Believe me, a stout Andalusian is muscular enough.
There are some key concepts to consider:
- Lameness, and resistance to going lame.
- Conformation.
- Carried weight.
- Endurance.
- Terrain.
Lameness means having injuries. Everything listed below lameness contributes to whether a horse will go lame or not. If a horse goes lame, he’s out of commission until his injuries heal. A soldier cannot afford having a horse that will consistently go lame.
This is why conformation is such an important study with regard to horse selection. The build, proportions, and stature (the conformation) are the first elements one uses to determine what kind of activities the horse can endure.
That brings us to the last 3 items: How much weight will he carry? How much endurance can he muster? What kind of terrain will the horse be ridden on?
Is the horse jumping ditches? Climbing steep terrain? Descending steep terrain? Will he be ridden hard all day long? How much does the rider and his armor weigh?
If the horse is jumping ditches, climbing steep terrain or descending steep terrain, then lighter is better. If he’s heavy, he’s more likely to go lame doing the above.
If the horse is being asked to ride all day, then lighter is better. If he’s heavy, then he won’t make it.
With regard to weight, the best horse is the lightest horse that can handle the typical weight he will be asked to carry.
Now, if the knight’s charging horse is not ridden between battles, because the knight rides his palfrey at those times, then he can saddle up his Charger for the battle and he only needs to ride his charger for a short time. If that’s the case, then a horse such as a somewhat heavy Andalusian is ideal.
As for Roman cavalry horses, archeological evidence indicates that they were between 11.2 and 15 hands, with perhaps an average of 13 or 14 hands. These horses carried a fair amount of weight themselves. But they also were more likely to be more effective in diverse terrain requiring agility, fast maneuvers, etc.
