"Which horseback weapons for WotR skirmish" Topic

Finally got to the horses for 'Lion Rampant', putting together the Perry 15th Cent Cavalry.

Think I have a choice of weaponry – lances or hand weapons. Now I like lance cavalry as much as the next man, but have a feeling this would be too much for skirmish. I have two units of 6, one will have barding one without (so if need be I can differentiate between two types – though I won't always be using them as the two different types – if the same then its doesn't matter)

What mix of weapons would you give?

I have two units of 6, one will have barding one without

There's very little if any evidence for the use of barding in the WotR.

As for weapons, spears, swords, maces and similar. Archers were sometimes mounted, but did not generally fight mounted.

Lance is fine, they trained at jousting, but I imagine after first contact they would revert to sword and axe etc.

Lance first and foremost; if you lose your lance you use your secondary weapon until you get away out of trouble.

In a skirmish it would more likely be "prickers" , lighter horse rather than knights. The knights would not be out on skirmish and gathering tasks.

Barding is to differentiate between these

Mounted Men-at-Arms @ 6 points per unit
Mounted Serjeants @ 4 points per unit
Mounted Yeomen @ 4 points per unit

(From Dan Mersey's blog)

Its not fixed for my games, just when I have two of different types on the table, the more powerful have the barding. I may go without.

I reckon one of those big spiked club things would be just the ticket, or perhaps the spiked ball on a chain with a stout handle. If you were facing an armoured opponent you would need to smash him hard, swords would be OK against a lightweight footslogger, but skull crushers are needed against armour.

martin, most fighting in many theatres was between parties of men-at-arms – often remarkably small numbers of them. Spiked clubs and balls on chains would be very hard to use against a mounted opponent. Armoured horses are not unknown for the WotR, but cloth barding was pretty rare as far as I can see.

When I was assembling the Perry Plastic WOTR light cav. figures, I was reluctant to use the crossbows. Mounted crossbows? Really?

I hadn't spotted those!

When I was assembling the Perry Plastic WOTR light cav. figures, I was reluctant to use the crossbows. Mounted crossbows? Really?

I think the mounted crossbow bits are for when you use the box for Burgundians, Italians etc.

Also… Looking closer at the model, they appear to have a saddle blanket/cloth over the saddle – it has an edge that a herald would call 'engrailed' or 'urdy'

Is this blanket rather than leather?

Last Hussar, are you aware that the Perrys produce two different cavalry sets (1450-1500): Mounted Men-at-Arms and Light Cavalry. Sounds like you have got the Mounted MAA set.

If you want to differentiate between LR Mounted Men-at-Arms and LR Mounted Serjeants in your forces, then I would think that the most logical choice would be to use the ones from the Mounted MAA box for Men-at-arms, and get a box of Light Cavalry for use as Mounted Serjeants.

Not spending/painting any more!

If you have plate armor for horses, you definitely have the softer horse covering too. Barding is pretty, easy to paint and great for differentiating troop types. Lances in units look very cool. Hand weapons, not so much. Just my feelings on the topic…………..

More than a feeling GWA; a (correct) instinct. The lance was the primary weapon on the battlefield and clubs/maces/golfclubs a very poor second. OTH by the tome people were buying plate for hprses cloth barding had pretty much disappeared.