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This 15th-century battle scene shows the powerfully built horses used in warfare. From The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello.. During the Decline of the Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages, much of the quality breeding stock developed during the classical period was lost due to uncontrolled breeding and had to be built up again over the following centuries. [1]
Hieratic formalized recreational hunting has taken place since Assyrian kings hunted lions from chariots in a demonstration of their royal nature. In Roman law, property included the right to hunt, a concept which continued under the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian monarchs who considered the entire kingdom to be their property, but who also controlled enormous royal domains as hunting ...
The term mounted archer occurs in medieval English sources to describe a soldier who rode to battle but who dismounted to shoot, similar to the later firearm-equipped dragoons. [10] [11] [12] Horse archer is the term used more specifically to describe a warrior who shoots from the saddle at the gallop. [13]
A generic word used to describe medieval war horses was charger, which appears interchangeable with the other terms. [127] The medieval war horse was of moderate size, rarely exceeding 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm). Heavy horses were logistically difficult to maintain and less adaptable to varied terrains. [128]
An analysis of medieval horse armour located in the Royal Armouries indicates the equipment was originally worn by horses of 15 to 16 hands (60 to 64 inches, 152 to 163 cm), [9] about the size and build of a modern field hunter or ordinary riding horse. [10]
The native Irish horse, the Irish hobby, represented today by the Connemara pony, [citation needed] was a horse measuring twelve to fourteen hands high. Their name derives from the word 'hobin', a French word thought to be derived from the Gaelic term 'obann', meaning 'swift.' Though small, the hobby was not necessarily a horse of poor quality.
A courser is a swift and strong horse, ... Coursers were also used occasionally for hunting. [3] See also. Horses in the Middle Ages; Notes and references
While the destrier is the most well-known warhorse of the Medieval era, it was the least common, and coursers were often preferred for battle.Both were expensive, highly trained horses prized by knights and nobles, while a poorer knight, squire or man-at-arms would use a rouncey for fighting.