Medieval horses: How do you train a medieval warhorse?

Jason has trained warhorses and ridden them in the so-called “joust of peace”. In this episode, he demonstrates the techniques a medieval knight and his grooms might have used to teach a horse how to take him into battle and bring him safely back home again.
• Executive Producer: Jason Kingsley OBE
• Executive Producer: Chris Kingsley
• Senior Producer: Brian Jenkins
• Producer: Edward Linley
• Director: Dominic Read
• Presenter: Jason Kingsley OBE
• Director of Photography: Ed Mash
• Camera: Jo Taylor
• Stills Photography and Continuity: Kasumi
• Associate Producer: James Howard
• Audio: Frank Newman
• Sound Design: Nick D. Brewer
• Music licensed from PremiumBeat
• Lighting: Ben Millar
• Electrician/Lighting Technician: Chris Barber
• Lighting equipment by Cinelease
• Location Medic: Kevin Case
• Catering: Green Man Inn
• Additional Camera: Darren Cook
• Additional Camera: Neil Phillips
• Additional Sound: Elizabeth Carlyon
Special Thanks:
• Chris Payton
• Ed Savage
Facebook: modernhistorytv/
Twitter: @ModernHistoryTV
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[@nicknock3948]

Horse: *tramples dying man to death* Knight: ‘goooood boooy’

[@oddish2253]

Soldier: Kills an entire family. Country: Thanks for your service.

[@kathykaura7219]

😂

[@liquid6901]

You have to train them to do that.

[@phantomsoul8937]

@Wyatt Earp But true

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

@@oddish2253 And what Country does that Soldier you write of come from? May I ask?

[@kasetankensei]

Behind every warhorse is thousands of "Good boy"s.

[@anthonykent00]

As with all well trained animals. 🤙

[@Lady_Odi]

If he starts to wag his tail then he has an identity crisis 😂

[@GorinRedspear]

@@Lady_Odi My granddads pony had a fierce hatred of the mailman...

[@Lady_Odi]

@@GorinRedspear 😂😂😂

[@tudorfanman2620]

And good girls...

[@gurusmurf5921]

Later, back in the stables... Horse: Then he put a bucket on his head and had me walk over human shaped bags full of hay. OtherHorse: Don't try to figure them out, therein lies madness.

[@andyshriner5443]

This deserves an award😂

[@lynnegee6814]

🏆

[@GorinRedspear]

In the extra's for the Lord Of The Rings there is a featurette about how they trained the horses for the movies. Getting used to the shooting stuff and battle noises and such. They ended up with horses who knew they had to start at the word 'action', but also with horses who were almost impossible to spook, as they just assumed everything was part of filming. They needed to bring in a few 'fresh' horses for scenes where the horses needed to look frightened...

[@FranRaynal17]

Cool, I always wondered how the did the fighting scenes in LOTR without the horses being spooked

[@alexk7973]

There are still some horses being used by police units around the world, they train in a similar way. Those horses need to be cool about everything, too, so they don't pose a risk and the officers riding them can concentrate on the task at hand, rather than having to control the horse all the time.

[@rubeniscool]

@@alexk7973 It is rather amazing what the endstage training for police horses looks like.. I saw a documentary about this and by the end they are walking though mock streets with buildings on fire, crowds shouting and brandishing weapons and small fires scattered on the "streets". They end up trained for situations that they rarely end up actually experiencing

[@alexk7973]

@@rubeniscool well, they better had to. If they ever do end up in that situation the horses would freak out, if not trained. My horse is generally a pretty cool dude, but if I ended up somewhere like this, he'd be showing me the finger on all four hooves and quite litteraly leave me in the dust... 😅

[@alexk7973]

@@rubeniscool also, we have a police horse training center not too far from us and apparently the amount of times the fire fighters were called by concerned members of the public passing by, seeing smoke and thinking the stables were burning, when really they were training for fire incidents is unreal 😂

[@ariochiv]

Step on that peasant! Good boy!

[@lukekaizen8399]

😂😂

[@tomaskulakauskas3581]

:D

[@Tadechicotah]

ROFL

[@tdrnkr]

Crowd control horses are trained with colored balls that are chest high to the horse. The balls are quite heavy and are rolled rather violently toward the horse to train them to push back. It takes a long time to get a horse comfortable with pushing those balls out of the way.They are introduced to loud noises, even fireworks, shouting, people with large sticks and different smells too. I would suppose war horses were run through some similar drills as this.

