Anatomy of a War Horss

The ideal horse for each discipline is very different. Jumpers want a big tall horse that can move quickly and fast. Western pleasure riders want a horse that can move slow and relaxed with short strides. But what is the “ideal” horse for mounted archery? 

In mounted archery, we really are looking for our war horse. A partner that is strong, sure footed, brave and can think for themself. Yabusame (Japanese horse archery) texts say that an ideal archery horse is “big chested and does not lower its head while running.” This emphasizes how important self carriage is in mounted archery. 

Historically, horses used for mounted archery needed to travel many miles across varied terrain, gallop over rough ground, jump small obstacles, charge into dangerous situations, allow a rider to shoot arrows and wield sword and spear off them, and, most challenging, make quick turns, weaves and other maneuvers at canter and gallop based off the riders leg, seat and vocal cues while the rider is shooting. This requires a horse that is not only incredibly brave and athletic, but also incredibly versatile. Historically, mounted archers and their horses (of which they usually had several) were intricately dependent on each other. This led to incredible riding skill, but also incredible training feats, such as being able to pivot and turn and halt without reins while the archer shot. 

One of the most important traits for a mounted archery horse is being sure footed. Nothing is more dangerous when galloping into battle than your mount tripping or slipping. This is why a key point of training for war horses is working over poles. Not just traditional trot and canter poles though. These poles can be set at varying distances and angles so the horse has to adjust their stride quickly to remain balanced. 

Of course, the most important piece is a horse who is brave and willing to allow you to shoot arrows off them at every angle. (And I really mean EVERY angle!) About ⅓ of horses will take to this pretty quickly. ⅓ will require some significant training, a few weeks to months, and a smaller minority may take years and consistent upkeep, while a very small minority, will remain afraid of archery for life. Other important pieces are willingness to be in potentially frightening, unexpected and loud situations, and go over obstacles like ditches, logs, and, historically, dead bodies and weapons. Thankfully, today's horses do not have to worry about cantering over dead bodies. But they do have to worry about the dreaded yellow trot pole, or teal cross rail. (Equally as terrifying!) This can be mitigated with consistent exposure to outdoor obstacles and pole work over different colors and fillers in cross rails. 

Objectively, the most difficult part of all this is teaching the horse to respond quickly off of only leg, seat and vocal cues. This is very difficult because it takes many hundreds of hours of consistent training and reward to achieve. Thankfully, every horse can and will learn this given the time and correct training. Not every horse can collect impeccably, jump .90 meters or gallop fearlessly. But any horse willing to allow shooting can do horse archery at a given level. 

When talking about conformation, a horse that is fit and athletic who can carry himself and balance is ideal. Of course, many horses have varying capabilities and this does not disqualify them from doing horse archery. But maybe they will be a back up for the battle charge instead of the main mount. Straight legs, a strong, full back, a long arching neck set well on the shoulder makes a huge difference for the horse's and rider's balance. A horse who carries themself well will be easy to shoot from, but a horse poorly built, out of balance and weak will make an archer miss their shot every time. 

Many breeds and individuals excel at mounted archery. Thoroughbreds, Arabians, American Indian Horses, Mustangs, Quarter Horses, draft breeds, gaited breeds and warmbloods can all be incredible war horses depending on the individual. The wonderful thing is that in the modern day, there are many levels to mounted archery. The highest level, Grand Master, is equivalent to what a great horse and warrior would be capable of; demonstrating high levels of athleticism, training, partnership and fast and accurate shooting.  But introductory, training and even up through second level is achievable by almost any horse.  

The really great thing is that for the most part, you can build your own ideal war horse through consistent training and conditioning. This is very different from almost every other discipline, where many of the traits necessary to reach the top level or even lower levels depend on very special athletic qualities present in the horse. (Jumping ability, athletic ability, breeding of gaits, traits and movements.) That's the great thing about mounted archery. If you have determination, you will succeed. Your greatness shows through the daily effort in training your skill and training your horse. A person can become a grand master on any horse who can jump 2’9, allow them to shoot arrows off them, and perform basic training movements and maneuvers with the reins dropped. 

So take up your bow, mount your steed and begin! Victory in mounted archery is on the battlefield of your determination. Will you persevere with patience and positivity and create a partnership with your mount that will crush your enemies?