I can buy horses in Paws for 300 gold. What use are they other then changing my avatar icon?

If I remember correctly, horses make less in-game time pass when you move around. This means:
* Food is consumed more slowly.
* Enemies will not move as fast (relative to you); this makes it easier to outrun enemies that are chasing you.

I do not know if they affects enemy spawns.

Of note, in the NES version (which is *very* different from computer versions), you can't buy horses; if you go to the stable in Paws, I believe the person says something along the lines of "all the horses are dead" (don't remember if there was an "eaten by monsters" excuse here or if that's just Bard's Tale 1 that I am thinking of). Then again, the NES version doesn't have food, and enemies are not visible on the world map (but combat can start even if you don't move).

Thank you dtgreene for the info. They did the same thing (or something very similar) with the Commodore 64 version of Ultima 6.

Press Y to Giddyup and move two spaces instead of one. This uses less food and makes you go hella quick.

Thank you Upiedyoutims for that bit of info!

FYI Horses, or any other form of travel you may discover while playing, do not affect spawns. However, they can make it easier to avoid spawned enemies!