Medieval Horses by Sarah Hopper

ara Hopper
Professor Grotans
Medieval History 210
31 May, 2008

Medieval Horses


Throughout history, horses have had an immeasurable impact on mankind. From long before the Roman Empire when man saw the horse as an animal that could provide speed, food, and transportation, to the days of the Wild West, the horse has always played a vital role in our history. However, perhaps the greatest era of horsemanship was the Middle Ages (a.k.a. the Medieval period). During this time, horses were used for everything from transport and agriculture to warfare. Medieval people began to breed the previously small horse to suit their needs, as well as create new technologies and methods to benefit even more from their equines. If it weren’t for the horse, the Middle Ages would have been a different place entirely.
The horses that we see in medieval art as well as the pastures of today were not always that way. During the Roman times horses were often so small that if one were to ride it, their feet may drag the ground, hardly the great warhorse we read about in stories. It was during this time that “the Romans first organized horse breeding on a large scale, both for chariot racing and for cavalry” (Davis). However, this breeding required special consideration for both the mare and sire, and during the decline of the Roman empire, this strict method of controlling the production of horses came to a halt, and the amount of feral (runaway domestic) horses increased leading to a serious shortage of good horses. This also led to the success of the Arabs during this time, who, having kept their breeding programs intact, were able to conquer Egypt, the North African coastline, and Spain (where they were halted by Charles Martel at Poi tiers) on there pureblood Arabian horses. These hardy horses were (and still are) known for their endurance and gave the Muslims the advantage they needed. The revival of the “Spanish horse” seems to have taken place around the 5th and 6th centuries, when “Frankish armies were first seen to have really large bodies of cavalry” (Clark). There are also many written accounts of the European admiration for good horses from people like Pope John VIII and Charlemagne. During his reign, it is written that Charlemagne “segregated his mares so that none but his special stallions had access to them…and prohibited the export of these stallions”(Davis) (much like weapons and armor under the capitularies?). This separation of stallions from mares and selective breeding became customary for war and riding horses during this time. Agricultural and workhorses however, were not given this same consideration and could often be ill fed and over-worked (even pregnant mares).
During the middle ages, horses were usually classified by type, rather than by breed (as they are today). These types often described what the horse could be used for, as well as its conformation. Perhaps the most well known and prized of these types was the destrier. The destrier was the medieval heavy warhorse, and was usually larger, stronger, and better trained than its counterparts. The destrier was also the “type desired by the most noble and wealthy knights, and was often described as the ideal “great warhorse” of the time” (Wikipedia). Another type of horse was the rouncy. These were the more “general purpose” type horses that could be used both for cavalry as well as for riding. Packhorses were often times smaller than the other types and stout in order to be able to carry loads over long distances. Other types of medieval horses consisted of the carthorse (which became more popular as roads were formed), coursers (warhorses that were slightly less desirable than the destrier), palfreys (well-bred horses that served many purposes for nobles), jennets (riding horses), hackneys (riding horses still in existence today), and hobbys (light cavalry). Warhorses during this time were also always stallions (unlike the Muslims who usually rode mares into battle), which were prized due to their high-strung, more vicious demeanors.
Medieval warhorses continued to make up more and more of the army as the Middle Ages wore on. This was the era in which the importance of the knight and his “heavy horse” was introduced. However, while this was the first time the heavy horse was widely used, evidence shows that the use of light cavalry had been used since the time of the Romans, and was also used to protect the Frankish empire from Al-Andalus. As time went on, these heavy cavalry began to lose their importance, and by the 14th century, knights would ride to battle only to dismount and fight on foot as technologies like siege weapons began to develop (which required transport for heavy draft-type horses). “Carolingian shields have been found that go from circular to the later kite shape which also suggest the move from mounted fighting to ground” (Hyland). By the late middle ages, the cavalry seems to have shifted back to the lighter, quicker warhorse that could be used for scouting.
