Several shades of grey

[Erpingham]

A short article from the Warhorse project on coat colours which may prove interesting for those who like their men-at-arms historically correct.  I probably have too many chestnuts/sorels, not enough greys.

[Imperial Dave]

very interesting but I am not changing all of my painted horses to silver grey! 

[DougM]

Brilliant stuff, what a good find. I wonder how long this would have persisted for?

[Nick Harbud]

I'm with Dave on this.  I mean, my painting skills are simply not up to differentiating between bausan, ferrandus, grissel and lyard.  However, bays are easy and, when I was looking at this for my Bruttii nobles, were said to be in the majority.

Interesting piece though.  I wonder how much of this colour preference was limited to the royal stables and how prevalent it might have been amongst lesser ranks?

[Erpingham]

Bauson (or variants) is perhaps the most awkward because it means several different things.  It can mean "dark coloured with white spots" but also "with a white or white-striped face".  The word Bausond in Medieval English meant badger.  It can appear in compounds e.g. baybauson i.e. a bauson with a bay main colour.  In modern works, the Templar black and white banner Baussant is translated piebald.  And, yes, I am geeky enough to have looked this up 

We don't have a lot of analysis of horse colours of the rank and file that I know of, though descriptions of horses for possible compensation claims exist  from several countries.     

[dwkay57]

Yes, it is likely that the royals or higher echelons would have had more "heroic" colours than the usual farm horse or pony as they were probably more selective about breeding and which to keep.
If you look at recent royal parades in the UK we have the "Windsor Greys" and most of the household troops seem to ride very black mounts as I think do other display teams (e.g. RCMP)

I did read somewhere that George Custer - him of Little Big Horn fame - did try to get all the mounts within a troop of the 7th cavalry a similar shade and for each troop to have a different shade. The purpose was to be able to identify which troop was which at a distance. Not much good it did him though I hear you respond!

It is a trick I use for my 6mm so I can identify them easily on the battlefield.

[Erpingham]

Yes, it is likely that the royals or higher echelons would have had more "heroic" colours than the usual farm horse or pony as they were probably more selective about breeding and which to keep.

Agreed.  Looking at equipment regulations suggests horses were specified as having a minimum value but little about colour, conformation or size.  So, for many, it was probably a question of what was available to buy.  If they were wealthier, they could go for something classier - perhaps a foreign import in a fashionable colour.  Campaigning was tough on horses and most men probably wanted an animal not too high maintenance - if you were going to take a fancy horse to war, you needed the servants to look after it. 

[DougM]

Yes, it is likely that the royals or higher echelons would have had more "heroic" colours than the usual farm horse or pony as they were probably more selective about breeding and which to keep.

Agreed.  Looking at equipment regulations suggests horses were specified as having a minimum value but little about colour, conformation or size.  So, for many, it was probably a question of what was available to buy.  If they were wealthier, they could go for something classier - perhaps a foreign import in a fashionable colour.  Campaigning was tough on horses and most men probably wanted an animal not too high maintenance - if you were going to take a fancy horse to war, you needed the servants to look after it.

In later periods, some regiments definitely did try and source particular colours, so famously, Scots Greys, Bays, and the black horses of Napoleonic French heavies. And trumpeters and musicians would typically have different colours again.

How long such distinctions lasted when remounts had to be sourced, is of course a good question.

Added to that, specific breeds had specific colour patterns or variants. Duns for example for British chariot ponies.

The guidance in the purple primer actually isn't too bad as a starting point.

[dwkay57]

In their book "The Roman Cavalry" Dixon & Southern carry out some analysis of how replacement steeds were sourced and provided, which tends to follow the suggestions that any colour coordination would quickly break down.

They do provide case studies from later periods where whole cavalry regiments became infantry as they ran out of mounts due to various causes, including poor maintenance or care.

[Duncan Head]

They do provide case studies from later periods where whole cavalry regiments became infantry as they ran out of mounts due to various causes, including poor maintenance or care.

The famous example of the Balagritae that Synesius records:

"Moreover I have with me some of the corps of the Balagritae. Before Cerialis had taken over the command of the province, these men were mounted bowmen; but when he entered upon his functions, their horses were sold and they became only archers, but even as infantry they are useful to me."