War horse
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sandbox of war horse
- For other uses, see War horse.
'Horses have been used in human "Warfare for millennia, probably since the time of domestication. Horses are specially trained for a variety of uses in warfare, incluing battle, individual combat, reconnaissance, supply, and other necessary military uses. The term war horse refers in general to horses used for fighting, whether in battle or invidual combat, though most people think of the destrier, the classic war horse of the knight of the Middle Ages.
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[edit] Types of horses used in war
A fundamental principle of horse conformation is "form to function." Therefore, the type of horse used for various forms of warfare depended on the task at hand. There was also a trade-off between speed and protection. Adding weight reduces maximum speed, as is seen today when handicapping modern race horses. Conversely, a warrior or soldier also required some degree of protection from enemy weapons, and an overemphasis on light equipment could easily prove fatal in some situations. In close combat, protection, even though it added weight, was considered to matter more than speed.
Horses used in war also varied in size, depending on the task at hand, the weight a horse needed to carry or pull, and the distances traveled. The average horse can carry up to approximately 25% of its body weight.<ref>http://www.gaitedhorses.net/Articles/HRiderGuide.shtml</ref><ref>Devereux, Frederick L. The Cavalry Manual of Horse Management, 1941</ref> Weight carried affected both speed and endurance. In some cultures, warriors would travel to battle riding a lighter horse of greater endurance, and then switch to a heavier horse, with greater weight-carrying capacity, for sprints in actual combat.
Horses used for pulling vehicles varied in size, but also traded off speed for weight and power. A team of two light horses could pull a small war chariot that carried only a driver and a warrior, but supply wagons and other support vehicles needed either heavier horses or a larger number of horses to perform the transportation duties required support military operations.<ref name="Chamberlin">Chamberlin, J. Edward. Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations Bluebridge, 2006. ISBN 0974240591</ref> While all horses can pull more than they can carry, the weight horses can pull varies widely, depending on whether a vehicle rolls on wheels or is simply drug, whether it is pulled on a good road or in rough terrain, and so on.<ref name="Russian Draft">Russian Draft Horses "Comparison of Pulling Weights for Russian Draft Breeds" Note: Traction force of horses pulling a load, as measured by a dynamometer, can be between 50-300kg, depending on speed and distance.</ref> In practical terms, a modern heavy draft horse weighing about 2000 lbs can pull somewhere between 1.5 tons and 9 tons, depending on conditions<ref name="Russian Draft"/><ref>"History of the draft horse dynamometer machine"</ref><ref>To get the traction force in Newton(SI units) multiply with the local acceleration due to gravity. The traction power corresponds to the friction force of the pulled object and in case additionally to its downhill-slope force.</ref> For example, a team of two modern draft horses can pull 4,000 lbs in weight-pull competitions, dragging a unwheeled weighted sled on level dirt for a short distance<ref>Eastern Draft Horse Association Rules</ref><ref>2006 National Championships</ref> On the other hand, horses pulling a wheeled vehicle on a paved road can pull roughly three to eight times their weight.<ref>[http://www.easterndrafthorse.com/History/historydyn.htm "History of the draft horse dynamometer machine"</ref> The method by which a horse was hitched to a vehicle also influenced how much it could pull: Horses could pull greater weight hitched to a vehicle with a horse collar than they could with an ox yoke or a breast collar.<ref name="Chamberlin"/>
[edit] Light-weight horses
Light, oriental-type horses such as the ancestors of the modern Arabian, Barb, and Akhal-Teke were used for warfare that required speed, endurance and agility. Such horses ranged from about 13 hands (~1.51 m) to about 15 hands (~1.74 m), weighing approximately 400 to 500 kg (800 to 1000 pounds). To move quickly, riders had to use lightweight tack and carry relatively light weapons such as bows, javelins or, later, rifles. This was the original horse used for raiding, light cavalry, scouting or reconnaissance, and communications.
Light horses were used by many cultures, including the Scythians, the Parthians, the Ancient Egyptians, the Mongols, the Arabs and the American Indian. Throughout the Ancient Near East, because the first domesticated horses were small, light animals, (see domestication of the horse) teams of two or more horses were often used to pull chariots. In the European Middle Ages, the light type of horse became known as a Palfrey. Light horses sometimes carried Dragoons and Mounted infantry, depending on the amount of weight required to be carried by each soldier.
