Most horses in the period of before stirrups were quite small. So the rider simply threw a leg over them to get on, or perhaps stood on a rock to mount. Look at the pictures of horses on Greek temples, or from the era of Babylon to get an idea of horse size in those days.

From traveling to waging war, for hundreds of years, man rode without a saddle. The first saddle is believed to have been invented in 365 AD by the Sarmations. Proud horsemen who used their horses in battle and also sacrificed them to the gods, their saddle creations were brought back to Europe by the Huns.

The saddle probably originated in the societies of the Asian steppes (which were also the site of origin of the stirrup and horse collar) and received a high degree of development in medieval Europe, especially in France, as an indispensable element in the knightly shock combat of the feudal age.

While most Romans are believed to have traveled on foot, wealthy Romans and merchants used horses for transport as did the government and the military. Horses were used to pull wagons for the merchants who owned them.

The Avars of Hungary discovered stirrups during their war with Central Asia and soon adopted the use of stirrup during combat. The Agars’ war with the Byzantine Empire led to the introduction of the use of riding stirrups in Europe.

Why did it take so long to invent the stirrup? You need a certain saddle design to make a stirrup work. It needs to have a tree (a firm wooden frame like this) for the stirrups to anchor to, otherwise every time you put weight in one stirrup, the saddle will slip like this.

Archaeological records indicate that the Mongols were using stirrups as early as the 10th century, and even at this early stage, they were being ornately but solidly crafted out of metal. Mongol horsemen were extremely skilled fighters on horseback, and they adapted their tactics to their enemies to great effect.

Mongol bow The primary weapon of the Mongol forces was their composite bows made from laminated horn, wood, and sinew.

They hung from a saddle that was made of wood and had a high back and front. These, supplemented with endless hours of practice, gave a Mongol rider unprecedented stability.

Horses were by far the most important animal to the ancient Mongols. It also served as an animal that Mongols could drink blood from, by cutting into a vein in the neck and drinking it, especially on harsh, long rides from place to place.

Genghis was not the first to use animals as weapons, but he may have been one of the earliest to use birds. Let’s look into the details of Genghis Khan’s use of swallows, as well as four other examples of armies using animals as weapons.