About Horses

Dayly in addition to grazing ?

On the Care and Keeping of Horses in Medieval Europe









by:

Matthew Cross

(Lord Duncan Kerr)





Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Where Horses Were Kept 2

What Horses Were Fed 2

How Horses Were Cared For 3

Shoes 3

Grooming 4

What Horses Were Used For 5

Agriculture 5

Transportation 5

War and Tournaments 5

Hunting 6

Conclusion 6



Introduction
The inspiration for this paper came from my desire to learn more about how horses were kept day to day in the period I try to re-create in the SCA. In the last few years I have gotten involved with equestrian activities, and have learned a lot about how horses are kept in the modern world. In the modern world there are many different ideas about how to keep horses, and I imagine the same was true in period times.

I will focus on 14th century England, though will discuss other times and places as they are relevant. I attempt to build a complete picture, but it is difficult to find information on such a mundane topic. Most people are interested in how horses were used for warfare, tournament, agriculture, and/or transportation – but aren't as interested in how horses were kept or cared for. In this paper I humbly attempt to start to fill that gap.

Where Horses Were Kept
In modern times, horses are mainly kept in barns each in their own box stall. A box stall is 10-12 feet wide in both dimensions. They are 'turned out' for some portion of the day in a fenced area. Some horses are kept outside all the time, and are provided with a shed that they can go in at will to get out of the weather.1

Horses were housed similarly in period. Keeping horses in stables or barns has been done throughout history, even back to ancient Greeks.2 In modern times, a large consideration of horse care is giving them enough turn out time. In period, it would seem that horses most likely got enough exercise every day that they did not need turn out. There was an understanding that horses did need exercise, and could not be kept in a stall constantly and then expected to work. Gervase Markham wrote 'Where, on the contrarie part, who is so simple that hee knoweth not, if a Horse be kept in the stable and want exercise, his hooves will straighten, his sinewes dry uppe, and he prove lame incurable.'3 Markham also writes that horses should lay down to rest in their stall, which indicates that their stalls were big enough for horses to comfartably lie down in.4 Horses kept by peasant farmers for agriculture may have also been kept in the fallow fields with other livestock.5

What Horses Were Fed
In modern times, horses are fed mainly hay (dried grass of various types) and commercial grain mixtures. Some horses are fed on pasture grasses during the parts of the year when they are available, and some horses are not fed any grain.

In period, horses were fed similarly. They were fed mainly hay and oats. During the summer months, instead of hay they were fed freshly mown grass. Other foods that horses were fed include beans, bran, and 'horse-bread'.6 Horse bread was “baked of 'pure beans and peas without mixture of other grain or bran'”.7,8 The horses feed was tailored to its amount of work, like today. In 14th century London it cost between 6 ¼ d. to 7 ½ d. to feed a horse. Annually this worked out to about what a skilled craftsman could make in a year, making it clear that only the very well-to-do could afford to keep a horse. In modern times, horses are still expensive to feed, but much less than the annual salary of a skilled worker (we spend about $1,000 to $1,500 a year per horse for feed).

In modern times, horses are also commonly fed dietary supplements that include such things as vitamins, medication, parasite control, etc. According to Gervase Markham, who wrote about the subject in the early 17th century, there were supplements fed with the main purpose being to purge the horse's body of anything bad.9 Some of these may have had the effect of parasite control, but such supplements as vitamins or joint supplements were probably not known.

How Horses Were Cared For
Shoes
In modern times, the term for a person who maintains a horse's feet is farrier. There are different philosophies on horse shoeing today. Some horses are kept with shoes on all four feet, some with shoes only on the front feet, and some without shoes. Farriers are generally called to trim and reshoe a horse every 4 to 6 weeks. Modern horse shoes are mainly made from steel, though aluminum is sometimes used as well due to its lighter weight.