[edit] Medium-weight horses
Medium-weight horses developed with the needs of most civilizations to pull heavier loads and to carry heavier riders, beginning as early as the Iron Age.<ref name="GBE">Edwards, Gladys Brown. The Arabian: War Horse to Show Horse. Arabian Horse Association of Southern California, Revised Collector's Edition, Rich Publishing, 1973.</ref> Breeds such as the ancestors of the modern Andalusian, Lipizzan, and the various Warmblood breeds got their start by the need for horses to haul chariots capable of holding more than one warrior, pull supply wagons, and maneuver various types of weapons, such as Horse artillery into place. As light cavalry evolved into heavy cavalry, a larger horse was also needed to carry the increased weight of a more heavily-armed and armored rider. Medium-weight horses had the greatest range in size, from about 14.2 hands (~1.65 m) to as much as 17 hands (~1.97 m) weighing approximately 500 to 750 kg (1,000 to 1,500 pounds). They generally were quite agile in combat, though they did not have the raw speed or endurance of a lighter horse. The heavier horses in this class were sometimes called Destriers. Horses of a warmblood type often carried European Dragoons and Mounted infantry.
[edit] Heavy-weight horses
Heavy, draft-type horses were used in later periods, particularly in Europe, to pull heavy loads and to carry the heaviest-armored riders of all, the knight of the European Middle Ages. Weighing from 750 to nearly 1,000 kg (1,500 to nearly 2,000 pounds), the ancestors of breeds similar to today's modern Belgian and Shire had the muscle power to pull heavy supply wagons, albeit slowly, and to be calm under fire. Breeds at the smaller end of the heavyweight category, such as the Friesian, and Percheron carried knights, and had to be agile for their size in order to manuver in battle. Heavier Shire-type horses were sometimes ridden in battle, but usually for jousting or short charges where agility and endurance were less necessary.[citation needed] These horses were sometimes referred to as Chargers, the "Great Horse" or war horse (in a more limited meaning). There is a dispute if the Destrier class of horse included the heaviest types.
[edit] Other Equids
Horses were not the only animals used to support human warfare. Mules, a hybrid of a horse and a donkey or ass were also commonly used, especially as pack animals and to pull wagons, though occasionally as riding animals.<ref name="Hubbell">Hubbell, Gary. "21st Century Horse Soldiers." Western Horseman, December 2006, pp. 45-50</ref> Mules, as a general rule, are considered both calmer and hardier than horses and so were useful for strenuous, difficult support tasks, particularly hauling food and supplies over difficult terrain. The size of a mule and work to which it was put depended largely on the breeding of the mare that produced the mule. Mules, like horses, could be lightweight, medium weight, or even, when produced from draft horse mares, of moderate heavy weight.
[edit] Training and deployment of war horses
- See also horse training
The details on various methods of training horses, and war horses in particular, vary as much as the cultures and historical periods that produced them. Horse training methods were commonly passed on through an oral tradition and the number of written treatises on the subject was quite limited until the modern era. The oldest manual on training horse for chariot warfare is the work of the Hittite horsemaster, Kikkuli, who wrote on the subject circa 1350 B.C.<ref name="Chamberlin"/> An ancient manual on the subject of training riding horses, particularly for the Ancient Greek light cavalry is Hippike On Horsemanship written about 360 B.C. by the Greek cavalry officer Xenophon, an Athenian who later lived in Sparta, where he wrote several works.<ref name="Hope">Hope, Lt. Col. C.E.G. The Horseman's Manual New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972. ISBN 684-13622-8, ch. 1 and 2.</ref> One of the earliest texts from Asia was that of Kautilya, written about 323 B.C. <ref name="Chamberlin"/>
Whether horses were trained for pulling chariots, to be ridden as light cavalry, heavy cavalry, or as the Destrier for the heavily-armoured knight, much training was required to overcome the horse's natural instinct to flee from noise, the smell of blood, and the confusion of combat. Horses had to learn to face weaponry of the enemy and not panic, even if struck, and learn to accept any sudden or unusual movements of their riders when utilizing a weapon or avoiding one. Developing balance and agility was crucial. The origins of the discipline of Dressage came from the need to train horses to move with as much athleticism while carrying a rider as they did when free.
