Nah, everyone know all horses during the medieval era were actually servants running behind the rider while banging coconuts together.

Remember, for over a millennium a guy on a horse was the fastest internet connection you could get

Interesting, so when they say in “The night before Christmas” the line “His coursers they flew” we can take away that Santa’s reindeer are trained for combat. Good to know.

Shad, This is a bit of a necro comment, but I've just stumbled on this older video of yours about horses, nicely done. I agree completely. Medieval war horses in Western Europe at least, were usually stallions, so stronger and more muscular than most modern riding horses that are usually mares or gelded male horses called geldings. The Stallion hormones make a big difference in behaviour and performance, and smaller horses, about 15 hands high are easier to get on in armour too.

I asked my horse if he liked this video. Turns out he's a neighsayer.

The Broze Age civilazations actually used chariots because the horses were still pretty small. Egyptian horses were prized for being able to be extremely good quality, but could not hold up a man wearing armor.

"All right I hope you heard that. She called me a noble steed." -Donkey

They weren't just trained, they were types, in contrast to modern breeds. The courser was not any horse trained for battle. That's wrong. Destrier = Stallion created by crossing something like an andalusian stallions (or what they were back then) with a mare courser. In theory it could be any large stallion outside ones own area. This created hybrid vigor in the first generation. A destrier was usually for tournaments, but could be used for war by rich knights and major magnates. We have written evidence for this breeding practice with andalusian horses. Courser = Was the regular large horse breed for warfare and in universal use by men-at-arms. This is a type. Palfrey = Was a dedicated riding horse. It was not for warfare and that has to do with the gait. This was for smooth riding. They are amblers. Later, riding horses with a trott was called hackenys. Rouncey = This was a jack-of-all-trades horse. It could be used as a medium war horse, riding horse or pack animal. Mounted archers had these. Charger = Specifically a horse trained for combat and could be a destrier, courser or rouncey. (You have mixed this up with courser.) Hobby = This is a medium riding horse suited for rough terrain because of the gait. They were a specific breed and imported from Ireland in the 14th century. Originally they were palfreys imported to Ireland. Mounted archers would ride these horses. Jennet = Spanish riding horse much like the Hobby, but probably more collected. Sumter = Pack horse.

Horse's might have not been that big but ya know what was? the snails

Everyone know they can use horse to climb almost vertical cliff

One thing I'd like to add: gaited horses were much more common in the middle ages than they are today. Palfreys often had a fourth gait which made them much more comfortable for riding long distances. This ability got lost in most breeds as they were bred for modern cavalry or pulling carriages, but lived on in Iceland and the Americas.

Jumps off his mid lands palfrey to take the fallen lord's destrier . . . and can't jump on . . . "You do not have enough riding skill for this mount" whuut

Shad is horsing around.

Excellent job, Shad! I'm a lifelong horsewoman and I have to commend you on your research on this subject. Things haven't changed much, the horse world is still full of classifications and terms that aren't clearly understood by the general public.

Shad, I have been a lifelong fan of medieval cavalry and I'd like to bring to your attention a story I once heard from a historian. It's been years but the gist of it is a noble came home from war on one (if not the) largest war horses recorded in the medieval period and they believe it was the size of a modern Shire Draft horse, it was solid black and dwarfed the rest of the calvary horses around it. I'll do more research and see if I can find the story to share.

Theese terms still are very similar in Italian ENG - ITA Sumpter - da Soma (in Italian "da" has the same meaning as "-er" in English) Rouncey - Ronzino Palfrey - Palafreno Courser - Corsiero Destrier - Destriero: from the latin, and then Italian, "destro", meaning right-handed, which was the hand used by the squire to hold the reins of his Lord's war-horse ;)

I once had a woman tell me I couldn't ask her anything about horses that she didn't already know, but I Stumpter.

Shad Fact: Shad recently participated in a caber toss. Though we are still waiting for it the log to actually land.

Hey Shad, I'm indigenous of the Tsilhqot'in people, and we're a very horse-oriented culture back when Spaniards came and mingled with us, one of the things they gave/introduced to us was horses. This video hit close to home, thanks, man.

Thank you for clarifying the difference between types of horse and breeds! And for your thorough research into horses! It really showed in this video and your terminology is spot on. Many don't know that breed registries only became commonplace long after the medieval period. So, the classifications you described in this video are far more accurate to the period than classifying a horse by 'breed'.

In Italian we still use "destriero" (singular) and "destrieri" (plural) when we want to sound fancy when talking about horses. Also we use it specifically to refer to a knight's horse.

This made my DND campaigns so much easier.

