Horses
In the Middle Ages, caparisons were part of the horse armour known as barding, which was worn during war or tournament. They were adopted in the twelfth century in response to conditions of campaigning in the Crusades. An early depiction of a knight's horse wearing a caparison may be seen on the small Carlton-in-Lindrick knight figurine from the late 12th century. Modern re-enactment tests have shown that a loose caparison protects the horse reasonably well against arrows, especially if combined with a gambeson-like undercloth underneath.
Today, a caparison is used in bullfighting in the picador manner.
Read more about this topic: Caparison
Famous quotes containing the word horses:
“Thou didst drink
The stale of horses and the gilded puddle
That beasts would cough at.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“General statements omit what we really want to know. Example: “Some horses run faster than others.””
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“It must be confessed that horses at present work too exclusively for men, rarely men for horses; and the brute degenerates in man’s society.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)