A war horse used as a riding animal in most cultures was trained to be controlled with limited use of reins, responding primarily to the rider's legs and weight; to develop tolerance for the noises of battle; to become accustomed to any necessary tack and protective armour placed upon it, as well as learn to balance under a rider who would also be laden with weapons and armor. Horses used for chariot warfare were not only trained for combat conditions, but because many chariots were pulled by a team of two to four horses, they also had to learn to work together with other animals in close quarters under chaotic conditions.
In addition, some war horses were trained for specialized uses. A horse used in close combat may have been taught, or at least permitted, to kick, strike and even bite, thus becoming weapons in the extended arsenal of the warriors they carried. Other horses, used for raids or reconnaissance, were taught to remain quiet at all times, to avoid whinnying to other horses or otherwise betraying their presence.
The Haute ecole or "High School" movements of classical dressage taught to the famous Lipizzan horses at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna have their roots in maneuvers needed on the battlefield. However, it must be pointed out that modern airs above the ground were unlikely to have been used in actual combat, as most would have exposed the unprotected underbelly of the horse to the weapons of foot soldiers.<ref name="Chamberlin"/>
[edit] Technological innovations in equestrian equipment
See also: saddle, bridle, harness, chariot, stirrup
While the invention of the wheel is widely touted as a major innovation that gave rise to chariot warfare. However, the demise of the chariot did not end the need for technological innovations in pulling technologies. Horses could pull greater weight after the invention of the horse collar circa A.D. 800 than they could when hitched to a vehicle by means of an ox yoke or a breast collar in earlier times.<ref name="Chamberlin"/>
Riders fought on horseback for centuries with little more than a blanket or pad on the horse's back and a rudimentary bridle. Riders quickly learned to pad their horse's backs. Both the Scythians and Assyrians used pads and felt attached with a surcingle or girth around the horse's belly for increased security and comfort. Xenophon mentioned the use of a padded cloth on cavalry mounts in the fourth century B.C.<ref name="Hope"/>
Two major innovations that revolutionized the effectiveness of mounted warriors in battle were the saddle and the stirrup.
The saddle with a solid tree to provide a bearing surface to protect the horse from the weight of the rider was not widespread until the second century A.D.<ref name="Hope"/> However, it made a critical difference, as horses could carry more weight when distributed by a tree. A solid tree also allowed a rider greater security in the saddle. Arguably one of the most important inventions that made cavalry particularly effective was the stirrup, appearing in about the 7th century AD, which gave nomadic tribes such as the Mongols a decisive military advantage.[citation needed]
[edit] History of the horse in warfare
There is solid evidence horses were used in warfare early in recorded history. One of the first pieces of evidence is from the "war panel" of the Standard of Ur, in Sumeria, dated c. 2500 B.C., showing horses (or possibly onagers or mules) pulling a four-wheeled wagon.<ref>Pritchard, James B. The Ancient Near East, Vol. 1, Princeton University Press, 1958. Illustration 97.</ref> While the standard does not show horses in actual combat, simply pulling wagons, Equids clearly had a role to play in the victory depicted.
