The horse was used very little on the Western Front while the Germans and the Soviets were forced to de-modernize their armies by reintroducing the war horse to the battle field. The European war horse fought its last war in 1939. Despite this massive employment of recent mechanized technology, the war horse remained pertinent to European warfare due to the relative novelty of these innovations. Technology began its takeover of transportation and shock tactics during the First World War with the employment of the airplane, the tank, and the automobile on the massive scale. The invention of the machine gun and the automobile ended the war horse's monopoly on transportation and reduced the effectiveness of the European cavalries during the Franco-Prussian War and the Anglo-Boer War. During the American Civil War, the innovations of widespread railroads and higher powered weapons continued to remove the logistics of warfare from the hands of the war horse. Beginning during the Crimean War, the employment of recent technological innovations gradually edged the war horse out of its traditional use in shock tactics and transportation. They were also important status symbols and every knight wanted to own the best horse they could afford.The industrial revolution and the rapid advancement of technology that it fostered created a swift decline in the employment of horses in warfare. War horses were an important part of the knight’s equipment. Horse armor was also often decorated and showed the colors of the knight that owned the horse. The flanchards were typically attached to both sides of the saddle and had openings on the sides so the knight could use his spurs.Ĭrupper: The crupper (also called the croupier) protected the rear of the horse.Ĭriniere: The criniere was typically made of segmented plates which were placed around the neck of the horse. At times, it was decorated with horns or other designs was typically made from either leather or metal plates.įlanchards: The flanchards were designed to protect the flanks of the horse. Peytral: The peytral coved the chest area of the horse and could go all the way back to the saddle.Ĭhamfron: This was one of the most important parts of a horse’s armor and was designed to protect the horse’s head. Trappers could reach the ground and even cover the whole horse from head to tail. Trappers: Trappers, which were also known as caparisons, were usually made from leather or cloth and was draped over the back of the horse. There were different pieces of armor and each piece was designed to protect a different part of the horse. Armor for a horse typically weighed around thirty-two kilograms. Horse armor was actually more commonly worn during tournaments instead of in battle. The armour was made from boiled leather (cuir bouilli), padded cloth, or steel. Horse armor is called barding and the amount of armor on a horse really depended on the cost and whether the horse could handle the armor. A knight would also provide rounceys to his squires and other men at arms. It could be trained for war or used as a riding horse and was often used by knights who could not afford any of the other horses. The rouncey could be used as a pack animal or even on the farm. Many knights who did not have access to a destrier preferred to ride a courser into battle because it was fast, strong, and agile. They were not as well trained as either the palfrey or destrier but they also cost a lot less. They were often used by messengers as well as by people who needed to move quickly. Riding a palfrey was much more comfortable and was the favourite riding animal of noble women.Ĭoursers were fast horses and had good endurance. The palfrey was not as big as a destrier. A well-bred palfrey could cost just as much as a destrier. It could be used by knights in battle as well if necessary. The palfrey was used for riding, travelling, and hunting as well as for ceremonies. Destriers were used in tournament jousts as well. Destriers were not common and as a result were highly sought after by knights (if they could afford them).
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