• Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    It’s a pretty sad fact that most horses that went into battle were, by today’s standard, horribly overloaded.

    On the other hand, they also rode into battle, so it’s not like they didn’t have other problems.

  • AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    There were also war horses in the middle ages that were extremely large and powerful. They looked more like current large work horses. However those races weren’t kept, so we have no examples now.

    • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      “war horse” is a broad term. If you meant “horses rode into battle”, then afaik they were generally pretty small, since smaller horses are more maneuverable and accelerate better. They probably also need less armor, etc.

      Horses used in war, but not in battle could be bigger, especially packhorses.

      They also mostly classed horses by use, not by breed. We don’t really know what breed a “charger” is, unless it’s from genetic samples, or the rare artist who actually drew horses correctly.