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Since there is more or less no information from Tolkien about how the care for and breeding
of the horses were arranged in Rohan, we have for the sake of RP created a system which we hope is
both plausible and playable. The structure is basically a four-tiered one, connected primarily to
the clans but (as some horse specialist can be tied to a patrol or an eored) also in part to the
military. Anyone, both men and women, can work within it (even though 'he' is used throughout the
following text). The ICly highest authorithy on horses in the Mark is the Erkenstedamaegister
(literal meaning: chief stallion master). He is chosen by Theoden from one of the Stedamaegisters to
supervise the breeding in Rohan. No major decisions about horses are taken without the
Erkenstedamaegisters approval. He wears a brooch of gold shaped like a rampant stallion as a badge
of office. This position is not hereditary.
Below the Erkenstedamaegister are the Stedamaegisters (literal meaning: stallion master),
one for each clan (including the NPC clans). They are chosen from the Eomaegisters in that clan by
the Clan Master and the Erkenstedamaegister to supervise the breeding within that clan and in
general to represent all of their craft on the clan council, although this is not necessarily the
case in some clans. When a Stedamaegister is chosen to be Erkenstedamaegister, he still retains the
duties of Stedamaegister for his clan as well (though he may appoint a second in command to share
the duties with), just like he when chosen to be Stedamaegister still retains the duties of an
Eomaegister in the region where he previously worked. He wears a brooch of silver shaped like a
rampant stallion as a badge of office. This position is not hereditary.
The Eomaegisters (literal meaning: horse master) are the other horse specialists within each
clan, who work with and below the Stedamaegister of their clan, including breeders, horse healers
and trainers; some specialized, and some knowledgeable in all areas. What kind of authority and
duties an Eomaegister has can vary quite a lot, much depending on how he gained the title which can
be both hereditary or achieved through skills earned during an apprenticeship. If it is inherited,
the situation is generally as follows: Your family (which in the majority of these cases holds the
rank of thegns or ealdormen, i.e is some kind of nobility) has been entrusted the care of a herd of
horses or your family has for a long time been working for a noble family and handling the care of
their entrusted herd for them. Most Eomaegisters are tied to a certain region (that is the case for
all of those which are responsible for a certain herd), and there's a limit to the number of PCs
which may be active within the same region, but some are also permanently assigned to an eored and
they're then responsible for its horses. An Eomaegister wears a brooch of bronze shaped like a
rampant stallion as a badge of office.
The rank below Eomaegister is that of Eoscealc (literal meaning: horse servant), and these
make up the main body of people working with horses within each clan. Often an Eoscealc is
apprenticed to an Eomaegister with the aspiration to become one himself, but this title is also
given to any grooms or helpers working under the 'jurisdiction' of a particular Eomaegister without
aspiring to becoming one. Many Eoscealcs come from the Eomaegisters families, or from families
living on their lands in the cases when they are thegns or ealdormen, but anyone who wishes to
become one may approach an existing Eomaegister and ask if he may become an apprentice. All PC
Eoscealcs who wish to become Eomaegisters should be apprenticed to (or assigned to at least if they
have no aspirations to rise further but wish to remain Eoscealcs only as a secondary profession)
either another PC Eomaegister or to an NPC they've created (for example a father) regardless of
whether they want to work within a certain region or within the Eoreds. The details of this
arrangement should be noted in the character's history. Eoscealcs wear a brooch of copper shaped
like a rampant stallion as a badge of office.
One of the major things to RP for horse-specialists is helping a clan-member to find its
first alt. a new horse (for the bonding ceremony), as this should traditionally be done by an
Eomaegister from the same area as the person who needs the horse, but Eomaegisters and Eoscealcs
also have plenty of things to do on a daily basis. People might come to them with all sorts of
problems, for example sick or lame horses, troublesome horses or mares which they are looking for
good stallions for. It is the Eomaegisters and the Eoscealcs duty to not only make sure that the
herd they're working with is thriving but also to care for the general health of all horses in their
area. All extended patrols should also have at least an Eoscealc assigned to care for their horses.
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