Equipment for Horses

Barding

Barding refers to armor designed for mounts. Mounts are most commonly horses, but also include the huge beasts that carry fighting platforms into combat (such as elephants with howdahs). The vast majority of mounts will wear no barding at all. Such protection is expensive and time-consuming to construct, tires the mount quickly, and reduces the speed and maneuverability of the mount in combat.
Historically, barding reached its peak development in the medieval era. After the introduction of gunpowder and the gun, barding quickly degenerated into little more than parade trappings. The development of barding was controlled by two factors: the breeding of horses strong enough to wear the protection and carry an armored rider, and the technical problems of designing such armor to be ever lighter and more flexible than that worn by men without sacrificing protection. In many ways, the development of barding parallels the development of armor for the fighting man.

Medieval Barding

Most forms of barding, other than padded or quilted cloth, required massively heavy and powerful mounts. The weight of barding and the man, including his armor and weapons, easily strained even the largest war horses. For this reason, later barding was redesigned using lighter materials such as boiled leather or thick padded cloth. One of the most common historical bardings was made of boiled leather (sometimes more than 2 inches thick), with specially reinforced parts made of steel bands and wooden planks or short strips of thick, hard wood.
Late medieval barding comprised a number of pieces of armor covering different parts of the mount. These included the chanfron (for the head and neck), the crinet (for the side of the neck), the cuello (for the forward chest), the poitrel (for the flanks and broad chest), the flanchards (covering areas around the saddle), and the crupper (for the hindquarters). Barding almost never protected the legs of the mount.
In warmer and more humid climates, full barding is less common than half barding. When used at all, lighter forms are preferred. Half barding usually includes only the chanfron and poitrel (plus the crinet and cuello for plate barding).

Barding in Campaigns

In the AD&D game worlds, the use of barding varies by culture and race. Although individual variations are up to the DM, a few generalizations are useful. Most barding will be used by human forces. Other than humans, elves (and sometimes halflings) will use horse barding. It is rare to see gnomes or dwarves mounted, except as members of adventuring groups. It is much rarer to see them on barded mounts, as they prefer fighting on foot.
Besides horses, war elephants are sometimes outfitted with leather or metal barding. Camel riders tend not to bard their mounts, as the bulky armor makes them more difficult to handle, reduces their carrying capacity severely, and interferes with their ability to survive desert conditions much more so than with horses.
Worgs and war dogs are occasionally barded with leather, though this is rare.
Aerial mounts can be barded with leather or lighter materials.

Types of Barding

Full barding: This is a complete set of horse armor that provides the rated protection when attacked from any side. Note that the term "full plate" is used to denote a new, more advanced type of horse armor, like the fighters full plate armor.
Half barding: The difference between half barding and full barding is that half barding covers only the front and forward sides of the animal. Attacks from the rear or rear flanks use the mount's base armor class.
Partial Barding: This is an option that allows the averaging of a mount's armor class if full barding is not available. See Table 4.
Note: All "suits" of barding, including half barding, are complete units; that is, half barding is not achieved by leaving off half a horse's armor. The pieces are made to be used together—they are specially formed, fitted, and balanced to provide a certain level of protection and a certain degree of mobility in a fight. Cobbling together odd or ill-fitting pieces degrades the effect of the whole, to the degree ruled by the Dungeon Master.
In the following section, barding is discussed in order of least protective to most protective. New types of barding are included.

Pieces of Horse Armor

Chanfron: This piece of armor covers the mount's head, neck, and mane. In its most primitive form, the chanfron is made of boiled leather. Chanfrons made by humans and dwarves are usually made of iron or steel, while orcs and other humanoid races tend to favor leather and sylvan elves use wood or strong, fibrous plant materials.
Crinet: This neckpiece is found only in plate armor. It covers the upper side of the mount's neck and is made of narrow strips of steel articulated with six to eight inches of mail.
Cuello: Found only in plate barding, this is armor for the underside of the horse's neck (the throat). It is hung from the crinet with a number of straps and buckles. In more advanced barding, the cuello has fully articulated plates hinged with wide bands of tight chain links.
Poitrel: This part of the horse's barding covers its chest and flanks. The poitrel is also known by names such as the peytrel, pectoral, or poitrinal. It covers the front of the chest and sides as far as the saddle. Early poitrels used heavy cloth with scales, rings, or studs; later ones used plates or bands of steel.
Flanchards: These are plates of armor for the horse's side, including the area behind the front shoulders, across the saddle length, and ending at the hindquarters, protecting areas not covered by the poitrel or crupper.
Crupper: This piece covers the hindquarters of the horse and is sometimes referred to as the croupiere bacul. The lightest form of this armor is made of light leather sewn together into small squares, then joined together by straps and stitches. The most advanced cruppers are made of several thick steel bands joined with pieces of chain or mail, bound to the saddle and the flanchards.

Considerations

A war horse, or any animal trained for combat, is a considerable investment for the average warrior. Therefore it behooves the owner to see that his mount is as well-protected as possible. Other than avoiding risks, the best nonmagical protection is horse armor or barding. Barding is simply some type of armor fitted to be worn by the mount. Full barding covers the neck, chest, and body of the beast, while half barding covers the head. neck. chest. and front quarters. Barding can be made from many different materials; Stouter types provide increasing protection according to the Armor Class of the construction. All of this, however, is at the expense of increased weight and lowered maneuverability of the mount. Plate barding, for example. is the equivalent of a warrior's field plate and is made of carefully interlocked plates and joints. It provides an Armor Class of 2 to the mount. It weighs at least 80 to 100 pounds at the lightest and thus a fully equipped war horse with this armor can manage little more than a steady trot at top speed.
Barded animals also require special attention. Care must be taken to prevent chafing and sores. The mount cannot wear the armor indefinitely. It must be removed at night and ideally should not be worn except in preparation for a battle or tournament.
Removing horse barding takes 15 minutes for leather and 30 minutes for metal armors. Fitting it on takes twice as long. The weight of barding is carefully distributed to account for the weight of the armor and the rider, so barded animals cannot be used as pack animals! It is normal practice to have a second mount for carrying gear and supplies.
Saddles There two basic saddles—riding and pack. Riding saddles take many forms, but their basic purpose is to carry a person. If your DM has set his campaign in an ancient or early Medieval setting, saddles may be without stirrups. Ask your DM to be sure. Pack saddles are special frames designed to carry supplies and equipment. The only practical limit to how much a well-stowed pack saddle can carry is the carrying ability of the animal.