Another of the popular misconceptions is that of the Mongol cavalryman's mount. The modern Mongol horse is an animal of around 13 hands and correctly categorised as a pony, however the Asian steppe is a large expanse with horses of many sizes.
Akhal-Teke
A horse found in the east Caspian region, northern Iran and Turkmenistan. It is renowned for its stamina and endurance of severe conditions. Theoretically poor in rear conformation there seems to be no ill effect on the animal's performance. The Akhal-Teke stands over 15 hands
Bashkir
A very hardy animal from the Ural foothills which is still used for the production of airag/kumiss due to its very high milk yield. It stands 13.3 to 14 hands and will dig through a metre of snow to find food.
Arab
It is fairly safe to assume that there were some Arabs in the Mongol herds. They are 14.2 to 15 hands.
Excavations have found remains of some animals up to 16 hands which is a big horse even by modern standards. There is no argument that Mongol horses were smaller in stature than European horses but they were substantial enough to carry out their duties easily and any horse used one day was rested the next. Mobility and creating confusion among enemy formations were common Mongol tactics, splitting, isolating, very similar to the methods used in herding. A fine example of this can be seen in the Mongol tactics at Legnica. The Polish vanguard was engaged by Mangudai units who melted before the charge of heavy cavalry, drawing them further from infantry support and out of formation. Wet reeds were added to fires which created a thick, acrid smoke screen between the infantry and cavalry. Hit in the flanks by arrows from the Mongol horse archers who were encircling them, the Polish cavalry were thrown into disarray and finished by a Mongol heavy cavalry charge. Unable to see the situation and with Mongols appearing suddenly through the smoke, the infantry was slaughtered. There is also talk of the first aerial bombardment taking part in this battle by a man inside a large kite. Among European sources there is mention of all sorts of magic to explain the inability of their armies to cope with Mongol tactics. The reality was that the professional Mongol tactics in field battles were simply far superior

........Orda