Is your horse a: Courser, Palfrey, Rouncy or Hobby?

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NeilM

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As my lovely lad is neither posh or common, I thought I would ask about peoples horses using 'older' terms.

In mediaeval times, horses were known for what they could do, not by breed.

So, what is your horse?

Mine is a Hobby, a nippy little chap who was fast and agile. Hobby's were used by the famed army's of Robert the Bruce, so I'm in fine company.
 
FanyDuChamp

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Fany is a Courser, her breed, or one very similar but probably slightly taller, actually were used by knights. If you think about it they are very sturdy and strong enough to carry armour and knight.Also Julius Caesar used her breed.
No idea what Captain is probably a Palfrey, a pretty riding horse for ladies or clergy.
FDC
 
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Mince Pie

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NeilM said:
As my lovely lad is neither posh or common, I thought I would ask about peoples horses using 'older' terms.

In mediaeval times, horses were known for what they could do, not by breed.

So, what is your horse?

Mine is a Hobby, a nippy little chap who was fast and agile. Hobby's were used by the famed army's of Robert the Bruce, so I'm in fine company.
Click to expand...
Are you sure?
http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2009/02/horses-for-courses.html

"The Hobby Horse comes in from the end of the thirteenth century and was a small horse or middle sized pony imported from Ireland."

I have a rouncy and a palfrey :)
 
Sussexbythesea

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Interesting - You learn something every day never knew it til now but mine is most likely one of these and would have most preferred to be a ladies hack so he didn't have to do much except look pretty.

Palfrey
An expensive, well trained horse used for travel, sport and combat, the palfrey breed was ridden predominantly by royalty and the affluent. Known for its distinctive ambling gait, the palfrey was a smaller breed than trotting horses, but were favored for their smooth ride by the gentry. The palfrey's training would allow the horse to function capably in battle or joust, but their small stature made them less favored than a knight's destire for war. Trotting horses such as the Thoroughbred would eventually replace gaiting horses due to their ability to pull carriages, and the rising popularity of horse racing


Read more: Horses in the Anglo-Saxon & Medieval Period | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_7912927_horses-anglosaxon-medieval-period.html#ixzz1cOXltLEr
 
FanyDuChamp

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Must admit when I have done research into medieval Hobby horse never came up. A Courser was also known as a Destrier. They were not overly tall, generally around 15hh- 16hh it is believed. Which would make sense as they were expensive to keep in hay. Also they were incredibly expensive to buy.
FDC
 
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I'll admit to NOT being a historian, so I generalised a bit with the terms and timescales, but any of the older names have GOT to be better than Posh (which I seem to recall, actually stands for Port Out Starboard Home) or common. :D
 
Graureiter

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scan0015.jpg


Nuff said. :D
 
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Depends which mood she's in. Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales refers in The Nun's Tale to the abbess riding an ambling palfrey - they were very well mannered horses and considered suitable for ladies (abbesses) to ride. When my little cob is in polite mode she is in manner a Palfrey - in looks, then as now, a cob!

When fired up she'd like to think she's a Destrier, but she would have been the type of horse the knight's squire rode in the Crusades, while the knight had the Destrier. So again, she's either a Hobby or a Cob.

Our village's entry in the Domesday Book lists various acreages, and "five slaves and one cob". Goodness that horse must have had to put himself about!!!
 
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Fany du Champ - are you suggesting my gorgeous barmaid cob is a boat - or an oven? Well frankly she's stout enough to be either.

I didn't know that was what 'cob' meant. It's a ittle odd, as the village is listed as having 13 dewllings, and the stream is about 4 inches deep. However there was, and still is, a mill, so perhaps the cob was the mill's (baker's) oven. Keep this thread going, I'm learning a lot....
 
FanyDuChamp

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NeilM said:
But it's in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, sung by Lionel Jefferies :D

Here where I got my nonsense from, and I should have read it better, H is not a Hobby by breeding, but he certainly is by attitude, and is known as my 'battle pony'..amongst other things :rolleyes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_the_Middle_Ages
Click to expand...

Not nonsense at all, but an original and very interesting thread. Medieval life and people is a subject I am trying to research at present. So I was really chuffed to see a thread about the times. Much more enjoyable than threads on posh horses versus hacks!
FDC
 
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Rose Folly said:
Fany du Champ - are you suggesting my gorgeous barmaid cob is a boat - or an oven? Well frankly she's stout enough to be either.

I didn't know that was what 'cob' meant. It's a ittle odd, as the village is listed as having 13 dewllings, and the stream is about 4 inches deep. However there was, and still is, a mill, so perhaps the cob was the mill's (baker's) oven. Keep this thread going, I'm learning a lot....
Click to expand...

A cob was a villien's home, a villein is the medieval equivalent of a slave.But as you say could be a mill's oven or a boat, don't forget a lot of rivers have silted up since medieval times.
FDC
 
Trish C

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Mine's a Knobber... wonder what the medieval equivalent of that was.

Hmmmmm... he'd probably make quite a good Rouncy? Whadya think? Big strong sturdy sensible *snort* ID/ISH type but with a turn of speed when needed.

That is until he decided to eat the lance, or take off his tack, or beat someone over the head with a sheild... :rolleyes:
 
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OK, here's a couple of battle horses.

The first is me on my OH's mare, she's more of a flouncy than a palfrey.

DSCF4718.jpg


And this is a friend, on another friends Sec D, who is definitely a Courser.

DSCF4703.jpg


BTW: There is no evidence to suggest the Romans rode in Lauricus Sigmentata (sp?) armour, but my friend who was studying archeology was just seeing if it was possible.
 
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