Selling and buying combat trained mounts?

[Jon_Dahl]

Few questions about combat trained mounts in general:
1. Who can ride a combat trained mount?
2. If you buy an adult combat trained mount, can you readily ride it?
3. Who can give commands to the animal?
4. What if the new owner fights the former owner and the former owner gives commands to the animal?

Please notice that in case of several combat trained animals only the price of eggs and young are given. It seems that adults cannot be bought at all.

[Acanous]

In the case of Horses, Mules or Donkeys, you can buy adult by the listing in the PHB. To answer your questions by RAW:

1: Anyone, although you require at least 5 ranks in the Ride skill to have the mount act in combat.
2: Yes, although you will either need to make an appropriate Handle Animal or Ride check, depending on if you would rather have the animal get used to you or if you decide to "Break it in".
3: if someone is riding it, I believe only the rider may issue commands to their mount, although I cannot cite a rule here.
4: If one is riding it at the time, it is a ride check to control the animal, and that takes precidence over the animal's actions. Otherwise, an opposed Handle Animal is what you're looking for here.

[Seharvepernfan]

The OP is likely refering to Hippogriff, Griffon, and Pegasi and other aerial mounts of greater than animal intelligence. I'd like to know this as well, at least regarding the ones I mentioned. I suspect Pegasi will be the most difficult to answer for, given that they have human level intelligence.

[Kalmageddon]

Is this a question about D&D? Or some other game system?

[jackattack]

1. Anyone can ride it. Only a trained rider can make it perform actual combat maneuvers, although the animal will be less likely to panic when combat is going on nearby.

2. If you are trained to ride that type of mount, yes. BUT, if the mount is bonded to its former owner (by magic, time, affection, whatever) there may be a transition period during which the animal will resist the new rider, or even try to return to the former owner.

3. How are commands given? In dressage, commands are transmitted through the rider's legs (position and pressure), so only the rider can give commands to the animal. Otherwise, whoever has control of the reins is in charge. However, if commands are given audibly (words, whistles, clicks, whatever) then anyone who knows the proper commands can try to give the animal an order.

4. See #3, and factor in #2.

[Coidzor]

If they're sapient then once they're adults and no longer can be bonded to, you're basically hiring them as a mercenary.