Horse as a weapon

[AxeMental]

I am familiar with horses being used as fighting platforms throughout history (where the rider attacks from his lofty mobile position). There is also some information regarding barding and protection for the horse. After watching LOTR ROTK movie again last night I couldn't help but notice the horses plowing through the orcs. Which made me wonder if horses were used in this way during real midievil combat. If so, were horses ever fitted with slicing blades, or spikes (like a dog collar, or even perhaps James Bonds "Gold Finger" sports car tires?

Perhaps some of our English friends have some information on this.

PS P&P are you familiar with horses being trained to bite or kick during combat? I think I asked you this once before but can't remember what you said. In AD&D horses are like having a 4th level fighter with you with their HPs and number of attacks.

[PapersAndPaychecks]

There's some evidence for horse armour having sharp pointy bits sticking out, but I can't see those being any use in a fight - I think they were decoration.

There's very good evidence for chariots having all sorts of nasty attachments, mainly on the theme of big sharp scything blades coming out of the wheels.

Yes, horses can be trained to attack. Horses realistically have four attack modes.

The first is biting. A bite from a horse can be painful, but it wouldn't do any real damage to an opponent in metal armour, so I would only allow it on unarmoured opponents; and the horse in a charge situation is probably too busy to bite anyway. I might allow it on the second attack round.

The second is the rear-and-plunge. This is more effective, but not really usable by a horse in a charge situation, since it would ruin its rider's attack. I'd allow the rider to have the horse rear-and-plunge, but in a charge situation, he'd lose his double damage with his lance in the process because he isn't using the horse's strength and momentum to help him drive the lance through his target.

The third is the kick with both rear hoofs, and as anyone who's been kicked by a horse will tell you, that can be nasty. (My wife's had this happen to her. Ouch.) What happens is that the horse throws its head forward and arches its back as it kicks, thus using the entire strength of its body concentrated on a single point of impact. This could be used by a trained warhorse following a successful "charge past" rather than "charge at" move - I'd allow 1d6 damage per hoof.

The fourth is the trample, which would only apply to prone opponents. If there were a successful "charge at" move which knocked the target down, I'd rule that a trample could apply on the subsequent round.

[francisca]

One of my AD&D players is interested in mounted combat. In particular, he wants ride down and trample his opponents.

We use the weaponless combat rules from Unearthed Arcana. When he plows into an opponent, I use the overbearing rules, with the horse as the "overbearer". Should the horse be successful, I roll a d6 to determine where the opponent lands:
1-2: to the left
3-4: directly before the horse
5-6: to the right.

If he lands right in front of the horse, he is hit with 2-4 hooves ([d6/2]+1] for d6 each hoof, as the horse tramples him on it's past.

This maneuver is only possible with a trained warhorse.

Edit: need to add that this only works on man sized or smaller creatures. Perhaps an ogre too, if it is a huge horse.