In Medieval Europe, horses were highly valued animals, and great amounts of resources went into their care and training. Horses, like the one shown in this miniature painting (c. 1200-1210), would have mainly belonged to the aristocracy, who prized them not only for their labor, but their use in battle.
Sources show that nobles expected their horses to be loyal to them, even to the point of biting the enemies of their owners in battle. Knights proudly displayed their social status through their horses as literature and material culture tell us. The look of a steed would have been enhanced with valuable armor and equipment.
And so it comes to me as a surprise that Medieval warhorses seem to have been very small. In a recent study, scientists and archaeologists looked at the bones of about 2,000 horses found on castle grounds and other locations (including a Medieval horse cemetery) dating from the 300s-1600s. They found that the average horse was only the size of a modern pony — 14.2 “hands”, or 4 feet, 10 inches from ground to shoulder blades.
Although more research will be needed to confirm that the evidence reflects warhorses versus horses used for agriculture or other tasks, the authors of the study are fairly confident that their findings do indeed reflect the reality of warhorses.
Size, it appears, wasn’t everything for a Medieval warhorse.
Sources: “In search of the ‘great horse’: a zooarchaeologic assessment of horses from England (AD 309-1650), _Journal of Osteoarchaeology_, August 31, 2021, Carly Ameen et al, https://dou.org/10.1002/oa.3038. “The horses of medieval times weren’t that much bigger than modern-day ponies,” _Smithsonian Magazine_, Jan 12, 2022, Corryn Wetzel. Image Royal MS 12 C XIX f 34r. _British Library_, Medieval Manuscripts Blog, “My kingdom for a horse”, April 10, 2014
