Horses in the Wizarding World

• Type: Creature (Beast)
• Owners: Various institutions and individuals, including Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the Knight Bus service.
• Maker: Natural species, with various distinct magical breeds.

Horses in the wizarding world exist in both mundane and magical forms. While non-magical horses are largely identical to their Muggle-world counterparts, several magical breeds are used by wizards and witches.

• Mundane Horses: These appear to be standard horses, though they can be subject to magical enchantments. The Knight Bus is pulled by what is described as “a hundred plunging, invisible horses”. As Harry Potter could not see them even after witnessing death, it is implied they are not Thestrals but rather normal horses made invisible.
• Winged Horses: This is a general category for horse breeds that possess wings. Notable breeds include:
  • Abraxans: A breed of immensely powerful, giant-sized winged horses with palomino coats and glowing red eyes. They are bred at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and are known to drink only single-malt whisky.
  • Thestrals: A unique and misunderstood breed of winged horse. They have a skeletal, black-hided body, a dragon-like head, and wide, leathery wings like those of a bat. They are carnivorous and are attracted to the scent of blood. Crucially, Thestrals are invisible to anyone who has not witnessed and accepted death.
  • Aethonan: A popular winged horse breed in Britain and Ireland, described as being chestnut in colour. (FBAWTFT)
  • Granian: A grey-coloured and particularly fast breed of winged horse. (FBAWTFT)

Horses serve several key functions in the wizarding community, primarily related to transport and magical components.

• Transportation: This is the most common use for magical horse breeds.
  • The Hogwarts school carriages are pulled by a herd of trained Thestrals.
  • The grand, light-blue carriage of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is pulled by a dozen Abraxans.
  • The aforementioned invisible horses provide the motive power for the Knight Bus.
  • Winged Horses provide a swift means of aerial travel, as demonstrated when members of Dumbledore's Army flew Thestrals from Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic.
• Magical Components: Certain parts of magical horses are used in wandlore. Thestral tail hair is a famously powerful, yet tricky, wand core. The Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows, has a Thestral tail hair core.
• Patronus Form: The horse is a possible corporeal form of the Patronus Charm. Ginny Weasley's Patronus takes the shape of a horse, reflecting her vibrant and determined personality.

Throughout Harry's time at Hogwarts, different breeds of horses play significant roles in various events.

• 1993: Harry Potter first experiences the power of magical horses when he rides the Knight Bus, pulled by its invisible herd, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
• 1994: The students of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic make a spectacular entrance to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament, their carriage drawn by giant Abraxans.
• 1995: Having witnessed the death of Cedric Diggory, Harry becomes able to see the Thestrals that pull the school carriages. This shared ability deepens his bond with Luna Lovegood. Later in the year, he and his friends fly these same Thestrals to London in a desperate bid to save Sirius Black.
• 1997: During the Battle of the Seven Potters, Thestrals are used by the Order of the Phoenix as mounts due to their speed and inconspicuous nature.
• 1998: The Hogwarts Thestrals, along with Buckbeak the Hippogriff, participate in the Battle of Hogwarts, attacking Voldemort's Giant army from the air.

Magical horses, particularly Thestrals, are of significant thematic importance in the series. They primarily function as a mode of transportation that visually distinguishes different magical cultures, such as the opulence of Beauxbatons versus the more sombre nature of Hogwarts. The reveal of the Thestrals is a critical turning point for Harry's character. His ability to see them serves as a stark, physical manifestation of his trauma and grief following Cedric's murder. It isolates him from his peers but connects him to others, like Luna Lovegood, who have also experienced loss, highlighting the theme that shared pain can create profound understanding and empathy. The Thestrals thus become a symbol not of death itself, but of the wisdom and maturity gained from accepting it.

• J.K. Rowling has explained that Harry was unable to see the Thestrals at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, despite having just witnessed Cedric's death, because the sight had not yet sunk in. One must fully process and understand the concept of death to be able to see them. (J.K. Rowling interview).
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Knight Bus moves entirely by magic, and there is no mention or depiction of the invisible horses that pull it in the novel. (film).
• The film depiction of the Abraxans shows them with feathered, bird-like wings rather than the bat-like wings described for other winged creatures, aligning them more with the traditional image of Pegasus. (film).