The earliest documented examples of horses playing a role in combat were in chariot warfare. Early evidence of chariot use are the chariot burials of the Andronovo (Timber-Grave) sites of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in modern Russia and Kazakhstan, dated to approximately 2000 BC.[citation needed] The oldest evidence of what was probably chariot warfare in the Ancient Near East is the Old Hittite Anitta text, of the 18th century BC, which mentioned 40 teams of horses at the siege of Salatiwara.[citation needed] The Hittites became well known throughout the ancient world for their prowess with the chariot.<ref>The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. II, part 1, third ed., Cambridge Universtiy Press, 1975, pp. 493-495.</ref>
The Hyksos invaders brought the chariot to Ancient Egypt in the 16th century B.C. and the Egyptians adopted its use from that time forward.<ref name="GBE"/><ref>Hitti, Phillip K. Lebanon in History, MacMillan and Co., London, 1957, pp. 77-78.</ref><ref>The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. II, part 1, third ed., Cambridge Universtiy Press, 1975, pp. 57, 452, 458.</ref> The oldest preserved text related to the handling of war horses in the ancient worrld is the Hittite manual of Kikkuli, which dates to about 1350 BC, and describes the conditioning of chariot horses.<ref name="Chamberlin"/><ref>The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. II, part 1, third ed., Cambridge University Press, 1975, p. 493</ref>
Some of the earliest examples of horses being ridden in warfare were archers or spear-throwers mounted on horseback, dating to the reigns of the Assyrian rulers Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III.<ref name="Trench">Trench, Charles Chenevix. A History of Horsemanship. Longman Group, Ltd., London, 1970, p. 16</ref> However, these the riders sat far back on their horses, an awkward position for moving quickly, and the horses were usually held by a handler on the ground, keeping the archer free to use the bow. Thus these archers were more a type of mounted infantry than true cavalry.<ref name="Hope"/> The Assyrians developed cavalry in response to invasions by nomadic people from the north, such as the Cimmerians, who entered Asia Minor in the 8th Century, B.C. and took over parts of Urartu during the reign of Sargon II, approximately 721 B.C.<ref name="GBE"/> Mounted warriors such as the Scythians also had an influence on the region in the 7th century B.C.<ref>Rice, Tamare Talbot. The Scythians, New York: Praeger, Inc.,1957</ref> By the reign of Ashurbanipal in 669 B.C., the Assyrians had learned to sit forward on their horses in the classic position of riding still seen today and could be said to be true light cavalry.<ref name="Hope"/> The ancient Greeks used both light horse scouts and heavy cavalry.<ref name="Chamberlin"/><ref name="Hope"/><ref name="GBE"/><ref name="Trench"/>
Heavy cavalry was believed to have been developed by the Ancient Persians.<ref name="Trench"/> By the time of Darius (558-486 B.C.), Persian military tactics evolved to require horses and riders that were completely armored, and a heavier, more muscled horse developed to carry the additional weight.<ref name="GBE"/> Later, The ancient Greeks developed a heavy armored cavalry, the most famous units being the companion cavalry of Alexander the Great.<ref name="Chamberlin"/> The Romans also used heavy cavalry.
The term cataphract describes some of the tactics, armour and weaponry of mounted units used from the time of the Persians up until the Middle Ages.
[edit] War horses of Africa, Asia and the Muslim world
The Mongols of the 7th century A.D., successfully invaded eastern Europe, and Muslim warriors conquered North Africa and the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century.
[edit] The Knight
During the Middle Ages, the war horse increased in height and weight to accommodate heavier armoured knights. The horse ridden by William of Normandy in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 was said to be relatively large Iberian-type animal such as the modern Andalusian, at about 15.2 to 16.2 hands tall.<ref>Killingsworth, William R. "Andalusian"</ref> Other modern breeds such as the Friesian horse may also have had ancestors used for carrying knights.<ref>"Friesian horse"</ref>
As time passed, however, even larger horses, up to 17 hands and 1,500 pounds, with the strength to carry both a knight and his heavy plate armour were developed. <ref>Id</ref><ref>Alvarez, Richard P. "The Horse: Selection and Training," Mounted Combat 2000, accessed November 1, 2006</ref> <ref>"Shire Draft Horse</ref> In addition to height and weight, this type of horse, known as a Destrier or Great Horse, was selected for agility and trainability. The expense of keeping, training and outfitting these specialized horses prevented the majority of the population from owning them. Modern breeds of draft horse such as Belgian, Percheron and Shire horse descended from the huge horses developed to carry full armour.<ref>"Shire Horse History"</ref>
There is some question if the heaviest forms of plate armour were ever actually used in combat, or if they were confined to ceremonial uses or individual competitions such as jousting.[citation needed]
Experts dispute the precise cause of the demise of the armored knight. Some claim it was the invention of gunpowder and the musket. <ref>ISAAC NEWTON AND THE ASSAULT RIFLE: Body Armor Innovations. "...with the introduction of modern firearms such as the musket, full body armor was rendered obsolete almost overnight."</ref> Others date it earlier, to the use of the English longbow that was introduced into England from Wales in 1250 and used with decisive force in conflicts such as the Battle of Crécy in 1346.<ref>Military and War Weapons the Longbow</ref> In either case, although equipment became heavier and chain mail gave way to plate armor, weapons technology evolved faster yet and came to effectively counter the force of heavily-armored knights as shock troops.