More 👏 equine 👏 content 👏 I tore through a couple wikipedia pages on this on a car ride a month ago and it was simply fascinating

Another big thing for a war horse, or, destrier, is its training. Not just maneuvering, horses try not step on bodies, so they have to be trained to stomp on corpses as well as get used to the smell of death and blood. Regardless, a war horse that survives a major battle suffers from debilitating PTSD, so that it was sold as a riding horse, or palfrey, after one, sometimes two battles.

Is it true they taste like raisins?

I'm so early, knights are still just people who can afford a horse.

Shad: "I do hope you enjoyed" all of us: Of course we did - thats why we are here

Knights back then who rode armored horses: LOOK AT MY HORSE! MY HORSE IS AMAZING!!

I used to make the same argument until my voice got horse...

Wait, what is this? Only a 10 minute video? Ooh, I take it, it's because most horses can't be equipped with machicolations, isn't it?

I wasn’t prepared to see a horse wearing a suit

Plot Twist: Horses are actually aristocratic Donkies.

I had no idea, I guess it’s obvious once humans started breeding animals for certain traits, their phenotype would change so super fast, very interesting video cheers

I've been binge re-watching your videos and at the very moment I go to bed you upload a new one. Please Shad let me continue with my life.

I know Shad talked about this but I know it can be confusing for some people: a "colt" is the term for a young male horse below the age of 1 year, a "filly" is the term for a female of the same age, the term for a young horse in general around that age is a "foal", once the foal is one year old it is called a "yearling", the term for a castrated male horse is a "gelding", the term for an uncastrated male horse is a "stallion or a stud", and finally the term for a female adult horse is a "mare". Often these terms differ from place to place, I think in England fully and colt means younger than 5 years, particularly when it comes to racing horses.

Sumpter: van or cheap sedan Rouncy: a nice sedan Palfrey: sports car Courser: humvee Destrier: basic armoured vehicle Elephant: tank (Edited: switched courser and destrier and added elephant. See comments below for the reasons. Thanks for the feedback! )

the amount of people who think the american indians always had horses is also shocking.

This video reminds me of the Hand's Joust in the first Game of Thrones book. Gregor Clegane rode a Destrier, and Loras Tyrell rode a mare. Gregor's horse was still pretty strong because it wasn't a gelding, but looked like a pony when Gregor was riding him. The strength added by the fact this stallion wasnt gelded turned into a disadvantage, as its natural disobedience made it hard to ride, and Loras' mare was in heat made the stallion go nuts.

You've made every historical and high fantasy novel I've ever read make so much more sense with this!

There's actually a series of medieval themed dinner theaters (complete with various medieval equestrian/tournament games & jousting) in the US called "Medieval Times" that feature Andalusian horses, which were a popular breed of war horse dating back to the High Middle Ages, which I think is a rather nice touch.

from an italian viewer "destriero" is singular, "destrieri" is plural and is a common term for ridable horse, i like the video btw, very informative!

Look at my horse My horse is amazing

JUST WHAT I NEEDED FOR MY COMIC!!!!!!!! (probably 4 years before there is even any form of a final version though)

May the Horse be with you. Always.

Shad, just started listening to Shadow of the conquer (chapter 19 so far). I've got to say I'm loving it from your worldbuilding, characters, and fight scenes. Carry on good Sir.

Thanks for being there when I can't sleep shad!!

I’m a horse rancher, and I found your medieval terminology fascinating. Thank You Sir Shad.

1:42 Technically launching yourself with a trebuchet makes travelling faster than on horseback.

Really interesting. Seems like the way how they differentiated horses back then is similar to how we differentiate cars today

when I first started watching this video "eh, this is not gonna be that interresting" after watching this video "ok, that was actually really interresting to watch"

Shad, as usual, does not disappoint! Bravo & Many Thanks!

Oh, wow... You know, I actually tried researching this topic for my own book some time back and came across these same terms (though I have been sticking with the standard modern sizes/colors of horses >.> 'cause I didn't know that bit). But I don't recall "Sumpter" in any of the references. I've been using "draft" to sum up the work horses or those with more muscle for labor jobs. That was the only term I could find for that role until you mentioned it.

Nice work there shad. People always seem to make the assumption that riding a horse, nevermind riding one in battle, was easy. Let me tell you somethimg (I took riding lessons for 6 years). A horse is a living beeing. They have an own will. Yes, they can be trained but they are still sentient to some degree and they have some caveats to them. Staying on horseback is not easy, nevermind holding a weapon while doing it. Shad, have you ever sat on a horse? It requires a lot of practice. Great vid by the way. Keep up the good work.

"Really Far Back" my new favorite way for describing pre-history :D

Thank you for this video Shad, it has been extremely helpful for me as I write my book, which actually has quite a few horses in it.

how you described how the warhorses needed to be reminded me of how the horses are for the type of western riding I do. I do a style called "Reining", and the better reining horses tend to be short and stocky (though that's not a rule), and breed doesn't matter, they just need to stop quickly, be able to spin around and make sure they don't trip on their feet while they do it.

