Zombies! What are you going to do when...

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by Task Force

Also, what if something scares the horse, and you get tossed off. or it stops and panics.

Last time I've been thrown off a horse is two years ago, and not because something scared it.
Besides, my favorite horse really trusts me by now, she won't "stop and panic" too easily if I don't (for the record, I do some cross-country jumping with her, part of that is jumping over obstacles that really frighten horses). And even if she did panic, a horse would not stop, but rather run away in the opposite direction.

Originally Posted by Raptor1

If you're surrounded with a melee weapon and a horse, you are dead.

Melee weapons are next to useless against zombies because they're much more resiliant than you

Oh but I don't care about killing them. If I can just hold them off long enough to storm through their horde. With a horse, give me a 1m gap in their lines and I'm through.
An unbeatable turning radius means I can easily find gaps to breach through.
I'm not planning to combat the zombies, if you're on your own that means a certain death, no matter what weapon you've got. I simply want to dodge them until I'm safe, and only kill zombies if they're getting too close.

[Task Force]

A issue with a horse would also be if it got hurt while traveling.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by DarkFish

Last time I've been thrown off a horse is two years ago, and not because something scared it.
Besides, my favorite horse really trusts me by now, she won't "stop and panic" too easily if I don't (for the record, I do some cross-country jumping with her, part of that is jumping over obstacles that really frighten horses). And even if she did panic, a horse would not stop, but rather run away in the opposite direction.

Being able to jump over obstacles is nice, but can you trust her to go through a horde of the undead?

Wouldn't running away in the opposite direction into another group of zombies be just as fatal?

Originally Posted by DarkFish

Oh but I don't care about killing them. If I can just hold them off long enough to storm through their horde. With a horse, give me a 1m gap in their lines and I'm through.
An unbeatable turning radius means I can easily find gaps to breach through.
I'm not planning to combat the zombies, if you're on your own that means a certain death, no matter what weapon you've got. I simply want to dodge them until I'm safe, and only kill zombies if they're getting too close.

That will only work if you're up against very small amounts of zombies, and even then you or your horse might get hit. The trick is not getting into these sorts of situations.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, will it be able to do all that while carrying all of your supplies?

[August]

=

Originally Posted by DarkFish

Last time I've been thrown off a horse is two years ago, and not because something scared it.
Besides, my favorite horse really trusts me by now, she won't "stop and panic" too easily if I don't (for the record, I do some cross-country jumping with her, part of that is jumping over obstacles that really frighten horses). And even if she did panic, a horse would not stop, but rather run away in the opposite direction.

Oh but I don't care about killing them. If I can just hold them off long enough to storm through their horde. With a horse, give me a 1m gap in their lines and I'm through.
An unbeatable turning radius means I can easily find gaps to breach through.
I'm not planning to combat the zombies, if you're on your own that means a certain death, no matter what weapon you've got. I simply want to dodge them until I'm safe, and only kill zombies if they're getting too close.

Dude, I know you love your horse, but your whole strategy is based upon speed and movement, and you can't maintain either of them for very long. You and the horse have to eventually stop and rest, and that's when they'll get ya. You'll be stretched out on your saddle next to the campfire in true Cowboy fashion and you'll wake up to zombies eating your eyelids.

With a vehicle you can stop on the side of the road, shut the windows, lock the doors and kick back secure in the knowledge that the zombies can't get to you.

Now I ask you, which one of us is going to actually get some sleep out in zombie land?

[Task Force]

lol, yea, maby a armored moble home/RV.

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by Task Force

A issue with a horse would also be if it got hurt while traveling.

And an issue with a motorized vehicle would be a mechanical breakdown. Same thing.

Originally Posted by Raptor1

Being able to jump over obstacles is nice, but can you trust her to go through a horde of the undead?

Well I try to avoid that, that's the whole point of my strategy. But if I'd be surrounded, yes, I could trust her to go through a horde of them.

Originally Posted by Raptor1

Wouldn't running away in the opposite direction into another group of zombies be just as fatal?

Horses have a brain and eyes, you know
She'd run into any direction where there are no zombies. If she were surrounded, she'd probably just bash through.

Originally Posted by Raptor1

That will only work if you're up against very small amounts of zombies, and even then you or your horse might get hit. The trick is not getting into these sorts of situations.

...And that's exactly what I plan to do A horse is much more useful in avoiding zombies than any other 'vehicle', simply for the fact that it can go literally everywhere, gallop through forests, jump over ditches etc. which a motorized vehicle can't do.
Any motorized vehicle, even a 4x4 for that matter, is more or less restricted to the terrain. They can't drive through a forest if there isn't some sort of wide enough path. They can't jump over ditches. They can't cross rivers if there aren't any bridges.