[edit] Warfare in the Renaissance and Early Modern Period
With the development of muskets and other light firearms during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, light cavalry again became useful for both battles and field communication, using fast, agile horses to move quickly across battlefields. The once-proud heavy armored horse of the medieval knight had little use in combat and was relegated to hauling cannons and wagons of supplies.
Horses were particularly useful in the 16th century as a weapon of war for the Conquistadors. When these Spanish warriors came to the Americas and conquered the Aztec and Inca empires, horses and gunpowder provided a crucial edge. Because the horse had been extinct in the Western Hemisphere for approximately 10,000 years, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas had no warfare technologies that could overcome the considerable advantage provided by European horses and weapons. However, the American Indian people quickly learned to use horses, and the tribes of the Great Plains, such as the Comanche and the Cheyenne, became renowned horseback fighters, again demonstrating the efficiency of light cavalry, eventually becoming a considerable problem for the United States Army.
[edit] 20th century uses and the transition to modern warfare
Horses were still seen in cavalry units during World War II, most famously when the underequipped Polish army used its cavalry to defend Poland against the armies of Nazi Germany. Contrary to Nazi propaganda of the era, the majority of Polish cavalry charges were in fact successful against the better-armed German forces. The German and the Soviet armies used horses until the end the war, not only to transport ammunitions and equipment, but also for reconnaissance and counter-insurgency efforts.
Most formal mounted cavalry units were phased out as fighting forces during or immediately after World War II.[citation needed] Today, formal fighting units of mounted cavalry are considered a thing of the past, with mounted horseback units within the modern military used for reconnaissance, ceremonial, or crowd control purposes. (See "Horses in the military today," below.) However, organized mounted units of armed fighters are still occasionally seen. The best-known current example are the Janjaweed militias used in the Darfur region of Sudan, who became notorious for their attacks upon unarmed civilian populations.<ref>Lacey, Marc. "In Sudan, Militiamen on Horses Uproot a Million." New York Times, May 4, 2004</ref>
[edit] Horses in the military today
Light cavalry remained a force on the battlefield until the 20th century. With the rise of the internal combustion engine, horses were displaced by modern tank warfare, which, ironically, is sometimes still referred to as "cavalry."
Although horses have little combat use today by modern armies, the military of many nations still maintain small numbers of mounted units for certain types of patrol and reconnaissance duties in extremely rugged terrain, including the current conflict in Afghanistan. Hungary, some British Commonwealth countries, Balkan countries, and nations that once comprised Soviet Central Asia maintain cavalry units as part of light infantry and reconnaissance formations for use in mountainous terrain or areas where fuel supply may be difficult.
Many countries throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, maintain traditionally-trained and historically uniformed cavalry units for exhibition, demonstration or educational purposes. One example is the Horse Cavalry Detachment of the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division.<ref>First Team! Horse Cavalry Detachment</ref> This unit, made up of active duty soldiers, still functions as an active unit, trained to approximate the weapons, tools, equipment and techniques used by the United States Cavalry in the 1880s.<ref>Hubbell, Gary. "21st Century Horse Soldiers." Western Horseman, December 2006, pp. 45-50</ref> The horse detachment is headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas and is charged with public relations, chage of command ceremonies and public appearances.<ref>Id.</ref> A similar detachment is the Strathcona Mounted Troop, the only regular force cavalry unit in the Canadian Army.<ref>http://www.hood.army.mil/1cd_horsedet/canada_02.html</ref>
[edit] Modern uses of horses derived from military uses
Today, many the historical military uses of the horse have evolved into peacetime applications.
[edit] Historical reenactment
Horses are trained to be able to reenact historical battle scenes today. Examples include the Battle of Hastings reenactment and the American Civil War reenactment. Due to changes between ancient and modern horses, equipment and materials, it is sometimes difficult to create reenactments that are fully authentic with original equipment and horse breeds of the represented time, though, to the greatest extent possible, many reenactors attempt to accurately reflect details of equipment, training, weaponry and battlefield conditions.
[edit] Law enforcement
The Police Horse is a fixture in many large cities, used for patrol and crowd control. Ceremonial horse guards, often in historical regalia, are seen in some major cities, such as London, performing traditional sentry and guard duties.
