Dr_Rictus said:
Horses are on the order of twice as wide as a good-sized person (though obviously there's a lot of variation in both horses and people). Most horses would definitely have a squeeze to get through a normal (i.e. modern residential-sized) door, but could do it.
As for centaurs, well, hard to say, but since they are Large sized creatures they ought to be at least in the 8-foot range to be able to use the appropriate gear in D&D. Note that even that height would make the equine part of their body considerably smaller than a horse.
Sorry, I'll have to argue this. As qualifications, I point out that my wife runs a boarding stable with 30 or so horses as a second job, and has owned horses for 26 years or so (we own four personally).
A normal horse, even a large one, is not much wider than an average human is (at the shoulders, not the waist). I have, in fact watched my wife bring out horses through a normal sized residential outside door to the barn (32" width) on a lead rope, with a little room to spare on either side.
The actual issue that horses may have with a door (if they are unfamiliar with them) is based on the fact that most horses are scared of what is unknown to them. If they have a human leading them to show it's ok, or have been through a door before, 90 times out of 100 they will do it by themselves without issue. The other 10 times, they forget they've been through it before.
Another issue may be in the larger breeds, but even they are no wider than a doorway (otherwise how could you sit on one with a saddle and straddle it with your legs?). My wife has two Belgian mares at the barn and both would pass through a door without trouble (as a side note, if you really want to feel puny, stand beside one with their pie-pan sided feet and their head which is about the same size as your upper torso..).
The main problem with horses is their height in passing through doorways, but just like we do, they can duck their heads to avoid the top of the door. Horses are measured to their wither (which is the funky looking hump on their backs near the base of their necks) not to the tops of their heads. They are measured in "hands" of height, each hand being 4". A tall horse is 17 2 to 3 hands high, which translates to 76", which turns into 6' 4" tall with their head ducked. That should pass easily through a normal door (but don't try to ride one through it!). Their are bigger horses (like 18 hands or more), but they're rare to be that big. Most modern normal riding horses vary between 15 to 17 hands depending on the breed, medieval horses were smaller.
Centaurs might have trouble with a normal sized door due to the torso and human head, but they are probably articulated in the same way and can "lean forward" enough to duck under a doorframe. Realize that a horse can lower it's head all the way to the ground in order to eat grass.
Don't get me started on the way that she snickers about the way most people treat their horse in the game either....
Hope this helps! Man, look at all the info I picked up just from ozmosis from being married to her for 12 years.
