What Are the Common Breeds of Warhorses? A Complete Guide in One Article
The horse is an animal everyone is familiar with, and in ancient times, nothing was more important than armor, swords, and warhorses. A strong, high-quality warhorse was deeply loved by the common people. With the course of history, there are now many warhorse breeds as well, so below we introduce the common warhorse breeds.
Introduction to Common Warhorse Breeds
1. Dayuan Horse
The Dayuan horse originated from the country of Dayuan (Dayuan was the name of an ancient Western Regions state, in what is now the Fergana Valley in Central Asia). Legend has it that after galloping at high speed, the Dayuan horse's shoulder area would gradually swell and exude sweat like fresh blood, which is why it was named the "Blood-sweating Horse." Because the breed was later continuously crossbred, and for various reasons, the blood-sweating horse became hard to find in China; at present only in Turkmenistan and within Russia do several thousand blood-sweating horses still survive.
2. Mongolian Horse
The Mongolian horse is one of the older horse breeds in China and even the world, mainly produced on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and is a typical grassland horse breed. It is hardy, unafraid of cold, able to adapt to extremely extensive feeding and management, and has extremely strong vitality, able to survive under harsh and difficult conditions. It can travel about 60 kilometers in 8 hours. Once trained, the Mongolian horse is neither startled nor deceitful on the battlefield and is incomparably brave, and has always been a good military horse.
3. Kazakh Horse
The Kazakh horse, produced in Xinjiang, is a grassland-type horse breed. Its morphological features are a medium-sized head, delicate, with short ears. The neck is slender and slightly raised, the withers are high, the chest is narrow, and the hind legs often appear sickle-shaped. Two thousand years ago in the Western Han era, Emperor Wu of Han, in search of fine horses, sent Zhang Qian on three missions to the Western Regions, and the horses he obtained may have been the predecessors of the Kazakh horse.
4. Yili Horse
The Yili horse was bred on the basis of the Kazakh horse of Xinjiang, crossed with the former Soviet Don horse, Orlov horse, and others. Local herders call it the "two-cross horse." After the 1960s, the breeding of the Yili horse was mainly based on the Don horse, and its Don horse blood reached more than 50%. The Yili horse is gentle in temperament, keen by nature, good at jumping, and suitable for riding and pack work on mountain roads as well as draft work on the plains.
5. Sanhe Horse
The Sanhe horse is a breed with an extremely complex bloodline. The Sanhe horse is taller in build than the Mongolian horse; it is compact and solid in form, handsome in appearance, with a deep and long chest, well-developed muscles, a solid constitution, a straight back and loin, strong limbs, and distinct joints. Its coat colors are mainly three kinds: bay, chestnut, and black. The Sanhe horse has a fierce and brave disposition, yet is docile in temperament, tolerant of coarse feed, and suited to relatively extensive herd grazing life.
Famous Warhorses of Ancient China
1. Dilu: Dilu was Liu Bei's mount and once saved Liu Bei's life. In the end, Liu Bei gave this horse to Pang Tong, but who would have known that shortly after mounting it, both man and horse were shot dead at Luofeng Slope.
2. Wuzhui: The mount of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and at the time it was hailed as the finest steed under heaven. This horse was completely black, glossy and shining, yet its four hooves were white as snow. Therefore it was also called "Snow-treading Wuzhui."
3. Red Hare: Its whole body was covered in red coat, like a mass of blazing fire, galloping across the battlefield. "Among men, Lu Bu; among horses, Red Hare" - this shows how highly people rated this horse.
4. Jueying: It followed Cao Cao in campaigns north and south. In the battle against Zhang Xiu, because Cao Cao fell into a trap and fled in panic, Jueying escorted Cao Cao away, and though struck by three arrows it still galloped like wind and lightning. In the end it fell only after a stray arrow hit its eye.
5. Yulan White Dragon Colt: The mount of the famous Three Kingdoms general Zhao Yun. This horse was snow-white all over, without a single stray hair, could travel a thousand li a day, and followed Zhao Yun in campaigns north and south, many times saving its master from danger.
In ancient China, the status of the horse was also extremely high. The I Ching holds that "Qian is the horse, Kun is the ox," and the horse was used to symbolize heaven. Now, with the advancement of warfare and technology, the probability of using horses is very low, so the impression of warhorses still remains in the ancient period.
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