>>From sheep you get meat--although not especially prized meat by most--
>leather, milk, and wool. They need a lot of care, as they'll pull
>grass out by the roots left in one place long enough, they aren't too
>good at defending themselves against predators, and are notoriously
>stupid.
Depends on the breed, some are left to graze the hills and moorland all summer unsupervised. The Orlanthi couldn't do that because of predators but the shepherds' main function will be to guard the flock. Hill breeds are also slower to mature so fit better with the cycle of slaughter before winter than modern breeds where the lambs are at their best between late spring and autumn.
>> Do Orlanthi use oxen or horses for plowing? IIRC, the horse collar
>> was a significant invention IRW - which is not to say the Orlanthi
>> can't have them.
>
>Very clearly they use oxen for plowing. This suggests that they
>don't have the "modern" horse collar (what they do have straps across
>the front of the horse, which inhibits their breathing if they pull
>hard. All right for light carts or chariots that are more about
>speed than heavy pulling, but not good for plowing or heavy pulling.)
There's also what the Orlanthi think of when they say "horse", in my vision of Glorantha it is what we would call a pony. Good for riding in rugged terrain but not much advantage in battle and nothing like strong enough to pull a plough all day.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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