In medieval times, the state of horse shoeing was similar. The concept of shoeing horses was imported from Asia into Europe in the 9th or 10th century, and was well practiced through most of the medieval period.10 Horseshoes were being mass produced by the 12th century.11 Most horses wore shoes, though some on only their front feet.12 Shoes were made of iron, not steel13 (steel was invented in Roman times if not earlier, but only used for tools and where needed due to it's cost). Calkins (raised features on the heel portion of the shoes) were popular on medieval horseshoes to improve traction14, and are rarely if ever used today. Farriers (referred to as marshals in period15, though the name means much more than just farrier) used all the holes in the shoes for nails (commonly 6 to 9 nails), as opposed to modern times where farriers tend not to use all the holes – usually 6 to 7 nails in shoes with 8 holes.16 Another difference is that horses were commonly shod inside a travis – an open wood frame17, similar in concept to shoeing stocks that are sometimes used for draft horses in modern times. There is evidence that period shoes were either worn much longer than modern shoes or the horses were worked hard, or both – most shoes found in excavations were worn heavily and some were worn through.18 This was probably very similar to automobile maintenance today – there's always something more important or appealing to spend money on than new tires for your car, so they will only get replaced when needed (and sometimes well past when they are really needed).

Grooming
Today horses are groomed mainly with rubber curry combs and brushes. There are many different variations of both available, as well as a multitude of other implements available, but curry combs and brushes are the main tools. The curry comb is used first to bring the dirt to the surface of the horse's coat, and the brushes are used afterwards to remove the dirt. In warm weather, horses are sometimes bathed with a shampoo mixture designed for equine use. There are also many different sprays and solutions available for specific things – such as shampoo for white horses, sprays to make it easier to groom the mane and tail, etc.

According to a 17th century writer, Gervase Markham, horses should be groomed with a “curry combe”, then dusted with “some dead horse tayle nailed to a sticke” (perhaps similar to a horse hair brush), then rubbed over (especially the legs) with “a wispe of straw wrethen hard together”, followed by rubbing him over with your wet hands, and finally shined with a clean coarse cloth “insomuch that you shall almost discerne your face therein”.19 It is likely that what Markham wrote was just describing what was common practice at the time and had been similar for previous centuries. In the medieval period, much is known of curry combs or 'hors combes', as they were made of metal and some survive to this day.20 They had a handle mounted at 90 degrees to the comb. Many of them had loose rings on them, either as a decoration or perhaps as a way to make a soothing sound for the horse during grooming. Metal curry combs such as this fell out of favor in the late 19th and early 20th century. It seems that other than the upgrades in technology (such as the replacement of the metal curry comb for a plastic/rubber one and the invention of innumerable grooming sprays and shampoos), the grooming of horses has not changed much since medieval times.

What Horses Were Used For
Agriculture
In early period, oxen were the main agricultural animal used to pull plows. Horses were beginning to be used and grew in popularity over time, as they worked faster and longer than oxen.21 The drawback of using a horse was that a horse cost more to maintain than an ox. By the 13th century, most of Europe had switched to using horses, except for England. Part of the reason for this may have been that in England, oxen were considered edible and horses were not. For some reason, the English respected the edict from the Christian church that horses were not be eaten, though this was ignored in the rest of Europe.22 Horses used as plow animals were probably worked heavily during the planting season, and may have been used to pull wagons the rest of the year.

Transportation
Transportation was the chief use of horses in the medieval period, either ridden or pulling a wagon or cart. Horses were available for hire for those who did not need a horse every day.23 In addition to hiring a horse, one could also hire the service of a porter or carter to transport something. Horses for hire and porter's horses were likely worked very hard, day in and day out. One imagines that similarly to rental cars today, hired horses were not always treated very well. A large household would have kept a stable of horses, but unless they moved frequently they would have only kept horses they needed day to day, and they would hire or borrow horses when making large moves.24

Desirable riding horses in period were trained to amble.25 This gait is referred to today as a 'pace' and is ridden only in some breeds that do it naturally. In other breeds, such as Missouri Foxtrotters, pacing is considered undesirable – even referred to as the “dreaded pace” by some people.

