Blanketing horses in medieval Europe

Unknown author - St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Ms. Vad. 302 II, fol. 35v, 13th century manuscript,
Public domain image

Are rugs a modern luxury, fit for pampered show-horses? Are they representative of modern horse-care? It’s tempting to think so, when one observes the multiplication of new rug designs: each year they become more rain-proof, more sweat-absorbent, more aerodynamic, more colourful, etc. etc. However, rugs are far from being a new invention. And there is evidence, in many sources, that they were used in medieval Europe. 

“The horse must be covered in winter because of the cold, and in summer he must be covered with a linen cloth, because of the flies and other similar things.”[1]

This piece of advice given by Jordanus Rufus, an Italian knight (and vet) in his 1250 treaty, De Medicina Equorum, suggests that blanketing horses, both in winter and in summer – as many people still do nowadays –, was common for the horses of the elite. Writers from the following centuries, who reiterated Rufus’s advice, point out that the winter rug should be made of wool. 

Rufus mentions rugs at other times in his treaty. He suggests that horses which have been worked, and have sweated, should wear a rug and be walked until they are dry – again, this is a practice that is far from being outdated today. He also describes the use of rugs in the spring, when the horse is allowed to graze for the first time after the winter. He states that the horse has to be blanketed then to avoid catching a cold. 

So it seems that the horses about which Rufus writes, the destriers which he must have known so well, being a knight, very often wore rugs. Interestingly, Rufus also says that when they are still foals, the warhorses must be allowed to wander freely, without any human intervention (he is very clear about the fact that their hooves must not be trimmed, but left to harden in a natural landscape). Which raises the question of why, after man breaks them in, these warhorses must be rugged in winter. Couldn’t they grow their own winter hair? 

A probable explanation is linked to the fact that those horses were stalled. Not being able to move, they would grow colder, thus needing the additional protection of a woollen rug. Another, which finds an echo in today’s horse-care, is the desire to stop the growth of winter hair which would make the horse too warm when worked: the destriers were exercised every day, in all seasons, to be ready for battle. They could be compared to today’s show-jumping and dressage athletes: beautiful and valuable animals which had to be kept as fit as possible. 

It is also possible that the gear used on the horses – from armours to covers showcasing the coat of arms of a knight – were incompatible with thick winter hair. 

In any case, the use of rugs is interesting in the sense that, aside from the reasons stated above, is could show a form of empathy towards horses. Medieval men understood that horses could be cold, like them. To prevent that, they dressed them with rugs the same material as their clothes. And the use of summer rugs against the flies also shows that they were conscious of the annoyance, and even pain, the horses had to bear when attacked by insects. So again, empathy probably played a role. 

Rugs are not only mentioned in horse-care manuals. They also appear in the accounts of the stables of the French king Charles the VIth,[2] which gives us some evidence of their actual use. I do not know if there are archaeological sources testifying to the use of rugs, but I think that accounts are the next best thing. 

The report for the year 1399 states that 18 dozen rugs were bought, for the destriers, the “coursiers” (which could be hunters, or the saddle-horses of the nobility), but also for the cart-horses used for different jobs around the stables. Now, it’s not quite clear what those rugs were. Were they covers with coats of arms used when the horses were ridden (in tournaments for instance) or in work? Were they winter rugs? Summer rugs? Were they the blankets used to keep sick horses warm? Since there is no description of any coat of arm on them – which is the case in other parts of the accounts when saddles, for instance, are describe –, and given the quantity, my guess is that they are the rugs used when the horses were resting in their stables. 

This report is interesting because it shows that the valuable warhorses were not the only ones to wear rugs: rounceys also benefited from them. However, those rounceys belonged to the king, so it was normal that they should be treated well, even if they weren’t valuable. What about the horses that did not belong to the elite? 

In How they saw the horse, I mentioned Froissart and his poem “Le Débat dou cheval et dou lévrier.” In this poem, the poet’s rouncey, Grisel, is described as being covered by a rug when they stop for the night in a wayside inn. 

Moreover, an article written by Floriana Bardoneschi[3] about the representation of draught horses in illuminated manuscripts, points out that from the 15th century onwards, images depict the horses wearing a sort of exercise sheet, while at work. She suggests that the function of this sheet was to protect them from the rain and insects. 

Though the sources I have just quoted are limited in number and scope, they would suggest that the use of blankets was, if not widespread, at least not unusual, especially for the horses of the elite. It reflects a desire to keep the horse, whether he was a valuable companion or a useful tool, as healthy and productive as possible. 

Moreover, there could also be some level of anthropomorphism in the use of blankets, especially winter ones. When did medieval people decide that the horse was cold? When they themselves started to wear thick woollen clothes? When they saw their horses trembling? Rufus shows in his treaty that he was aware horses fared very well without men. However, it seems that from the moment the foal is broken-in, he needs shoes and rugs and special food. He becomes dependant on man for many things. Because his lifestyle has changed. But maybe also because of the anthropomorphism that stems from the way the medieval knight tried to turn the horse not only into a companion, but into his double. 

[1] Jordanus Rufus, La marechaucie des chevax, éd. B. Prévot, dans La science du cheval au Moyen Âge. Le traité d'hippiatrie de Jordanus Rufus, Paris, Klincksieck, 1991 

[2] Comptes de l’Ecurie du roi Charles VI (Vol.2). Le registre KK 35 des archives nationales (1399-1404 et 1411-1413) publié par Claude Billaud dans Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (pub.), Recueil des Historiens de la France. Documents financiers et administratifs (Tome IX), Paris, 1996 

[3] BARDONESCHI Floriana, « Les images du cheval attelé au travail dans les campagnes : réalités anatomique et morphologique et construction artistique à travers les enluminures (Europe, XIIe-XVIe siècle) », In Situ, 27 | 2015