[@elizabethlovesalbert]

tdrnkr There are some really well organized “Bomb Proofing” clinics to take your horses to. The breeding facility that I used to for for hosted them. They were a whole day affair and horses were introduced slowly and calmly. By the end, almost all the participants showed massive improvement. The women who ran it were very skilled in natural horsemanship, which I think helped contribute to the calmness of the training and desensitizing style :). I think more people should seek out these clinics for benefit of both horse and rider.

[@dshepherd107]

That’s very interesting. Thx for sharing that info!

[@dorothymerrell6091]

Ghost is absolutely gorgeous.

[@danielthomas3333]

The knights talked about the courage of the horse. The horse is very much a herd animal and is very prone to follow a leader that he respects. So the horse going into the chaos of battle is following his leader. Hence his courage is derived from his rider. Training, as he called it is actually developing this relationship

[@maureendoerner9002]

As a horse owner of 45 years I have found that horses don't like to step on soft, squishy things. Their hooves are sensitive to the point they can detect soft unstable ground. My first horse refused to go forward one day as we were out riding. She argued with me but eventually gave in to me. Three steps in and she sunk to her mid cannons in thick boggy ground. Visually there was no difference in the appearance of the firm and boggy ground. After that I always listened to her when it came to finding safe ground and sound bridges.

[@kated3165]

''No matter how brave that horse is, there will always be something that tips it off the edge''. Except for Jamie Lannister's horse. That thing charged a dragon right up t'ill the end.

[@vorden25]

The dragon wasn't real

[@MonsterKing-ux4mp]

Didn’t think I would see a game of thrones reference here. Haha that’s funny

[@callummason6589]

That's cause it is a northern horse, they were wel' ard.

[@AnhHoang-cx8es]

Random book facts: That horse was named Honor by Jaime's squire, Peck.

[@traviswilliam5453]

You don't find " Brave horses "... You only need to instill trust, correct training to insure the horse does as he is told.

[@WisdomThumbs]

The horse of Nathan Bedford Forrest (quite a monster of the Confederacy) was bought by an old woman after the American Civil War. The stallion drew her carriage. One day she was near a parade of firefighters who wore blue uniforms. The former warhorse *charged into the firefighters and proceeded to stomp, kick, and bite the shit out of them.* Imagine a medieval warhorse of that caliber!

[@Dell-ol6hb]

WisdomThumbs holy shit! I imagine that horses bred in the past for war were spefically bred and chosen for their little fearfulness or lack of fear in contrast to today’s horses which aren’t bred for war anymore

[@mycroftholmes8261]

@@Dell-ol6hb I agree, I also read somewhere that medieval warhorses were quite aggressive, probably a combination of both breeding and training. They must have been very scary creatures.

[@prestonjones1653]

I didn't even know horses could see in color.

[@mycroftholmes8261]

@@prestonjones1653 they can, but they don't perceive colours the way we do. They see the contrasts, and apparently they see blue/yellow best.

[@WisdomThumbs]

​@@prestonjones1653 Horses have two-color vision. Blue and green.

[@jeniferirwin]

Imagine being a horse with a gentle, calm trainer and then one day for no apparent reason that kindly trainer appears to have killed some people and asks you to start trampling them.

[@ragnkja]

At least they don’t smell like blood and death.

[@samwellfrm]

Prepare for 5 minutes of a man praising his horse for stepping on dead bodies.

[@josekursky4625]

If you don't like it, just leave. Nobody is forcing you to watch.

[@samwellfrm]

@@josekursky4625 i do like it. I was simply making a joke.

[@ruthlessimagination]

Lmao

[@mjp152]

Still better than 95% of what is on TV

[@WisdomThumbs]

Better than a fresh-faced El-tee in Vietnam congratulating his grunts for stepping on dead VC.

[@artfact2]

This demonstrates greatly what a bizarre idea it must've been from the first people who first wanted to ride horses into battle. They are naturally so skittish and fragile; the amount of training an preparations to even remain control over a creature let in a chaotic environment, alone actively drive it into combat was monumental.

[@thcdreams654]

One of the reasons I like your videos is you really love your animals. That is a mark of a good person.

[@ichifish]

I would assume that medieval horses had daily contact with arms, armor, blood (from the farm animals), and people just through their proximity. Modern horses don't see these things around them, so I would assume they'd need considerably less training. I would also assume they had considerably less time to prove themselves. A horse that showed anxiety would be given to a lady or put to work.