In rural areas, many Sheriff's offices have specially deputized, usually volunteer, search and rescue units who are often sent out to locate missing people.<ref>Northwest Horseback Search and Rescue. Example of a mounted search and rescue organization in the state of Washington, USA</ref> Horses can be an essential part of an overall team effort as they can move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport heavy equipment, and provide a more rested rescue worker when a subject is found.<ref>Why Search on Horseback? Northwest Horseback Search and Rescue web site, accessed November 9, 2006</ref>
[edit] Equestrian competition
The modern Olympic disciplines of eventing, show jumping, and dressage all have roots in the skills required of the light cavalry horse of the 17th through 19th centuries. Dressage is based of the works of Xenophon and his cavalry training methods, most notably On Horsemanship, but had its greatest revival during the Renaissance. Training methods were developed to create a responsive, supple horse that could quickly respond to his rider's commands, as was critical when riding on the dangerous ground of the battlefield. The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria was originally created to train horses and members of the nobility for combat, but today is one of the great schools for developing horses and riders in the classical dressage tradition.
Eventing had a more recent development, first occurring in the late 1800s as a competitive endurance ride that included jumping obstacles. The discipline eventually added a dressage phase, to test the ability of the cavalry mount on the parade ground, the endurance phase, to test the mount's fitness and ability to carry messages across the countryside, traveling quickly over rough terrain, and the stadium jumping phase, as a test to ensure that the mount was still fit enough to continue after the rigors of the endurance competition. It evolved into the modern three-phase competition seen today.
Show jumping, primarily derived from the sports of fox hunting and steeplechasing as well as informal "lepping" competitions between civilian riders, is the farthest removed from direct military applications. However military units also developed jumping skills to cross formidable obstacles, crucial for carrying messages and coordinating troop movements. Leaders in the development of modern riding technique over fences, such as Fredrico Caprilli, came from military ranks.
The Olympic equestrian national teams of the modern Olympics were originally drawn exclusively from the male officer ranks of the military until 1952.<ref>"Olympic History", United Kingdom Olympic Association, retrieved 08 November 2006</ref> After that time, both civilian and military competitors competed together until most cavalry units were disbanded in the postwar era, and today most team members are drawn almost entirely from civilian ranks. Today, the equestrian events are the only Olympic competition where men and women compete together.
The modern sport of Tent pegging is the most broadly recognized and practiced sport specifically designed to train the war horse and its rider in the skills of mounted combat.<ref>"Tent pegging recognised by the FEI", International Federation for Equestrian Sports, 2004, retrieved 08 November 2006</ref><ref>"Tent pegging with the GGHG Canadian Household Cavalry", Practical Idealism, 2006, retrieved 08 November 2006</ref>
[edit] References
<References/>
[edit] Bibliography
- Anthony, David W. (1998). "The opening of the Eurasian steppe at 2000 BC." In The Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Peoples of Eastern Central Asia, ed. Victor H. Mair, vol. 1. (Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph 26). Washington, D.C.: The Institute for the Study of Man.
- Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Amigo Publications Inc; 1st edition 1998. ISBN 0-9658533-0-6
- Chamberlin, J. Edward. Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations. Bluebridge, 2006, p. 166-167 ISBN 0-9742405-9-1
- Edwards, Gladys Brown. The Arabian: War Horse to Show Horse. Arabian Horse Association of Southern California, Revised Collector's Edition, Rich Publishing, 1973.
[edit] See also
- Horses in Warfare
- Kikkuli
- Xenophon
- cavalry
- cavalry tactics
- chariot
- chariot tactics
- Classical dressage
- Equestrianism
[edit] External links
- The Institute for Ancient Equestrian Studies (IAES)
- New Riders of the Golden Age Modern performers of authentic full contact jousts on Belgian, Percheron, Shire, and Clydesdale horses.
- The British Cavalry Regiments of 1914-1918 The British Cavalry Regiments of 1914-1918
- The Spanish Mustang Registry (preservers of the warhorse of ancient Spain)
- United States Dressage Federation
- Home Page of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, where the "high school" art of Dressage preserves the ancient movements and manuvers of the war horse.
- Manual about horses in the battle of Hastings reenactmentde:Schlachtross
