Hard riding no saddles or stirrups

[John Conyard]

Good evening Garrelt,

"It can also be that I've learned a different way of riding"


I'm beginning to think that every rider finds their own way to hang on and not fall off, but that certain rules do hold true. I find it hard to explain something as natural as riding. However when bouncing around bareback I try a keep a deep seat and straight leg. On a four horned saddle my legs naturally bend and brace up under the front horns when cornering etc. But my legs stay relaxed below the knee and the spurs stay away from the horses sides. In a steppe saddle without stirrups I revert to a straight leg.

After a very hard day using a four horned saddle I have got cramp in my legs. It's agony. I've never spent more than a few hours in the steppe saddle, but found it less demanding on the muscles.

[garrelt]

Evening John

So in fact the horned saddle does the same as a Spanish saddle.
And yes I learned riding in a natural way, and developed my own style of riding.
It started at an early age with : Here you have the bridle , there is the horse enjoy yourself and if you fall of get back on.

[Arminius Primus]

Ave,

Just to add to the discussion, Cassius Dio , writes of a barbarian charge against a mixed element of legions. The Romans formed square and recieved the charge full on. This was a battle on a frozen river , so , in theory it was easier to cause the horses to slip, creating confusion and mayhem. In the end the Romans were victorious. So I guess the point is that cavalry charges did happen and the results were not inevetable.

Regards from the Balkans, Arminius Primus aka Al

[Gregg]

A quick look at some of the elements of the battle of Carrhae may be of interest:

Realizing he was facing a strong cavalry force, Crassus had formed his army into a square. The Parthian cataphracts prepared to charge, but drew up short when they saw the depth and clear determination of the Roman line. The horse archers then began to attack in earnest, hoping to inflict enough casualties to weaken Roman morale or create a gap big enough for the horsemen to pour in.

It should be remembered that the Parthian cataphracts were heavily armored lancers riding armored horses. They did not have stirrups but seem to have been equipped with horned saddles, and wielded the long kontos lance two-handed. They were the Suren’s personal bodyguard and would have been highly trained. The horse archers were probably nomadic Dahae, dependents of the Suren clan. Their military potential was most likely comparable to later Central Asian nomad horse archers, like the early Mongols.

There was only about one Dragon (1,000) of cataphracts and about nine dragons of horse archers, so the Parthians were greatly outnumbered. Still, Plutarch’s description makes it quite clear that even the Parthian ultra-heavy cavalry hesitated to charge because the Roman line was too deep, solid and determined.

And if a modicum of street cred is necessary in this discussion, I learned English saddle when I was a kid at Fort Riley, and I've spent more than a few leisure hours riding western saddle over the years. I've never ridden using a replica Roman saddle, and don't think I'd want to unless it was on a Roman-sized horse.