[@RoxanneMorrow]

A horse that showed anxiety would never be given to a lady

[@wafflingmean4477]

@@RoxanneMorrow I don't think that's too out of the question. There's a difference between a horse easily spooked by violence and one that easily spooked by everyday things. Medieval noble ladies were kept far from battlefields and butchers. If the horse knew how to behave with a rider on its back I'd imagine it wouldn't be out of the question to direct non battle suited ones that looked nice enough to be used for transporting nobles.

[@animalobsessed1]

I also think they were simply bred to be less nervous. I think many of today's horses are more spooky because it's simply no longer important to breeders. If you're just going to use the horse to run circles in an arena, why would you care how easily it spooks? There's an obvious pattern in today's horse breeds, where the more showy breeds tend to be nervous wrecks, whereas breeds like Shetland Ponies are hardly scared of anything. In medieval times, they would have probably placed more emphasis on getting a shetland-type temperament, even at the cost of not having thoroughbred-speed.

[@wafflingmean4477]

@@animalobsessed1 That makes a lot of sense actually, because the speed of a horse is hardly helpful if it's such a maniac it's going to send you flying the moment you charge into battle. And it makes sense they'd understand a concept like this. They believed that qualities of people passed through blood and so on, it was part of the conceptual legitimacy for rulers for example. So they would naturally think breeding horses with calm temperaments would cause a horse of the same nature, despite not being able to figure out other things due to the limitations of the time such as prevention of certain diseases.

[@timwiesenfeld8031]

On top, such light horses that are very common now a days weren't around as much in mideavel times. The english thoroughbred breed in todays form, that is crossed into so so many horse breeds isn't around for too long yet, + it wasn't accessible to a lot of breeders back then. And horses with a lot of "blood" are generally easier to spook and more nervous than horses with less thoroughbred in their blood lines. Therefore, I think that horses back then in general could carry more and were by far less spooky than todays horses.

[@ericthompson3982]

In the martial community we refer to it as "stress innoculation." What a gorgeous horse.

[@TeganxxxBobbyDazzler]

Your calm praise-based approach is lovely to see in a world full of heavy handed horse trainers. As for the dead bodies - anyone who has fallen below a horse can tell you that they will do their best to step over you. One mare tried to jump me, unfortunately I didn't realise and sat up and got some hooves in the face! (on video!). They are perfect creatures.

[@cingkrimson4719]

I wanna see that, is it on your channel?

[@Sk0lzky]

@@cingkrimson4719 My reaction exactly lol

[@kelliejacks7186]

We had a pair of Percheron-crossed mares that my dad used for carriage rides. The dark on was a little lamb who would do anything you asked of her and absolutely LOVED kids. If she felt your foot under her hoof, Molly immediately moved her foot. Not the light one. Dolly decided when she was done and was extremely stubborn. If she felt your foot under her hoof, she put her weight on it. I think Dolly would have enjoyed being a destrier 😂

[@Meevious]

Do their best, unless they've been specifically trained not to care so much. X)

[@davidweihe6052]

@@kelliejacks7186 > I think Dolly would have enjoyed being a destrier Except she was the wrong sex. European knights used stallions, only, in battle. The first time that they ran into the Arabs (who rode mares, as they are usually faster), things became a bit ... interesting ... as a certain fraction of the Arabs' horses would be in season. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

[@NightEyeStudio1995]

Ghost is amazing! Such a strong and lovely boy! and that coat! A gorgeous white creme, with a pink muzzle and ice blue eyes!, slap a horn on him and he'd be a real life unicorn!

[@dennetofferman371]

These are two different horses, people! A cremello (blue eyed chestnut double dilute), and the other is a grey (in his whitest phase). Greys have black skin, Cremellos have pink skin

[@Shimarenda]

Of course they are two different horses. He calls them by two different names.

[@dennetofferman371]

@@Shimarenda Good for you if you already knew the difference.

[@peterknutsen3070]

Thanks you for clearing that up for me. It did seem to me as if he suddenly began referring to the horse using a different name, and I’m fairly sure the second horse had darker eyes although it wasn’t shown clearly from a good angle. So I wasn’t 100% sure.

[@Sk0lzky]

Interesting! Humans sometimes also after all the training and mental preparation just can't go back into battle or even see someone die after they're in one.

