warhorses

[Ikken Hisatsu]

not too sure of the spelling, but im sure you know the horses I mean, those big clydesdal horses that they have at circuses etc.

I was just wondering if they were ever used in battle. I mean they are huge and could easily crush infantry, but from what I know they arent too fast and tend to have quite a docile nature. anyone know anything about it that could enlighten me?

[Aymar de Bois Mauri]

Are you talking about Percheron?

If so, they are essencially horses for pulling cargo, not to be riden.

[jimmy]

along with shirehorses/dray horses and there french counterparts.its quite likley considering there weight and the weight of armoured knight/s/weapons etc that the breed of horses mentioned evolved from or slightly lighter/smaller counterparts. i have read/seen programes were they were through selective breeding they are capable to produce a medieval war horse as used by the europeans/knights etc as a opposeesed to middle east /asian horses that tended to be mares as oppossed to stallions of there european counterparts. and i remmber a battle during the crusades that the female mare horses being on heat panicked and fled the field causing the rout of the muslim factions of the time[i may be wrong?]due the male horses getting a lob on http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Nelson]

http://clydesusa.com/clydesdale.htm

They are work horses. Friesians on the other hand were known in the Middle Ages to make fine destriers.

[Aymar de Bois Mauri]

Quote[/b] ]and i remmber a battle during the crusades that the female mare horses being on heat panicked and fled the field causing the rout of the muslim factions of the time[i may be wrong?]due the male horses getting a lob on http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
You're right.

It was in the beggining of the 1st Crusade, right after the Crusaders captured Antioch.
A Muslim coalition of armies commanded by the Emirs of Damascus, Mosul, Aleppo and the rulers of Sinjar, Harran, Samosata and Homs.

That event is told in a BBC History series about the Crusades. The presenter is one of the Monty Phytons group.

It does not say it in this quotation, but it was during the battle that followed the event known as:


Quote[/b] ]The Miracle of the Lance

A Provençal peasant, Peter Bartholomew, claimed that Christ and St Andrew had come to him in a vision and told him that the Lance that had pierced the side of Christ was buried beneath the high altar of the Church of St Peter. Peter was allowed to supervise the digging, and duly found the Lance. Many of the army leaders thought him a fraud, but the rank and file believed that a miracle had occurred. The army leaders took advantage of this to launch a last-ditched attempt to break the siege.

Kerbogha allowed the crusaders to leave the city and form up outside. The morale of his disparate troops was as low as the crusaders' morale was high, and they swiftly broke under the desperate attack. The crusaders triumphed.

You can find more information on the 1st Crusade here:

The First Crusade (http://www.brighton73.freeserve.co.uk/firstcrusade/Overview/Overview.htm)