WARHORSES AND BARDING

 

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Warhorses are, of course, simply mounts which have been trained for
combat. However, since horses tend to be nervous and skittish even
when domesticated, it takes careful selection and training to create a
true warhorse. The warhorse is obedient, inured to the noise and confusion
of battle, and does not shy at sudden movement, nor become
nervous at the reek of spilled blood. Furthermore, the warhorse is
tough, has stamina, and will certainly be aggressive in battle. A perusal
of the Monster Manual will show that ponies, draft horses, and
wild equines have an attack form. This is their bite. Warhorses, however,
are carefully trained to not only use their powerful teeth as weapons,
but also to strike with their forehooves when in melee.

The selection of warhorses is possible for any character trained in
mounted combat. Such characters include cavaliers, paladins, fighters,
barbarians, and rangers. These classes can use the additional
attack forms of their mounts, and can control them fully in battle.

The creation of warhorses is another matter altogether. A knowledgeable
and skilled handler and trainer must carefully choose candidates
(in most cases stud colts), train these candidates for several years,
and then pass them on to individuals who will introduce them to battle.
In so-called civilized states, such activity will be accomplished by
military personnel and independent enterprises as well. In so-called
barbaric areas, the whole process will typically be taken care of by the
young boys and warrior men of the group, the process being part of
the training to manhood and normal adult activity of the group. In this
latter case, the animals will almost certainly be light warhorses, with
the most sophisticated of groups breeding and training medium
steeds as well, but only on a more limited basis. (The Mongols are a
prime example of this latter case.)

A light warhorse was referred to as a courser in medieval Europe.
Such a steed was relatively light, quite fast, and had great endurance.
A typical light warhorse would be from 14 to 15 hands high, depending
on the availability of stock and the size of the rider.

A medium warhorse was little more than a larger, stronger light warhorse.
The typical example would be at least 151/2 hands to about
161/2 hands high. Such animals were the steeds of the elite Mongol
lancers, Saracen elites, and general cavalry of Europe.

The heavy warhorse, the destrier, was a huge animal of 18 or more
hands in height and massive bulk. The famous Clydesdales are
horses of this type. The power and size of heavy warhorses allowed
the heavily armed and armored feudal knights and nobles to crush all
opponents not likewise equipped and mounted, until the longbow and
pike proved themselves . . . in the hands of expert troops.

The light warhorse will certainly force a non-warhorse to move aside.
A medium warhorse will overbear a light one, and the heavy warhorse
will push aside, at the very least, any lesser steed. Such overbearing
will force the lighter horse to a prone position, and the rider will be
thrown unless that rider has horsemanship skills (such as those possessed
by the cavalier). Mounts trained to combat will not only attack
fiercely, but they will await a dismounted rider’s return to the saddle,
, even going so far as to protect him or her from enemy attacks. A welltrained
horse might even be able to bear a seriously wounded rider
from the field/encounter to the home place.

BARDING

Barding is simply the term for the armor used to protect the mount.
The armor so used covers the head, neck, and body of the warhorse.
The main types of barding are:

    Leather - adds 1 factor to AC, weighs 160#; includes various forms of padded barding.
    Scale - adds 2 factors to AC, weighs 250#; includes various leather studding and ring mail armors.
    Chain - adds 3 factors to AC, weighs 350#; includes various metal bands and plates, so the classification encompasses padded barding.
    Plate - adds 4 factors to AC, weighs 500#; principally various pieces of plate with chain mail support in other areas.

The warhorse must be able to carry the weight of barding, in addition
to the rider and other gear, in order to benefit from the protection of
barding. Accordingly, the heavier types of barding are prohibited to
the lighter types of horses. In other cases, a barded warhorse’s movement
rate will be reduced as shown on the following table.

Barded warhorse base movement rate
                                       ------------------------------------Barding Type---------------------------------------------

Warhorse	Leather	Scale	Chain	Plate
light	21"	15"	NA	NA
medium	17"	15"	12"	NA
heavy	15"	14"	13"	12"

NA = Not Allowed.

Endurance: The effect of wearing barding will be seen not only in relative
base movement rate but also in the overall endurance of the
mount, provided that the animal must wear the barding while traveling.
As a rule of thumb, use the base movement rates given above to
find the total number of miles the mount can travel in one day.

Magical Horse Barding: It is possible that magical armor for horses
and other sorts of mounts can be fashioned. Such protection would
be rare in the extreme and as such is not listed as a randomly found
magical item. It would be worth at least five times the cost of comparable
armor (by type, not class) for a character. The value of such magical
addition can never exceed + 3. Of such barding, 65% would be
+ 1, 25% + 2, and 10% + 3. The type of magic barding found would
be: leather lo%, scale 15%, chain 25%, plate 50%.

Elfin Chain Mail for Unicorns or Griffons: Protection of this sort can be
allowed by the DM at his or her option. Weight and movement rate effect
is equal to leather barding. Protection is equal to chain barding.

Barding for Other Types of Steeds: As a general rule, steeds able to fly
are able to wear only leather (or elfin chain mail) barding. Movement
rate should be reduced by one-eighth for such protection. Aquatic
steeds cannot be effectively barded. Other types of mounts, such as
elephants, for instance, can be barded, and only plate barding would
have any significant effect on movement rate. Plate barding will reduce
the movement rate of avery, very, strong mount by from one-fifth
to one-eighth, with an elephant’s movement reduced by the least, or
one-eighth.