[@fhmen]

That last part he said about some horses going to battle only once...Allied command sent green soldiers in with the Normandy landings for the same reason. They had no idea what was coming at them, while the people that already fought in Africa and Italy would have totally freaked of being on a beach with MG42s reaping it, and possibly would have mutinied.

[@KnyghtErrant]

Great episode Jason. It's wonderful to see this aspect of training, and I enjoy hearing your insights.

[@jasonkingsley2762]

Knyght Errant thanks. I think we're getting better the more episodes we do, but I'm really enjoying making them.

[@angelinabrown2931]

I think it was easier to get close to the "bodies" from the saddle because he's so well-trained that he falls into his "trust my human" routine as soon as he's tacked up.

[@kerryandrews4017]

I really enjoy your videos Jason. I appreciate the way you reflect on medieval life and your horses are an absolute delight. Riding through Australian bush as a girl, I always knew when something dead was not far away due to the subtle changes in my pony - they are so sensitive to death. A thought provoking video.

[@nighthunter3039]

It is. I did read somewhere that warhorses were pretty agressive and would even attack on their own if needed, there had to be alot of training behind it to achive that, a medival horse would most likely be more used to human sweat and blood on daly bases though than a horse today is. It would be intresting to see how much different (if at all) Warlord would react if the "dead bodys" would wear armor or would smell like sweat and blood (this smell must have been very strong on the Battlefield and along side with the fear of men around, it must have been very hard to handle for horse and rider. I can only imagine how long it took to get a horse ready for this without its will for battle do be damaged after one encounter, would be intressting to know too.)

[@zazaandambee6658]

HOLY CRAP THAT HORSE IS BEAUTIFUL!

[@typorad]

I'd recommend "sandbag scarecrows" in the future, they'd be tough and give a realistic tripping hazard.

[@nicoledeloncrais5940]

Love the fact that he is always thoughtful of the horse. 🐴 Jason's style of communication is relaxed, informative and very inviting. Thank you again 🙏. Seriously loooove the horses ♥️

[@stephanmenzel9457]

Horsemanship on top level.👏👏👏

[@GenesisRene]

Ghost is just so handsome I can’t handle it. I love your videos. They’re full of information and I love how gentle and genuine your training techniques are

[@joelhicks5468]

I don't have any interest in training a horse but I love how much Jason is enjoying it. Binge watching all of these and it's just the best.

[@angelwhispers2060]

A good war horse is trained basically from the time it's weaned. Trying to teach an already grown horse to be a warhorse is a Fool's errand and the way kingdoms were lost in the Middle Ages. That's why every noble, every prince, every count had to have a stable of war horses in training at all times in case he loses one on the battlefield. The horse has to be super bonded to the person who's going to be riding it. Stallions are best for being warhorses because of their high testosterone levels. IF they fully trust their Rider they'll ride into anything but it is a long process. One of the first practical trials for a war horse after it's had a bit of training is to take it fox hunting or deer hunting. Eventually that horse would then be taken boar hunting because a boar acts a lot more aggressively and is more similar to another War animal facing the horse in battle. Building up that strong trust between Rider and horse is essential or they simply will not obey your orders against their own self-interest. We have to remember that medieval battlefields were full of all kinds of strange creatures not just horses. Trebuchet and other Siege engines often had very large wheels so you would have dogs or other animals to turn those wheels and then men would run them during the heat of battle. Also remember that warhounds were very much a thing and were often just the most advanced of the nobleman's hunting dogs. So there are a lot of things besides just the armor to get a horse used to if you want it to be a war horse.

[@ontheedgeofshadow2790]

It almost seemed that Warlord was more confident with you in the saddle than you leading him in regards to the simulated corpses

[@deusexrockina]

I loved watching this. It's wonderful to see you working with Warlord. It's relaxing even! As a nervous person myself your comforting praise for him made me feel calm. 😂🤣😂

[@amyrobinson4713]

Jason, the only thing I could see being an impediment to the horse while trampling a corpse on the battlefield is parts of armour getting caught in the horse's shoe, or on the horse's leg. That would presumably cause quite a bit of discomfort and a couple of cuts and tears. Well done, Ghost and Warlord!

[@MichelPal]

My history teacher actually told us this exact thing. And it is the reason why war horses were so expensive. It cannot be any horse, has to be well built and strong. And also It took so much time and effort to train them additionaly to the normal cost. And then...one battle, huge chance of it dying and if it survived, its spirit would most likely broke. Honestly, human kind is super wierd. we chose horses of all things to mount...

