Lois’s answer to “You have a lot of practical knowledge about horses (Fat Ninny is my favorite, followed by the one t…” > Likes and Comments
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I know very little about horses either but it seems to me unlikely that a spear would be tied under the stirrups - how much time are you going to waste freeing it in order to use it on a bandit/other attacker? Having the thing tied beneath your stirrups seems, from a purely practical point of view, like an invitation to wind up dead!
No specialist here, also no rider. There are pictures, yes. And discussions on this topic. I'd say - no, not possible to tie spears underneath the stirrup, and thus under the horse's belly. You wouldn't want to hurt the horse you are depending on (personal attachment to said horse aside). On a real ride (more than a few minutes) I can imagine that even a small discomfort for the horse (badly put saddle) can cause major problems. There seems to be systems which allow for the spear in particular to be transported upright without tying a hand. Also - don't think spears are practical when dealing with robbers/bandits/other assassins who do not attack in a straight line and from relatively great distance. All speculations, these.
A modern rifle isn't a lot shorter than a spear might be, so you can get an idea of how it might work with a search like "gun scabbard on horses". The images almost all show how they slip under the stirrups.
Packhorses. Carried them on their backs. They’d deploy reopens when on alert.
Some nice pictures come up when you google 'mongolian mounted spear'. Depending on the culture I think most mounted spearmen would have the spear in hand. Any decent Mongolian rider doesn't even really need a hand on the reins to control his horse! As in any well planned battle there would be a variety of specialists each doing their thing (spear, pike, sword, bow). And I agree, transporting before and after battle is probably a very different configuration than the battle preparation.
When we did trail maintenance we used to carry a two-man saw tied to the side of the horse - under the rider's leg, not under the stirrup leathers. It is not practical for long periods as it throws the saddle off balance. Plus you can't get to it in a hurry. A spear-carrier would hold it in one hand. Any decent rider can control the reins with one hand and a good rider with a well-trained horse doesn't need reins at all.
For one thing, many spears are much longer than a rifle. For another, the gun scabbards are flat for a purpose and in the case of the guns we are also talking western saddles here, which have quite a wide fender. Depending on the saddle type, one wouldn't have so much leather between the leg and a spear underneath the stirrups. As somebody who has been riding for almost 45 years I can only tell you that, yes, you can "store" things underneath your stirrups - but you'll rue it if it is something round and inflexible. A balanced weight and the legs are much more important for steering a horse than the reins. Not to mention that a round spear between your gripping legs and the horse will make staying on top in a crisis much more difficult. I'm pretty sure that they would store everything bulky on a packhorse until needed. This way, it would be on hand about as fast as if you try to wrestle free a 2m spear from underneath your leg without unseating yourself or giving your horse strange leg commands unwillingly.
Thank you all for the input, and you, Lois for being such a wonderful catalyst. Seeing as my character does not care much about horses (A good indication of character, or lack thereof, I'd say), I'm saying he'd go with it. And now I know I can include some hint of mutual soreness when they get to where they're going.
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Feb 17, 2021 11:51PM
I know very little about horses either but it seems to me unlikely that a spear would be tied under the stirrups - how much time are you going to waste freeing it in order to use it on a bandit/other attacker? Having the thing tied beneath your stirrups seems, from a purely practical point of view, like an invitation to wind up dead!
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No specialist here, also no rider. There are pictures, yes. And discussions on this topic. I'd say - no, not possible to tie spears underneath the stirrup, and thus under the horse's belly. You wouldn't want to hurt the horse you are depending on (personal attachment to said horse aside). On a real ride (more than a few minutes) I can imagine that even a small discomfort for the horse (badly put saddle) can cause major problems. There seems to be systems which allow for the spear in particular to be transported upright without tying a hand. Also - don't think spears are practical when dealing with robbers/bandits/other assassins who do not attack in a straight line and from relatively great distance. All speculations, these.
A modern rifle isn't a lot shorter than a spear might be, so you can get an idea of how it might work with a search like "gun scabbard on horses". The images almost all show how they slip under the stirrups.
Packhorses. Carried them on their backs. They’d deploy reopens when on alert.
Some nice pictures come up when you google 'mongolian mounted spear'. Depending on the culture I think most mounted spearmen would have the spear in hand. Any decent Mongolian rider doesn't even really need a hand on the reins to control his horse! As in any well planned battle there would be a variety of specialists each doing their thing (spear, pike, sword, bow). And I agree, transporting before and after battle is probably a very different configuration than the battle preparation.
When we did trail maintenance we used to carry a two-man saw tied to the side of the horse - under the rider's leg, not under the stirrup leathers. It is not practical for long periods as it throws the saddle off balance. Plus you can't get to it in a hurry. A spear-carrier would hold it in one hand. Any decent rider can control the reins with one hand and a good rider with a well-trained horse doesn't need reins at all.
For one thing, many spears are much longer than a rifle. For another, the gun scabbards are flat for a purpose and in the case of the guns we are also talking western saddles here, which have quite a wide fender. Depending on the saddle type, one wouldn't have so much leather between the leg and a spear underneath the stirrups. As somebody who has been riding for almost 45 years I can only tell you that, yes, you can "store" things underneath your stirrups - but you'll rue it if it is something round and inflexible. A balanced weight and the legs are much more important for steering a horse than the reins. Not to mention that a round spear between your gripping legs and the horse will make staying on top in a crisis much more difficult. I'm pretty sure that they would store everything bulky on a packhorse until needed. This way, it would be on hand about as fast as if you try to wrestle free a 2m spear from underneath your leg without unseating yourself or giving your horse strange leg commands unwillingly.
Thank you all for the input, and you, Lois for being such a wonderful catalyst. Seeing as my character does not care much about horses (A good indication of character, or lack thereof, I'd say), I'm saying he'd go with it. And now I know I can include some hint of mutual soreness when they get to where they're going.