Interestingly enough, most of this classifications have analogous terms in Spanish. I haven’t found anything for sumpter but the rest are as follows: Rouncey -> Rocín Palfrey - Palafrén Courser -> Corcel Destrier -> Destrero And from “rocín” comes “Rocinante”, Don Quixote’s famous horse (those who watch “The Expanse will be familiar with that name)

5:08 don't feel too bad. You pronounced it well there!!!

Every so often I come back to this video, it's one of my favourites. Excellent reference material.

Thank you so much for this information! I have a horse in my novel that I didn't know how to describe it properly and while I have been talking with equestrian experts, they don't know the middle ages, just horses and particulars to them, evidently I got a scene of two individuals racing one another horrifically wrong... 😱🤯. I always value and appreciate your content, MOST INFORMATIVE AND INFLUENTIAL!

I always had the impression that the Arabian Horse was like a peek into history into what medieval horses might have looked like. Not big, not small, but hell of an elegant marathoner.

My character in my story has two horses that are very important to him, a war horse and a pack horse. I think I have just named the pack horse Stumpter.

Thanks Shawn. I was working on these terms myself but it really helps getting them all together like this.

Love this! There is so much in the equine world-this is a great introduction to it! Thank you Shad!

Man, these KZfaq ads are almost as long as the video. Well, Shad is worth it.

I learned about medieval horse classifications from reading the game of thrones books thanks for further elaborating learned more from this then my Google search.

Another great informative video. Thank you this is really useful for my stories. I hope you'll make a follow up video on what exactly made the horses good for those classes. Like what qualities would be instilled in them and how they differentiate from each other.

Hey shad!!! I got your book for my birthday a couple days ago I know it’s kinda late but I’ve been wanting to read it since I first heard about it

So got my mission call, your next book better be out when I get back!

When you said Stumpter I was like, "Ooh I like that!." When you corrected yourself I was mildly disappointed.

Great Video. One horse I am quite fond of in this video is the Percheron which survives to this day. This breed is the true Destrier of the lot. Bred in France in Perche and used in the crusades these were big white draft hybrids perfect for a heavy cavalry role. Not a horse for the poor man...but for aspiring Royals looking to cut their teeth in the Holy Land. Big and Strong. Docile yet agile. Easy Grooming with no hoof feathers. A good match for the Role of war fighting against the circling Saracen. They were used again in WW1 but were nearly lost. Bar U Ranch Alberta became the genetic homestead for the breed and they have been redistributed throughout England France the US and Canada. Good Horses never die.

I love the chairside chats (presentations, whatever). I hope you will do more of them.

As an A Song Of Ice And Fire reader I have needed this video for a long time.

May the Horse be with you.

And in modern equine training, getting them to stay calm under various circumstances is sometimes called "bombproofing". No actual bombs involve, just a lot of noise and flapping bright colors. I'm trying to imagine how weird or normal modern training would look to medieval trainers...

Thanks for this video, I have recently been really intrigued by medieval culture, and horses in particular.

When something is important in a culture, it tends to get many many names.

Yes, a horse video :D Though the whole category thing made me think because even though you said that the categories had nothing to do with breeds I assume that there were still 'breeds' (or what was similar to that) in the medieval period for the different categories. Because I can't imagine a nobleman buying a destrier who is from the same bloodline as some sumpter. That just makes no sense value wise. So logically speaking there were the categories which probably still had different body types and bloodlines in them if not called breeds. Because you can't just take every horse, raise it differently and have it being good at what they were raised at. A pack horse should have a different build from a riding horse, and different traits at that and since people back then weren't stupid I think it is safe to assume that they did do purposefully breed for certain traits depending on what they wanted their horse to do or sell them to do (even if we don't know about breeds and only the categories :) ). Also also if the destries were valued for speed and quick turns and stops then they can't have been Clydesdale and other heavy bred horses because those are slow as F*** (very calm and lovely but usually not in a great hurry to get anywhere). So yeah agree with that big horses not necessarily good for fast combat :)

I was actually having a discussion on this very subject less than a week ago, trying to explain many of the points you brought up to a friend who hasn't done the same level of research as I have into things of this nature.

Any time I see a KZfaqr with a medieval/war horse video I kind of hold my breath in expectation of how bad it will be. ;) I have been jousting and actively studying and practicing fencing on horseback for about 20 years. So when I see a video like this that finally gets some stuff right I have to say, well done! I just wish more KZfaqrs would actually do some real research and maybe talk to people who actually fight on horseback before they post videos. So again, well done and thank you. PS Just a little FYI. We don't call it "prancing" if it is done on purpose. When it is a specifically trained movement it would be a piaffe or passage. ;)

"In the county of Flanders in 1297, one destrier was worth seven Diddly Doodlies."