[@jasonkingsley2762]

They are fun to make, and with horses, you never quite know how things will turn out. The training is real!

[@jdee8521]

Wonderfully made. As heard from word of mouth.horses were sourced from different regions and there training started at young age. Wild adult horses were mostly used on chariots while domesticated horses were or preferred for riding.Its a actually a complicated drill where new/untamed horses were kept along with battle harden horses in a small pen and exposed to sounds (battle sounds).the second phase required a rider.later phases had one on one riders fighting swords etc on horseback.

[@ramennight]

I love how he always specifies how sure he himself, and other, are of these things. He doesnt claim something as is without substantial proof.

[@baskervillebee5748]

Very interesting demonstration. Much as my Dad taught me about horses. "Just slowly show them that they won't be hurt."

[@Twilight.Knight]

The first horse is the most beautiful horse I’ve seen!!!

[@maxotat]

It is so wonderful to watch you with your animals. The affection, appreciation, admiration and respect that you have for them is palpable. Wondrous. No wonder they do so well with you.

[@VilhelmSauers]

I'm watching this show from the very episode. And go from there. It'll be interesting to see how Horses deal with not just corpse but blood and fallen weapons scattered around the battlefield

[@vanivanov9571]

A lot of people say silly things about cavalry. This is partially because they base their notions off modern horses, 90% of whom do NOT have this kind of training.

[@sciranger6703]

Yup- english-trained thoroughbreds don't act like war-trained coursers. But some western and Lipizzaner horses act pretty similar!

[@sirchsirch9949]

We very much enjoy and appreciate your videos - Warlord, Ghost and Gossamer are all household names!

[@ModernKnight]

thanks for your support!

[@larrylovehandle8472]

I wonder how my cat would fare on the field of battle.

[@augustoluis6888]

Cats are known to be murderous machines, so I think any cat would be very comfortable in a battlefield, dangerous and making actively great contributions to the body count.

[@SxSxG666]

Never watched H-Man? A big battle cat would be the coolest pet ever :)

[@bcaye]

They are intelligent, they would run away.

[@wafflingmean4477]

I think a cat would freak out completely, but after the battle was over they wouldn't be scared of dead bodies. They would come and scavenge and wouldn't flinch very much.

[@52rhflight56]

@@wafflingmean4477 Military Cats have won battle honors, including gallantry, in the real world and one even gained the right to a military funeral with full honors. Cats are very useful. The more sensitive females can alert the troops to an attack well before it arrives. Males are useful in detecting enemy caches. Most cats served in naval duty, clearing ships of mice and rats. Only the toughest cats will take on a large rat. While a strong component on naval vessels, they have also served with Army units and gained distinction. As for horses in the field, they have at least 3000 years of history working with human warriors and hunters. In addition to the mobility and height of eye that they provide, their tracking skills are superb. It is interesting that many hounds also instinctively work well when teamed with horse troops. IMO it is the relationship that the horse builds with the trainer that is paramount.

[@shipwreckjs673]

I’m buying a few acres of land out in the country to move to - I’m sick of London - and these videos are surprisingly helpful “how to ready for the end of the word” video. I can hunt and shoot. What I can’t do is ride

[@heathermcdougall2399]

Get a nice calm mare, and she'll forgive your terrible horsemanship. Good, basic horsemanship isn't too difficult, but you need a really well-tempered horse to begin on.

[@nealsterling8151]

Love the video! It is quite sobering to think about how horrible and unnatural a war is, which we humans have been conditioned to accept it as a fact of life by our society. Having the luck to have an animal around you is a boon that does not just change the animal bit for bit, but also oneself as a person a bit, making us more grounded and more receptive to the important things in life.

[@colleensykes7564]

This is quite fascinating. I appreciate the lessons you are teaching in regards to historical fact, but it's nice to see you actually demonstrating it. Many historians may know about how horses were used, but it's very different when you understand that bond between horse and rider from personal experience.

[@dmshchep]

This is an amazingly underrated channel. I hope more people will find this. You guys need to seriously think about some form of marketing - the content is amazing!

[@fugazinemesis]

Jason, when are you going to get your company, Rebellion, to make a medieval sword fighting game? It would be awesome!

[@willythekid8476]

I like how you're consistently praising horses and reminding them of how well they're doing. After seeing this I started doing that myself with horses that I train and the results are spectacular.