War and Tournaments
Much has been written about the use of horses in wars and in tournaments, there is little I can add. Obviously today horses are no longer used for these purposes, except by small groups recreating tournaments. One tidbit of information of a more mundane nature was that knights would generally ride their palfreys (who ambled) for travelling, and only mount their destriers (or warhorses) when close the fight.26 This is apparently where the English idiom of “on your high horse” came from.

Hunting
Hunting was a sport practiced by upper class people in period times, and the sport is still popular today, where it is known as fox hunting. Markham, in his “A Discource on Horsmanshippe” spends a whole chapter on the grooming,. feeding, and training of a horse for hunting. In period, the hunt was not limited to foxes, and the rider's technique for riding over a fence has changed. Up until the 19th century, riders sat back in the saddle while jumping, and now the accepted method is to ride in a “forward seat” and come up out of the saddle over a fence.27

Conclusion
Day to day care of horses has not changed radically from medieval England to now. Horses are still kept in stalls. They are fed hay along with another high calorie food – today we feed commercially processed grain mixtures, in period many different things were fed but chiefly oats. Water is a basic necessity of life, and has assuredly not changed. Horses' hooves were trimmed and shod with iron shoes by professionals. The main difference in horses' lives between now and then is the use to which they are put. In modern times, horses are almost exclusively used for pleasure or sport. In medieval times horses were a big part of daily life, from plowing fields, to transporting goods and people, to an instrument of war.

Horses were one of the most valued and convenient of commodities in the medieval period.

The real value of a horse in Medieval Times.
The Medieval Horse filled many roles in life during the Middle Ages.
Look Harold! 16 Leagues to the stook, grinds his own grain, strong enough to carry everything I make and just the right height for me,”

We take horses for granted in our modern age but to the people of the Middle Ages they were as important as a car is to us today. Of course like cars today, not everyone owned a horse in the Middle Ages.

Most of the common folk got about on foot and it was only the prestigious that owned a horse, important members of society such as but not limited to nobles, merchants, clergy, and servants of the wealthy and well established tradesmen or professionals.

Horses were animals of great importance not just for the use of transporting a rider but also for war, hunting, transporting goods, services and information. This could be done either by a rider on horseback, a man on foot leading a horse (or perhaps a mule) or by cart, wagon and for the very rich, by coach.

So what kind of horses did they have?
Breeds as we know them today were non existent in the Middle Ages.

Horses were not classified by breed but function.

It was a very simple process of classification.

If you were to

need a riding horse, you buy a riding horse,
you need a war horse, buy a war horse.
Need a cart horse? You guessed it, buy a cart horse.
There were of course specialised traders and breeders who would deal in a specific kind of horse but not so much specific breeds.

Horse breeds of 1000 years ago.
Historians and horse enthusiasts are still debating today what breeds of horses were around in the medieval period.

What is almost certain is that none of the breeds that we have today were likely around 500-1000 years ago.


So what’s on the agenda today? The little battle down the road, or are we moving the caravan again?

Selective breeding has more or less made it impossible for us to ascertain, with the exception of some pony breeds such as the Icelandic pony and the Dartmoor pony, exactly what these horses would have been. Instead we see modern “reproductions” or likely suspects. Of all types of horses, the one which has perhaps received the most attention in academic and Living History circles is the war horse.

So important to a knight was his war horse that he could not be considered for knighthood without one and without showing adequate cavalry skills. In fact the word that was used to describe a knight in the languages of the day, were words which described a cavalryman. Chevalier, ritter, caballero; all were words that meant mounted warrior. A man without a horse or the skills needed to ride in battle was not a knight at all.



War Horses of the Middle Ages
There were two types of war horse in the Middle Ages, the prized and highly valued destrier and the less expensive, more expendable charger.