Just as the fighting style in Medieval Europe evolved, so did their equipment and weaponry. For instance, the stirrup (which today is one of the most basic components of riding) first appeared in Europe around the 8th century, although “they appear to have come west from North Eastern China, where stirrups of the present-day type are recorded for the first time from tombs of the 4th century A.D.” (Clutton-Brock). However, despite this evidence, no one is yet able to definitively say exactly when stirrups were invented. No matter when they originally came about, stirrups still have proven to be a vital technology to Europe in the middle ages, and the opportunities they brought with them had a great impact on medieval warfare. Along with the development of a raised cantle and pommel, (front and back of the saddle) a knight could now be much more secure on his mount as well as being able to use a lance which required a lot of stability in order to be effective. Inventions such as the snaffle and curb bits, as well as spurs were also introduced during this time. Early knights were known to wear a plate-metal helmet and a coat of chain mail. As time went on these technologies (armor) also became more advanced and by the 11th century horses were also being given protective armor called bard (barding). During this early time when knights were still the essential part of the army, the armor gradually got heavier, the horses got larger, and power (at least for a little while) overcame agility on the battlefield. Even the journeys taken by knights were no small feat. “They were known to travel with two archers (both mounted), a squire (also mounted), a packhorse, two horses for the knight (to save his warhorse for battle), as well as his warhorse” (Davis). By the 1300’s all of this had changed. The knight was now taking a backseat to cavalry archers and skilled pikemen, and by the 1650’s, it seemed as though the large, powerful warhorse had seen its day and was no longer considered as useful.
Besides warfare, medieval horses were also detrimental to the livelihood of the people in everyday life. For instance, during the medieval period there were virtually no roads, (other than a few surviving Roman roads which were often times in various states of disrepair) so many people relied on horses for traveling long distances. These horses were usually ridden rather than used to pull a cart or carriage due to the lack of roadways. However, as more roads were eventually built, horse-drawn vehicles became more and more common. The Middle Ages also made use of the “pack horse” which would carry equipment on its back (ex: a pack horse would travel with a knight carrying supplies as he went on long journeys).
The middle ages were also the first time horses were commonly used for plowing and agricultural reasons. For instance “the “mouldboard plough” was developed during this time, which required heavier teams of horses (and oxen) but allowed the adoption of larger fields” (Wikipedia). The development of both the nailed horseshoe (which seems to have appeared around the 9th century, although some form of horseshoes had been used since the time of the Roman empire), and the horse collar (which was developed to receive power from the shoulders and chest of the animal rather than the neck as had been the tradition when using oxen) also allowed horses to eventually become the main source of agricultural power during these times.
The middle ages may be considered to be a “high-period” for the horse. This was the age when horses were depended on for everything from serving in battle to everyday usages like transport and agriculture. Without the horse, there would have been no medieval knights, and our world today would probably look much different. The medieval period showcases an era of new equine technologies such as the curb, snaffle, and nailed horseshoe, which are still used today, almost completely unchanged from almost 1000 years ago. Medieval breeds developed towards the end of the Middle Ages such as the Friesian and the Lippizaner are also still in existence, and continue to be some of the most scrutinized horses in our present day, many of which have been kept as pure as they were when the breeds were first developed. There are even equestrian practices and sports, which mirror the usages and training of the Middle Ages. For instance, the present-day equestrian sport of dressage was created to mirror some of the training of the old medieval warhorses. The Medieval horse allowed for the Middle Ages to become the great era that it is, and once again show the great impact that the horse has had throughout the entire history of mankind.


Works Cited

Clabby, John. The Natural History of the Horse. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976.

Clark, John. The Medieval Horse and Its Equipment. Suffolk, UK: The Boydell Press, 2004.

Clutton-Brock, Juliet. Horse Power. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1992.

Davis, R.H.C. The Medieval Warhorse. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1989.

Hyland, Ann. The Medieval Warhorse: From Byzantium to the Crusades. United Kingdom: Alan Sutton Publishing Limited, 1994.

Vernon, Arthur. The History and Romance of the Horse. New York, New York: Dover Publications, 1946.

Wikipedia. (May 12, 2008). Horses in the Middle Ages. Retrieved May 9th, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_the_