Shad: there are a lot of terms in eqiunes lol and there's still the whole world of horse colors Anyways, very helpful :) I was curious to see what the classifications in dnd would mean and this put that more in perspective

1) 4:34 - Sumpter (aka: "Stumpter" (Shad's mispronouniation)). 2) 5:15 - Rouncey. 3) 5:30 - Palefrey. 4) 6:20 - Courser. 5) 7:32 - Destrier/horse genders.

If people want to see what some horses would have looked like in the late migratory- early medieval period, look up the Icelandic horse. These are what the “Vikings” and Norseman were using, and as a breed; haven’t really changed. Quite short in stature, and coveted for their “fifth gear”; a ride unique to them. It’s in between a trot and a canter. Fascinating little thing.

I still hope you play Mount 'n Blade someday to give your impressions of the Medieval depictions in that game (esp combat and sieges)

Sun Pin said: "In employing the army there are ten objectives for which the cavalry is advantageous: 1) When moving to counter a enemy, to arrive first. 2) to exploit vacuities at the enemy's back. 3) to pursue the scattered and strike the chaotic. 4) when moving to counter an enemy, to strike their rear, forcing them to run off. 5) to intercept provisions and foodstuffs, to sever the army's roads. 6) to defeat forces at fords and passes, to open large and small bridges. 7) to surprise unprepared troops, to strike as yet unorganized brigades. 8) to attack lassitude and indolence, to go forth where not expected. 9) to incinerate accumulated stores and empty out market lanes. 10) to forage in the fields and countryside, to bind up their children. "For these 10 tactical objectives it is advantageous to employ the cavalry in warfare. Now the cavalry is able to separate and combine, able to disperse and assemble. A hundred kilometers comprise a marching period; for a thousand kilometers they travel forth, their going and coming unbroken. Thus they are termed 'the weapon of separating and combining." (And is in fact exactly what Napoleon would do a millennium or two later, defeat in detail) And Xenophon likened a cavalry file to a sword. Saying the youngest, boldest, and most daring should be at the head of the file. While the more experienced should make up the rear. This way, like a sword it'll be sharp, capable of cutting deeply, with a strong back so the blade does not break. (I'm paraphrasing here, I couldn't find the exact quote. The book it's in apparently went awol on me).

The reason that they were not referring to them as 'breeds' was that most breeds that we know today were not started until the sixteenth or the seventeenth century. Horses were just bred regionally, and occasionally, a specific phenotype was established, but nobody really named that breed, and the people only knew them as 'horse'. Those breeds are nowadays usually named after the region they originated in. The typology of horse names never indicated size or strength. It depicts usefulness. A horse from the same breeder could be destined to be a destrier or courser, or end up a sumpter, simply by being unwilling to accept a rider. Also, most horses were not 3 gaited as modern horses usually are. A palfrey (zelter in german) for example is especially distinguished as a gaited horse, whose preferred gait was the amble. This meant they were very comfortable to ride at very high average speeds. They were great for riding long distances, but not very useful in combat, where you would prefer a simpler to handle, walk-trot-canter 3 gaited horse. Palfreys tended to not be very nimble due to their walk mechanics. Still, a palfrey would rival a destrier in price.

I really enjoy these non-combat videos you make about medieval life.

what if horse called mayo and neighs, mayo-neighs

Shad find himself stumped on how to pronounce sumpter.

Loved this video, would you ever do a video on the best fantasy mounts?

This was really helpful, thanks!

When you say rouncey, you show a picture of an Arabian horse... not your common medieval horse, but a very fast, agile and strong horse that can tolerate heat well. Also pretty small.

Finally a subject I can weigh in on! Yes, you’re correct about the classifications of breeds. Clydes and Friesians (although Friesians are often considered otherwise) are “draft/draught” breeds. Incredibly strong. Though most people would believe they’re for battle they typically just pull heavy loads, occasionally carriages. Lipizzaners are probably the best modern example of a warhorse and they still train today! Fun fact: Lipizzans are not born with that white coat, they start out the color of coal. Also, for age, horses are called colts if male and foals if they are female, then yearlings, and after that are typically considered adults wherein they’d be referred to as mare, gelding, or stallion. Lots of individual barns and breeders have their own lingo nowadays. Great video! Super informative!

Another informative class I could actually use in my writting

Really love this episode.

5:08 Even a broken Shad gets the name right once a video?

Well, yeah, you’re common horses then, but destriers, the specific breed they ended up using, went extinct. As in they breed horses that were good for what they wanted. Which were probably bigger than most of the others, and faster, etc. they were probably in line with good modern horses today, on the kinda larger side. Probably like 15-16 hands.

I really like these videos, thank you

Really interesting and useful video. I read a lot of medieval crime books and this has helped me understand the descriptions of the horses they use.