And ten more points in the War Games If I can get your Chin Too.

The destrier was the most expensive horse on the market. Vastly specialised and trained in war it was as much a weapon to the knight who rode it as was his lance and sword. These horses were always stallions and their natural aggression was harnessed and encouraged in acts of war. They were also used in tournaments and often knights jousted for the purpose of knocking an adversary from his saddle and claiming the horse for himself as rules oft times allowed. A destrier could cost in the realm of £20-30 which was the equivalent of a common mans earnings of 10 years or more!

Chargers were war horses that were not as highly prized and more commonly found on a battlefield than a destrier. Less costly at around less than half the price of the destrier, they were still very much trained for battle but were less prestigious than their great cousins. They too were stallions for the same reasons.


My great-grandfather said it, and my great-granchildren will say it in the 21st Century… ‘Hurry Up and Wait;

Many people automatically picture a heavy draft when they picture a medieval war horse but this is not the case at all. Most draft breeds did not come about until the renaissance and some not until the time of the industrial revolution and they were bred for pulling heavy loads not for swift and agile manoeuvres in war and combat. Instead the medieval war horse has much in common to it’s descendants of Iberian stock. Andalusian, Lipizzaner, Barb, Lusitano, Knapstrupper and Frederiksborger are all horses which are highly likely to be a good facsimile of a medieval war horse. Clydesdales were never medieval war horses the breed being first recorded in the 19th century and shires originated only a hundred years earlier during the 18thC. It is still debated wether or not the Percheron was around and used as a war horse and if it was it was certainly different to the breed today. Friesians are also subject to an identical debate.

Other types of horses were

courser: a horse used specifically for hunting or for endurance and speed,
rouncey: riding horse,
ambler: another riding horse that could move more swiftly,
sumpter: a pack animal and
hobilar: a rugged and hardy pony which later descended into a “hobby” horse.
All of these horses especially the war horse breeds would have been very fit and strong horses because of the fact that they were in constant use. Today we exercise horses for our events and then transport them to the event whereas in the Middle Ages they were the transport and their exercise was more often than not all of their everyday practical activities.


This is the way we go to work, go to work, tra lah…..

Modern jousting horses are similar to the medieval horse in that breed is not important (except for those with large bank accounts and a determined approach to authenticity) but the ability and willingness of the horse to take on the task, excel and enjoy it most certainly is of great importance.

I have a small amount of credibility when it comes to horses so all this is from the web. If better info comes up I will revise.

Care of Animals

Although player characters should not be forced into the role of grooms, all animals do have some basic needs that must be provided for. However, each animal is different, so the requirements for each are listed separately.
Horses: While strong and fast, horses are not the hardiest creatures for traveling. Horses need around ten pounds of forage and fodder a day. Furthermore, good quality mounts should be fed grain, such as oats. A heavy war horse can't survive the rigors of travel by grazing on grass. Characters who can't provide enough food of high enough quality will watch their horses weaken and die. Horses must also have water every day. This can become particularly difficult in the desert.
During daily travel, horses must be allowed to stop and rest with regular frequency. During these stops the mount should be unsaddled or all packs removed. If this isn't done, little profit is gained from the rest. At night horses should be hobbled or tethered on a long rope so they can graze. If one or two are tied, the others will generally not wander off. Horses need not be shod, unless they walk mostly on hard-surfaced roads or rocky ground. Horseshoes should be replaced about once a month.
Ponies, Donkeys, and Mules: These animals have much the same needs as the horse. One of their main advantages is their ability to survive by grazing. Well accustomed to grass, there is no need to provide them with separate fodder. Their happiness is such that saving throws vs. death made for double movement gain a +2 bonus. This does not apply to triple movement.
The other great advantage of these creatures is their sure-footedness. They can travel through rugged terrain at one less than the normal movement cost. Thus, low mountains cost only three movement points.