Horses in warfare

[51] Evidence of bit wear appears on the teeth of horses excavated at the archaeology sites of the Botai culture in northern Kazakhstan, dated 3500–3000 BC.

To help distribute the rider's weight and protect the horse's back, some cultures created stuffed padding that resembles the panels of today's English saddle.

[43] The saddle with a solid framework, or "tree", provided a bearing surface to protect the horse from the weight of the rider, but was not widespread until the 2nd century AD.

[63][64] Following the invention of paired stirrups, which allowed a rider greater leverage with weapons, as well as both increased stability and mobility while mounted, nomadic groups such as the Mongols adopted this technology and developed a decisive military advantage.

One of the first depictions is the "war panel" of the Standard of Ur, in Sumer, dated c. 2500 BC, showing horses (or possibly onagers or mules) pulling a four-wheeled wagon.

[74] The oldest documentary evidence of what was probably chariot warfare in the Ancient Near East is the Old Hittite Anitta text, of the 18th century BC, which mentioned 40 teams of horses at the siege of Salatiwara.

[84][85] Some of the earliest examples of horses being ridden in warfare were horse-mounted archers or javelin-throwers, dating to the reigns of the Assyrian rulers Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III.

[60] By the reign of Ashurbanipal in 669 BC, the Assyrians had learned to sit forward on their horses in the classic riding position still seen today and could be said to be true light cavalry.

[111] A century later, the "Men of the Mountain Land," from north of Kabul River,[note 2] served in the army of Darius III of Persia when he fought against Alexander the Great at Arbela in 331 BC.

[113] The Mudra-Rakshasa recounted how cavalry of the Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Kiratas, Parasikas, and Bahlikas helped Chandragupta Maurya (c. 320–298 BC) defeat the ruler of Magadha and take the throne, thus laying the foundations of Mauryan dynasty in Northern India.

However, conservative forces in China often opposed change, as cavalry did not benefit from the additional cachet attached to being the military branch dominated by the nobility as in medieval Europe.

[117] Nevertheless, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC), it is recorded that 300,000 government-owned horses were insufficient for the cavalry and baggage trains of the Han military in the campaigns to expel the Xiongnu nomads from the Ordos Desert, Qilian Mountains, Khangai Mountains and Gobi Desert, spurring new policies that encouraged households to hand over privately-bred horses in exchange for military and corvee labor exemptions.

During the period when various Islamic empires controlled much of the Middle East as well as parts of West Africa and the Iberian peninsula, Muslim armies consisted mostly of cavalry, made up of fighters from various local groups, mercenaries and Turkoman tribesmen.

[121] Mobile tactics, advanced breeding of horses, and detailed training manuals made Mamluk cavalry a highly efficient fighting force.

Their need for large mounted forces led to an establishment of the sipahi, cavalry soldiers who were granted lands in exchange for providing military service in times of war.

[125] Muslim invaders travelled north from present-day Spain into France, where they were defeated by the Frankish ruler Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours in 732 AD.

[26] On the European continent, the need to carry more armour against mounted enemies such as the Lombards and Frisians led to the Franks developing heavier, bigger horses.

While mounted riders remained effective for initial attacks,[135] by the end of the 14th century, it was common for knights to dismount to fight,[136] while their horses were sent to the rear, kept ready for pursuit.

[143] While some historians suggest that the tournament had become a theatrical event by the 15th and 16th centuries, others argue that jousting continued to help cavalry train for battle until the Thirty Years' War.

[157] As heavy cavalry use declined armour was increasingly abandoned and dragoons, whose horses were rarely used in combat, became more common: mounted infantry provided reconnaissance, escort and security.

"[174] The first conclusive evidence of horses playing a major role in the warfare of West Africa dates to the 11th century when the region was controlled by the Almoravids, a Muslim Berber dynasty.

[183] The speed and increased impact of cavalry contributed to a number of early victories by European fighters in open terrain, though their success was limited in more mountainous regions.

The newly formed American cavalry adopted tactics based on experiences fighting over vast distances during the Mexican War (1846–1848) and against indigenous peoples on the western frontier, abandoning some European traditions.

[8] At the beginning of the war, most of the experienced cavalry officers were from the South and thus joined the Confederacy, leading to the Confederate Army's initial battlefield superiority.

They challenged the Japanese invaders of Luzon, holding off armoured and infantry regiments during the invasion of the Philippines, repelled a unit of tanks in Binalonan, and successfully held ground for the Allied armies' retreat to Bataan.

In the campaigns in North Africa, generals such as George S. Patton lamented their lack, saying, "had we possessed an American cavalry division with pack artillery in Tunisia and in Sicily, not a German would have escaped.

[207] Many nations still maintain small numbers of mounted military units for certain types of patrol and reconnaissance duties in extremely rugged terrain, including the conflict in Afghanistan.

These include specially deputised, paid or volunteer mounted search and rescue units sent into roadless areas on horseback to locate missing people.

Horses can be an essential part of an overall team effort as they can move faster on the ground than a human on foot, can transport heavy equipment, and provide a more rested rescue worker when a subject is found.

[227][228] Dressage traces its origins to Xenophon and his works on cavalry training methods, developing further during the Renaissance in response to a need for different tactics in battles where firearms were used.