Originally Posted by Raptor1

EDIT: Oh, yeah, will it be able to do all that while carrying all of your supplies?

Yeah sure, why not? Cowboys used saddlebags, can't see a reason why I can't.

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by August

Dude, I know you love your horse, but your whole strategy is based upon speed and movement, and you can't maintain either of them for very long. You and the horse have to eventually stop and rest, and that's when they'll get ya. You'll be stretched out on your saddle next to the campfire in true Cowboy fashion and you'll wake up to zombies eating your eyelids.

With a vehicle you can stop on the side of the road, shut the windows, lock the doors and kick back secure in the knowledge that the zombies can't get to you.

Now I ask you, which one of us is going to actually get some sleep out in zombie land?

Zombies can smash windows, you know
If they couldn't, what would be the point in running from them? Just stay in your house, lock the doors and watch the TV while you wait for the army to do some zombie killing for you.
While my horse will probably warn me of any incoming zombies, you will be waken by your car window being smashed.

In the end neither of us is actually going to get some sleep

[Task Force]

Thats why you put metal wireing/ chickenwire (IIRC) on the windows.

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by Task Force

Thats why you put metal wireing/ chickenwire (IIRC) on the windows.

well then, if you're so convinced of the invulnerability of your car, why then don't you stash your whole supply of tinned food in it, sit in, pop some popcorn and watch the show?

You might weld metal wiring to your car, but once they're through, how are you gonna fasten it again? Or do you plan to take your welder with you and somehow connect it to your car's accu? Good luck with that.
Besides, the first warning of approaching zombies you will get is a zombie smashing your car. Your car alarm won't help you as it only goes off the moment a zombie hits your car.

While my horse has a good chance of noticing the horde approaching, become restless and thus wake me.

[Feuer Frei!]

deleted

[Fr8monkey]

At least North Carolina is being proactive about it...

[August]

I keep hearing that animals require no food here. Not only is this obviously wrong, one must note that, unlike a motor vehicle, they require food whether they are being used or not. Sure the horse can feed off of bushes and weeds but that isn't healthy for it.

well then, if you're so convinced of the invulnerability of your car, why then don't you stash your whole supply of tinned food in it, sit in, pop some popcorn and watch the show?

Well, forting up overnight in a vehicle is one thing but are you really suggesting that a person could fit all the supplies necessary for several months and live inside a,...car?

I guess this comes down to intended use.

I intend on using my truck to go forage for food and supplies then bring them back to a permanent hideout. As such it's payload and protection makes it a much better choice.

On the other hand if you intend something like crossing the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains on your way back to your parents isolated farm house where you hope they and your sexy girlfriend have remained safe so far then a good horse might be a better choice.

Like I said intended use.

All you need to know to survive is in this one little book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zombie_Survival_Guide
It's my bible for when the zombiepocalype comes

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by August

I keep hearing that animals require no food here. Not only is this obviously wrong, one must note that, unlike a motor vehicle, they require food whether they are being used or not. Sure the horse can feed off of bushes and weeds but that isn't healthy for it.

It's what wild horses do, feed off of bushes and weeds. It might not be as healthy as human made fodder, but certainly good enough to survive.

Well, forting up overnight in a vehicle is one thing but are you really suggesting that a person could fit all the supplies necessary for several months and live inside a,...car?

If it's purely about surviving, I think you could. If you take 3 cans of food a day (depends on can size), you could easily survive a month on about 100 cans. 100 cans easily fit in your car.
Of course there would be some problems, for example your sanitary needs, but if it's only about surviving, I think you could.
Not that it would be comfortable or healthy though

I guess this comes down to intended use.

I intend on using my truck to go forage for food and supplies then bring them back to a permanent hideout. As such it's payload and protection makes it a much better choice.

On the other hand if you intend something like crossing the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains on your way back to your parents isolated farm house where you hope they and your sexy girlfriend have remained safe so far then a good horse might be a better choice.

Like I said intended use.

I live in the Netherlands, so there are no mountain ranges or huge stretched out woods here. If you stay out of towns, you generally find pastures surrounded by ditches, crop fields surrounded by ditches and small forests. If you want to go off-road here, you need a way to cross all those ditches, and a horse is an easy way for that.

But indeed, if you intend to only use your means of transportation to go forage for food and supplies, a truck would probably be better.

[Feuer Frei!]

Hmm, i should have included a poll for transportation preference...
would have only had 2 choices to put in: horse or car
As for wild horses as transport?
Good luck with taming one. Are you qualified to "break in" horses? If so, are you going to have time?