Were medieval horsemen cruel to their animals?
Detail from Paris BnF Velins 618, fol. 29r (1494) (c) Bibliothèque nationale de France It can be easy to judge the attitude people had towards horses in the past: knowledge on equine cognition has progressed and goes on advancing and we, as a society, tend to be more sensitive to animal welfare and suffering. We also have shifted, in many parts of the world, from the perception of a useful animal to the perception of an animal destined to leisure, or even of a pet, which in turns influences our expectations from and treatment of horses. In medieval Europe, horses were essential to daily life. They played an essential role in the trade, agriculture, travel, warfare of the time. They were kept for a purpose. They were trained for a purpose. This didn’t stop people from wanting an emotional connection with them or even from loving their horses, but what they expected from their horses was different that what we do now. When I told people about my PhD topic, the breaking-...