[@80sHairMetalFan]

I've never seen a horse with blue eyes. That horse is beautiful.

[@vorthora]

Ok, here I digress: everytime I listen to Robbie William's "Feel", I feel like I'm really galloping. One of my favorite songs, when I wish I could have a horse and go galloping on it. What a dream!

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

His eyes and cute little ears are cracking me up! Some war horse. I want to cuddle him.

[@edgaresquivel2147]

Kaiser Frost That’s a beautiful horse.

[@rachaelrogers2104]

That horse is so handsome its breathtaking! Dream horse! What a sweetheart you are with these horses!! Good on you

[@brianfuller5868]

Horses were defined by their job i.e. chargers. palfreys, cart horses. packhorses. GREAT video.

[@alisameiah5035]

I think alot of people don't realise how sensitives horses are.

[@plunder1956]

His eyes are amazing to look at. But his ears tell you so much about his concerns. Really interesting. He clearly responds to your reactions. He's calm, because you are.

[@westiewonder6601]

Your horse trust you a lot. Y’all have a good bond. Y’all make a wonderful team.

[@rustymailarmorknight1737]

Thank you sir. Working method for my warhorse (19 years old) first time with chainmail on with that horse and doing progress. Thank you so mouch from this series.

[@AnthonySforza]

I recall reading a Samurai manual where they described affixing small bells to their horse's ears, so as to distract them from the rifle pops and such on the battlefield. I used to think that it was a pretty good display of ingenuity, though after watching this, I'm wondering if they were just trying to shortcut a quick turnaround with their horses.

[@bonjovisfamclub]

what an amazing and patient trainer!

[@MRJJJarhead]

one dead body disliked the video

[@samueladams1775]

A stepped on dead body lol.

[@Needagoodnamebutcantthinkofone]

Yet another excellent video!!!!

[@OnyxTheGamingMachine]

Such a majestic, kind, and careful horse :D

[@jilllogan1288]

Hi I just discovered you channel. I have always loved all things medieval especially horses. I grew up around Morgans((I am a native Vermonter) Until my grandfather could no long keep, them( health issues, my parents didn't have the room) I rode cared for and showed them. I understand how important it is for a horse to trust you when you try and bond with a horse. If they sense any ill will they won't be easy to train and care for(at least that's been my experience). I am looking forward to learning so much more from you. You have a fascinating chanel and have a very calm and pleasant manner. Thank you for all your hard work putting the videos out here.

[@gwenroth9752]

I find these videos so fascinating! i never thought about all the training that had to go into these types of things

[@tanyagarcia3721]

It's a good thing you led him first to kinda get the sense of whathe might do once you're up in the saddle

[@AugustTheStag]

That horse is BEAUTIFUL!

[@deidremclane1681]

What a beautiful creature Ghost is. You make a amazing team.

[@ldw051290]

Have to say I love how he praised his horses. You can hear a genuine pride and pleasure in his tone.

[@artichare1839]

Great video! Lovely to see how calm and relaxed he is with the horse, paying attention to the signals and body language and also working with pressure and release. Ghost is absolutely gorgeous btw!

[@scout5683]

I just found your channel yesterday and as a history and horse enthusiast, I love your videos! I would love to see more training videos, like how you train your horses to kick, rear, paw the ground, etc ^_^

[@Leto85]

Thank you so much for this video. It's really inspiring. Again, the animal love is showing here, I just love it.

[@jordanslater-cuthbertson4183]

Loving these videos. Learning so much about horses. I've always loved them, but never had the chance to be around them much. This is simply strengthening my resolve to get some!

[@johnlaccohee-joslin4477]

What a lovely hourse,I had a long period in my life involved with horses and was watching his eyes, he really does have a trust in you, because there is that look that says if you say it O.K. then it must be. I think the same can be said of many animals but most people dont have the opertunity to find out, firstly what they are made of and secondly the ability of the animal. The best i can do is explain that i was standing watching a male loin who was in an enclosure with a female who had just had cubs, it turned out it was feeding time which had made me think that this might be the case by this animals high awareness of what was going on everywhere. I mentioned that he had been exspected for the loin point of view, and we got talking with me offering a hand. When it got to the lions turn it became very clear that he was not worried who it was who fed him, this guy invited me to go in with him and feed him,firstly i was surprised to see that he could get the message that though different i was there for his benifit, most male lions will not take food from hand, they wait till it hits the ground, he got it walked over to the corner and sat down, tge guy had walked over to the

