Horses in East Asian warfare

A warrior on horseback or horse-drawn chariot changed the balance of power between the warring civilizations throughout the arc of East Asian military history.

[1] As in most cultures around the globe, a war horse in East Asia was trained to be controlled with limited use of reins, responding primarily to the rider's legs and weight.

[2] Horses were significant factors in the Han-Hun Wars and Wuhu incursions against past kingdoms of China,[3] and the Mongol conquest of much of Eurasia and into Europe;[4] and they played a part in military conflicts on a smaller, more localized scale.

[7] Conservative forces opposed change, which affected the proportional balance amongst cavalrymen, horse-drawn chariots and infantrymen in Chinese armies.

[8] The benefits of using horses as light cavalry against chariots in warfare was understood when the Chinese confronted incursions from nomadic tribes of the steppes.

[11] The Chinese warhorses were cultivated from the vast herds roaming free on the grassy plains of northeastern China and the Mongolian plateau.

[12] During the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), records tell of a Chinese expedition to Fergana (in present-day Uzbekistan) and the superior horses which were acquired.

[17] Throughout the Song (960–1279) all the way to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Chinese armies relied on an officially supervised tea-for-horse trading systems which evolved over centuries.

From the perspective of the Chinese court, government control of tea was the first step in the creation of a rational and effective policy aimed at improving the quality of horses in the army.

[27] At Nikkō, the burial place of the horse ridden by Ieyasu Tokugawa in the Battle of Sekigahara is marked with an inscribed stone.

King Gwanggaeto the Great often led expeditions into Baekje, Gaya confederacy, Buyeo and against Japanese pirates with his cavalry.

After experiencing the invasion by the Jurchen, Korean general Yun Kwan realized that Goryeo lacked efficient cavalry units.

[36] The Chinese historian, poet, and politician Song Qi (宋祁, 998–1061) explained, The warhorses of the Mongols were called cerigyn nojan.

[43] Traditionally, the East Asian horse has been used as a pack animal, essential in providing logistical support for military forces.