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To: PIF

The Romans beat the Sarmatians (among others) and brought them into their own auxiliary ranks, so they had that covered. Could be though, because they’d beaten the barbarian horsemen in the first place.

In the middle ages, in Sicily, the saracens scattered broken pottery to prevent a cavalry charge. Hardraada was still in service to the Byzantines, and he and his men just cut palm fronds off nearby trees and wrapped their horses’ hooves and lower legs, and charged. :^)


30 posted on 04/03/2022 8:54:19 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv

The guy dismisses the idea of a dismount device as he seems to think many hundreds would be needed in any charge. But it only takes one horse stepping on one of them to totally disrupt a massed charge.

The holes would make them easier to roll and to break; the nobs easier to kick out under a hoof, once stepped on - like stepping on marbles for a horse.

Broken ones would be even more effective as they could cause the horse’s hoof to become cut on the sharp edges and even caught in the casing - possibly breaking the horse’s leg.

Maybe the wrapping solution you offer was why they were only used for a short period. Once used, the enemy would be wise to the ploy and find other ways to defeat such a tactic.


70 posted on 04/03/2022 10:22:18 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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