Here is a patch note from the very first patch to Ultima Online involving mounts. This was the same day that Ultima Online went live on September 25th, 1997.
9/25/1997
Horses that run out of loyalty now buck you off and run away.
A skill delay in terms of UO coding is a delay that applies after using an action. "You must wait to perform another action." as an example of a skill delay. There is also a skill delay by default on tabbing. It is the same or relatively close to what auto defend is after being attacked.
I get that reputation because I'm right and I don't hide it. It has nothing to do with credibility.
I really don't care if you believe me or not. I would take real code that OSI used for UO over a stratics web site anyday. I'm sorry if you prefer the ladder, but you can continue believing whatever you want in regard to the spell timers. I'm sure you'll be the only one in that group.
You dont need to lecture me on the UO Demo and live shards. I understand the concept of how the demo relates to the actual code that EA used and it is one in the same. It seems that you don't quite understand how compiling code works, especially in this instance.