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As the name suggests, the Horse Archer
is a mounted soldier or cavalryman with a bow. These soldiers
were excellent at horseback, and one needed to be. Using a
bow on horseback requires the rider to let go of the reins,
and stay on the horse using only their legs. Movies throughout
history have captured the Horse Archer in
their time, usually being Eurasian nomads. |
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| Normally an archer on foot has the ground behind them to draw
the bow. A Horse Archer still needs that weight
behind them. The horseback itself gives them that advantage.
Since arrows are practically useless in close range, the Horse
Archer had the advantage in combat. They could fire at a further
distance, and move to a new target, without their enemies having
time to fire back in the right location. Horse Archers got so
good at this type of warfare, they even adopted a method where
they would turn away from the shot, to ready another. Until
stirrups were invented, the disadvantage they had was the motion
of the horse. The stirrups made it easier, enabled the archer
to stand. |
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| The best type of bow for a Horse Archer to
use was the recurve bow. The recurve bow was the best choice,
due to its small size and excellent range. This enabled them
to fire quickly, and move away from the enemy. Enemies had a
tough time getting hits on the Horse Archers, and therefore
the Horse Archers need no armour, making them very maneuverable.
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| Civilizations using Horse Archers: Scythians,
Sarmatians, Parthians, Huns, Mongols, Turks, Armenians, Bulgars
and Japanese. |
