Horses questions

[Barry Soteiro]

1) In a battle were people trying to kill the horses of their enemies to make their fall or did they consider horses as a precious asset and tried not to kill them ?

2) How horses were transported in boats ? For example how long did it take to go from Hellas to Alexandria, or from Carthage to Sicily

Thanks a lot !

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I think they primarily targeted on the horses, simply because it was easier. Look at the silhouette of a rider, 80% (side) to 95% (front) of it is made up by the horse. The rider also sits atop, while the horse is on the ground "on par" with the infantryman. Also, the horse is normally less protected than the rider. Why aim your weapon to the tiny man atop and expose yourself to his weapons, if you can so much more easily stab into the horse?

"Schone den Mann und schlage die Pferde." - Medieval German saying, meaning:

"Spare the man and slay the horse".

I must admit that while the heaps of the fallen enemies in EB gives me a certain feeling of "well done", too big heaps of horses makes me feel a bit sorry for them. It's not their matter after all.

[Pharnakes]

I also always feel sorry for the horses,

Though, war horses actualy enjoyed fighting.

[The Persian Cataphract]

You feel sorry for the horses... Until you face cataphracted ones

[Pharnakes]

What, all that heavy armour?

As the laziest memeber of the AtB team, how could I not feel sorry for them?

[konny]

2) How horses were transported in boats ?

A good question: On a big sailship, like those that were in use outside the Mediterranian from the late Middleages onward, they were stored underdeck. On a galley, I think, it is impossible in larger numbers because of the rows under deck. But on deck there was also hardly much room for big animals in larger numbers.

The question would be: Were there shipped around a lot at all? For example in the Colonial Periode the British army did ship full cavalry regiments aboard without horses, trying to buy them on the theatre. So I think horses and Elephants had been shipped in Ancient times (somehow Hannibals Elephants must have came to Spain) but only in small numbers; probably on deck in makeshift boxes.

[L.C.Cinna]

on transport ships. the big ones were sail ships. some of them were real monsters like the Roman grain transports or their trade ships which went to India. grain carries of about 55m lenght and around 500 tons!


some "superships" even up to over 1000 tons of transport capacity!

good article