Medieval horse types

By Anastasija Ropa

Horse breeds as we know them today (complete with a studbook, the idea of breed purity, etc.) did not exist in the Middle Ages. The primary way of identifying horses was by their origin (from Spain, Friesland, Ireland, Scotland, and so on) and the work they did. Just like today, horses can switch between different careers in their lifetime: a rouncey could become a sumpter, a courser could be promoted to a warhorse status. The difference between types was mainly in their physical and mental characteristics, which indicated their suitability for a certain type of work, and their training.

Elite horse types – all male (usually stallions, but could also be geldings)

• Warhorse (destrier) – strong, often higher than the average horse of the time but not taller than 160 cm at withers, brave, highly trained and obedient to the rider
• Courser – fast, with good endurance, used for hunting and warfare
• Palfrey – good gaits, comfortable to travel on, used on long rides, as well as by women, the elderly and the infirm
• Ambler – a comfortable riding horse that ambles. Ambling is a non-diagonal gait, where the horse lifts two feet on the same side simultaneously. Ambling could be a genetic trait, or it could be trained.

Non-elite riding horses – male, stallions or geldings, but could possibly be mares on rare occasions

• Rouncey – a cheap warhorse, used by those who could not afford destriers or coursers, also used by servants who rode to war alongside their masters
• Hackneys – this horse type changed in meaning through the Middle Ages. It could have been fairly expensive, almost an elite mount, prized for its easy gait, and thus synonymous with palfrey and ambler (some hackneys ambled). They could also be used as mounts from which servants led (“ponied”) their masters’ warhorses. Additionally, Froissart mentioned small Scottish hackneys ridden into battle. In France, hackneys seem to have been ladies’ mounts. The French word for hackney is ‘haquenee,’ and it is feminine, so it may indicate that French hackneys were mares.

Non-ridden, working horses

• Sumpters – elite pack horses, male
• Stots – horses used for driving carts; more expensive than other harness horses because they had to be better trained.
• Horses used for doing agricultural work, e.g., plowing, harrowing, etc. – these could be of any gender, including mares in foal and mares followed by their foals, though these would have to do lighter workloads.

Other equids:

• Wild horses – mostly feral, rather than actually wild. Many of the so-called “forest horses” were owned and actually constituted breeding stock, from which young horses could be removed and trained based on their physical characteristics, mental capacity, and the owner’s needs.
• Donkeys – in southern territories, they often performed the same duties as working horses. Donkeys were often ridden by the clergy.
• Mules – hybrids of a male donkey and a mare, they were stronger than either horses or donkeys and more prized than the latter. Mules were ridden by the clergy, often high-ranking clergy, as well as noble women, and some men.

This overview of horse types is mostly relevant to Western Europe. In other parts of the medieval world, there were some variations to this pattern. Moreover, although horse meat was not consumed in the medieval Christian sphere, horses could have been hunted for meat before the arrival of Christianity and outside Europe – and these would have been “wild” horses.

Anastasija Ropa, PhD, is lecturer at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education, Riga Stradinsh University. An experienced equestrian and horse trainer, she is also the author or editor of several books on horsemanship and equestrian history. 

To learn more about the horse in medieval warfare, literature, and daily life, check out issue 17 of Medieval World: Culture & Conflict.