[@jmch2186]

What a wonderful horse Ghost is. So beautiful 💚

[@roballister5269]

very good video jason thanks for all the insight 10/10

[@jesseelisabeatty3259]

Ok, smh I stumbled on the vid..abd had to subscribe. I love your hands when you are touching your horses, firm but gentle, you can tell you handle them alot, and they get alot of affection.loce your calm nature. I learned alot. Thank you

[@Galastel]

That makes me understand a bit better why some horses (e.g. Roland's Veillantif, El Cid's Babieca, Rostam's Rakhsh) are named right alongside their legendary riders; it would take quite a bit of courage on the horse's part, and quite a bit of dedication on the rider's part, for a horse to carry a rider through Legendary Exploits.

[@cheryl4729]

GREAT video! Love this! Warlord is beautiful!

[@KenDelloSandro7565]

Ghost is the most handsome creature I've ever seen.

[@dustbus4822]

This will come in useful when a apocalyptic scenario reverts our civilization to medieval times

[@od1229]

Good training, good horsemanship, i like the way you ride with loose reins.

[@CookieCrusherC]

I too have trained my horse to walk on dead bodies, but instead of bodies, they were poles, and he stepped on every one of them. Elegant majestic creatures indeed.

[@dragonfly2577]

Wow....you are an amazing rider. I love watching your videos.

[@jenna_n_goodwell_art]

Keep in mind, the horse does not see dead bodies in those white sacks. It sees an unevenness on the ground. It is only natural for a horse to not walk over such an obstacle. It rather has a flat ground to walk on, so it will not injure its legs, which it can't do without. Training a horse to go against its instincts takes a lot of patience and trust!

[@ccityplanner1217]

Try & make a list of all the qualities of a battlefield which are different from a regular field.

[@mayg9933]

Warlord is a beautiful horse

[@sudstahgaming]

This guy just loves medeval history he not no financial incentive to do it! he just loves doing it! and I think you are spot on with the training, humans were as smart back then as we are today, just with less technology so they probably did train their horses.

[@todorminchev2123]

this guys videos are great shame that doesn't get much attention as it seems ! Great channel and very educational ! Keep it up !

[@greenshp]

Here in the American West, we need to train horses to be able to do some difficult ranch work, like herding stampeding cattle and other horses, and various task involved in ranch work. They can't be afraid of noise, charging bulls, dogs, noise and chaos, fire and smoke (branding), crossing water, etc. We have them step over things like burning twigs, we toss noisy things like chains to the ground near their feet, throw objects over their heads, run rustling paper sacks along their flanks, etc. It occurs to me it might be very similar to training them for medieval battle. LOL

[@krn2487]

This horse is magnificent!

[@futuresonex]

In some ways it reminds me of training horses for Cowboy Mounted Shooting competitions here in the States. It's not a horse's natural behavior to run into an arena jam-packed with noisy people and run around a course at full speed while someone is shooting guns off his back! Once they get used to it though when you take them to a competition they can still be outside in their trailer, and when they start hearing the gunfire they start to get really excited because they know it's about time to run! For those unfamiliar with the sport, it involves racing around a course with a pair of Colt revolvers shooting at ten balloons lined up around the course. The guns are loaded with black powder blanks so that no one gets accidentally shot, either human or horse, and you have to be within at least 10-12 feet of the balloon when you fire or it won't pop, and if it doesn't pop it's counted as a miss. It's essentially barrel racing with guns.

[@ModernKnight]

interesting, thanks, I love finding out about different horse sports. that sounds like a lot of fun.

[@michaelwhite8031]

You are very patient

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

I think during medieval times they would have trained horses to be more familiar with that as well, but I imagine they probably would have used something like fresh animal carcasses or even lives slaughters, rather than human mannequins, since the horses were probably much more affected by the various sounds and smells rather than the visual layout of dead men, since that isn't really a mental concept for them.

[@sibylsaint]

such grim subject matter. such nice music.

[@leos8019]

I've worked a little with horses, I am by no means an expert, but it seems likely that medieval horse trainers would have to have used prop bodies; where I worked, we had to get the horses used to stepping on platforms and over obstacles that they were not used to. In medieval combat, the horse would have likely encountered bodies on the field and would also have to be trained to step on or over them otherwise the horse would be ineffective in combat altogether.

[@adorable6385]

The literature on war horse training goes deeper than this gentleman is showing, I have the book on who and what was done and start with a badger.