This is a question I haven't entertained much for my conworld, as it focuses on a time when the yinrih have achieved Kardashev II status and no longer rely on beasts of burden (except perhaps on the surface of Sweetwater where various primitivist communities can be found).

At first I thought yinrih would simply not use large riding animals, but I may change that. Yinrih are not cursorial like humans, and thus would benefit from domesticating a species that is.

One critter I've had in the back of my head for years but have yet to introduce into this setting is the Iridopter, a parrot-like animal used as a mount. I've pictured them as more dinosaur-like in the past, but I may make them more avian. Iridopters are excellent distance runners and may be able to glide for short periods thanks to Yih's lower gravity. They're also a fair bit smaller than a horse. Yinrih max out at about 80 pounds (relative to Earth gravity, even less on Yih, so they can manage with smaller mounts.

Of course this wouldn't be complete without some xenoergonomics. Yinrih have two resting postures that allow the use of their paws and tail, namely lying on the back or on the belly. My current idea is that they lie on the belly across the Iridopter's back, with the rider's tail cradled in the iridopter's own long stiff tail feathers.

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[–] IndigoGollum@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

They're not as exotic as some worlds' mounts, but i have gnomes that ride small cats and flying squirrels.

[–] Redacted@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Big ol salamanders/lizards

[–] early_riser@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Salamanders are amphibians, or do you mean the mythological salamander? If they're amphibians, that would present some interesting logistic issues. Their skin would need to stay moist and they would need to lay their eggs in water.

[–] Redacted@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago

For me, big salamanders just need a bath every day to stay healthy. I also have magic, so if a salamander is magically alligned they need exposure to a lot of that element once a day. I have them lay eggs in terrain befitting their element, so water salamanders need to lay eggs underwater but earth salamanders bury them underground.

Then theres the lizard lizards~ scaled up versions of whatever lizard suits your fancy. They need to eat a lot, but can climb walls while carrying heavy loads! Also can hold their breath for a long time and are capable of "galloping" over extremely rough terrain, unlike equivalent equestrian escorts.

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

For ground runners, you probably want a big terror bird. These guys are the closest to modern day dinosaurs. They have long, muscular legs that are well adapted to long distance running and even extant modern examples in the mundane world can carry impressive loads for a bird. Case in point: Children and small people can literally ride an ostrich. They have small cranial masses for their size and they're not very smart compared to a parrot or a corvid, but probably still smart enough to be tamed. They also maintain a consistent posture which is probably beneficial for a riding animal. Parrots have a flying stance and a perching stance that are nearly perpendicular to each other, so as soon as your big Macaw landed it'd dump its rider off of its back.

With the ecological niche that they fill, parrots are tree-dwelling perching birds that are not adapted well to long distance flying or ground travel. Parrots are climbers; they're for hanging around in the trees eating fruit. And their feet are for grasping, not walking. If your bird is evolved to be anything similar, trying to ride one would be rather like trying to throw a saddle on a monkey. Potentially hilarious, but unlikely to be productive.

[–] early_riser@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

My description was rather poor in hindsight. Their parrot-ness is mostly in the colorful feathers, large beak designed for crushing, and long macaw-like tail feathers. They're not zygodactyl like parrots, and probably have longer legs like an ostrich. I'm not sure where they exist on the food chain, but they're likely social as that would make them easier to tame. They are clever and possibly tool-users in the vein of corvids (or indeed parrots).