Horses
Further information: Horses in the Middle Ages and Horses in warfareThe two most common kinds of horse used for jousting were warmblood chargers and larger destriers. Chargers were medium-weight horses bred and trained for agility and stamina. Destriers were heavier, similar to today's Andalusian horse, but not as large as the modern draft horse.
During a jousting tournament, the horses were cared for by their grooms in their respective tents. They wore caparisons, a type of ornamental cloth featuring the owner's heraldic signs. Competing horses had their heads protected by a chanfron, an iron shield for protection from otherwise lethal lance hits.
Other forms of equipment on the horse included long-necked spurs which enabled the rider to control the horse with extended legs, a saddle with a high back to provide leverage during the charge or when hit, as well as stirrups for the necessary leverage to deliver blows with the lance.
Read more about this topic: List (jousting)
Famous quotes containing the word horses:
“Barely a twelvemonth after
The seven days war that put the world to sleep,
Late in the evening the strange horses came.”
—Edwin Muir (1887–1959)
“The horses show him nobler powers;
O patient eyes, courageous hearts!”
—Julian Grenfell (1888–1915)
“mouth to mouth, the covers
pulled over our shoulders
we drowse as horses drowse afield,
in accord; though the fall cold
surrounds our warm bed, and though
by day we are singular and often lonely.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)