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I've been thinking about this world that's been in my mind and one of the things in it are drake knights which are warriors who raised and ride domesticate breed of triceratops like the war elephants of our past. but I've been stumbling with the idea as it seems impossible for a normal person to ride a triceratops comfortably due to how wide the animals are. they are built like kegs and horses already are pretty wide so a animal that's even wider seems difficult to image someone riding plus the frill would seem to make to difficult to see over for a person which would be important to know what's in front of you. now I have an idea for a larger race to possibly ride them but right now I'm just curious if a normal person could ride a triceratops and if so how would the saddle have to be set to allow it to be possible. thank you for reading and have a good day.

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  • $\begingroup$ Do we need to solve a coexistence of hominids and dinosaurs, or just the riding part of it? $\endgroup$
    – Alexander
    Nov 12, 2021 at 17:28
  • $\begingroup$ They ride elephants, don't they? $\endgroup$
    – jamesqf
    Nov 12, 2021 at 17:43

4 Answers 4

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Assuming that a triceratops can be tamed, riding it can be done in a similar way to elephants: a platform can be placed on the animal's back, and on the platform can find place the rider(s)

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The platform would also put the rider slightly above the frill.

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  • $\begingroup$ those are called Howdah $\endgroup$
    – John
    Nov 12, 2021 at 21:09
  • $\begingroup$ is their a way to make those less inhumane? those type of saddles put all the weight down onto one area causing pain and while a triceratops back is more robust looking compared to an elephants and maybe could tolerate it more I feel a saddle causing pain of a triceratops would just cause it to try and shake it off. $\endgroup$
    – Lawson Pulley
    Nov 13, 2021 at 1:44
  • $\begingroup$ with the addition of some cross slats, pain should not occur, dinosaur spines and rib cages are far more robust than mammal ones and triceratops has armored skin which should also help. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Nov 13, 2021 at 2:00
  • $\begingroup$ I agree with using a howdah. I believe it would be superior to my own answer of riding astride the neck right behind the frill. $\endgroup$
    – Codes with Hammer
    Nov 15, 2021 at 14:29
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First of all, trikes are approximately 2 meters wide and 2.9-3 meters tall. Horses are much smaller, meaning that a different approach to climb on to the trike must be used. I feel like people may have to either have a platform to get on, putting one leg on after another, then adjusting their position, or, they could just climb up the tail (not a good idea if the trike is aggressive or too large).

Like L.Dutch mentioned, I think that having a platform on the back of the trike would be extremely useful.

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Once upon a time, outside the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, there was a statue of a Triceratops (possibly named "Uncle Beasley"). Kids used to climb over the head and frill, up the back, and slide down the tail. It was possible to sit behind the frill with legs straddling the neck.

This only addresses when the mount is standing still. Whether sitting behind the frill would be useful while the animal moves about is unknown. It is possible that the motion of the neck and frill would make that spot uncomfortable really fast.

(Side item, I believe the statue is now at the National Zoo, and climbing on it hasn't been allowed in many years. Ah, those were the days.)

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If the beasts were raised from birth like you say, setting aside the question of how to sit, the head frill problem could be solved by binding of some way. While the little trikes are young and the frill is still growing the frill could be bound in a manner similar to head binding was done with the Mayans or foot binding in some Japanese cultures. One could conceivably bind (mold?) the frill is such away to make room for the legs behind the frill as well as a 'dip' in the center to see over it.

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  • $\begingroup$ head binding would be a very bad idea, the jaw muscles sit on the frill. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Nov 12, 2021 at 21:07
  • $\begingroup$ @john Vigorously disagree. Not head binding. Frill.binding. Also It would not necessarily be ethical but would solve the issue. Far more neck muscles attatch to the frill. And depending on the species/ size of the frill the altered portions may have no ligament attachments at all. $\endgroup$
    – Gillgamesh
    Nov 12, 2021 at 23:02
  • $\begingroup$ more neck muscles but the jaw muscles attach much further up around half way up the frill. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Nov 13, 2021 at 0:57
  • $\begingroup$ Impossible to know the the relivence without knowing the species or placement of the binding. That's a frivolous downvote. Sorry if I seemed to be cruel to an imaginary animal. $\endgroup$
    – Gillgamesh
    Nov 13, 2021 at 1:15
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    $\begingroup$ what about selective breeding? the lower part of the frill had muscle attachments but the top didn't and close relatives to triceratops already had dips in the middle tops of their frills so could that work? $\endgroup$
    – Lawson Pulley
    Nov 13, 2021 at 1:40

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