lizzard and such? If it has hair, would the colour be, like with Cardassians black/ dark brownish? And if it has only skin without any hair would it always be grey skinned?

TerokNor

[Nerys Ghemor]

I think it may depend on the breed...but the particular breed I've drawn here does not. This one I picture as grey, darker than Cardassian skin usually is. It may be possible for them to be different colors, though.

The areas that don't look as though they have scales--I think it's different than, say, snakeskin...I've always imagined the "microscales" to be much smaller. If you tried to pet him and went against the grain you'd feel it, kind of like sandpaper.

[TerokNor]

I see and one more question:
Does it have a tail? And if yes is it scaly? Is it like a dog tale without hair, with would looks somewhat rattish or would it be more like... a crocodile tail...so very wide in the beginning and than slowly getting less wide? Is it more a short kind or a long kind?
And does it show similar behaviour to a dog, like tale-wacking for greeting?


TerokNor

[Nerys Ghemor]

Hmmm...here's how I described the tail in The Desolate Vigil:

"...the end of the riding hound’s tail was devoid of fur and more clublike though it bore the same basic, bifurcated design, the same one often seen on the backfins of Cardassian starships. If necessary, it could be used as a bludgeon against other predatory species, or a rival hound in a fight over a female…or simply used to beat the ground to convey excitement, as it was doing now."