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A sixteenth century knight with a horse in full barding.

Barding (also spelled bard or barb) is armour for horses. During the late Middle Ages as armour protection for knights became more effective, their mounts became targets. This tactic was effective for the English at the Battle of Crécy in the fourteenth century where archers shot horses and heavy infantry killed the French knights after they dismounted. Barding developed as a response to such events.

Surviving period examples of barding are rare; however, complete sets are on display at the Wallace Collection in London, and the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

Any or all of the following pieces of barding might be used.

A champron.

The champron (also spelled chanfron, chamfrein, and shaffron) was designed to protect the horse's face. Sometimes this included hinged cheek plates. A decorative feature common to many champrons is a rondel with a small spike.^[1]

The champron originated in ancient Greece, but vanished from use until the twelfth century when metal plates replaced boiled leather as protection for war horses. The basic design of the champron remained stable until it became obsolete in the seventeenth century, although late examples are often notable for engraved decoration. A champron extended from the horse's ears to its muzzle. Flanges often covered the eyes. In an open champron, the eyes received no protection. Hinged extensions to cover the jowls were chiefly used for jousting tournaments.^[2]

The criniere (also known as manefaire or crinet) was a set of segmented plates that protected the horse's neck.

In full barding this consisted of two combinations of articulated lamés that pivoted on loose rivets. One set of lames covered the mane and the other covered the neck. These connected to the peytral and the champron.^[3]

Light barding used only the upper lames. Three straps held the criniet in place around the neck.^[4] It is thought that thin metal was used for these plates, perhaps 22 gauge. Chainmail was often affixed to the crinet and wrapped about the horse's neck for additional protection.

A set of armour clearly showing a criniere (protecting neck), peytral (protecting chest) and the croupiere (protecting hind quarters). Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

The croupiere (also crupiere bacul or crupper) protected the horse's hind quarters. It could be made from any combination of leather, chain, or plate.

The flanchards, used to protect the flank, attached to the side of the saddle, then around the front or rear of the horse and back to the saddle again. These appear to have been metal plates riveted to leather or in some cases cuirboille armour (which is boiled or treated leather sealed with beeswax or the like).

They sometimes had openings designed to allow the rider to use spurs.

The peytral was designed to protect the chest of the horse, while the croupiere protected the rear. It sometimes stretched as far back as the saddle.

This 15th century depiction of a tournament shows fully caparisoned horses

Barding was often used in conjunction with cloth covers known as caparisons. These coverings sometimes covered the entire horse from nose to tail and extended to the ground. It is unclear from period illustrations how much metal defensive covering was used in conjunction. Textile covers may also be called barding.

Another commonly included feature of barding was protection for the reins. This could be metal plates riveted to them as seen in the images here, or chainmail linked around them. Cutting the reins was another effective way to disable the knight's control of his mount.

See also: Horses in warfare

It is a modern misconception that knights were unable to move or defend themselves without a horse. However, mounted knights were limited to single handed weapons by the need to hold reins, though in actual combat, a well-trained war horse was largely controlled by the rider's legs. So a knight who lost his horse was at a disadvantage against the larger weapons used by infantry soldiers such as the halberd.

• Horses in the Middle Ages
• Horses in warfare
• Destrier
• Courser (horse)

• Broughton, Branford B. Dictionary of Medieval Knighthood and Chivalry: Concepts and Terms, (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1986).
• Mondadore, Arnoldo, ed. The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms & Weapons, (New York:Simon & Schuster, 1979).
• Stone, George Cameron (1934). A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Mineola: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-40726-8

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• Overview of Bards images of barding from period documents
• Society for Creative Anachronisms guide to creating replica equestrian armor
• The Curious Frau account of a sixteenth century barding recreation