page_title: Horses in warfare
section_title: Horse artillery
hierarchical_section_title: Horses in warfare / Tactics / Horse artillery
caption_attribution_description: A full-scale display of Swedish horse-drawn artillery from Wendes Artilleriregemente, with an artillery piece that was used up to the mid-19th century, and uniforms from around 1850 (originally in the Army Museum in Stockholm but now in the Artillery Museum in Kristianstad, Sweden). English translation of the accompanying caption in Swedish: WENDE HORSE ARTILLERY 1850 When the riding artillery advanced on the enemy it could easily be confused with cavalry. A riding battery had a "front" of 52 artillerymen on horseback and moved at a gallop. When the six-horse strong carriages wheeled around and unlimbered [made ready for fire] the cannons, they could be an unpleasant surprise for the enemy. Trials performed in the late 18th century showed that it could be done rapidly: "To take 300 paces, unlimber and fire took only one minute". The entire gun crew of the riding artillery was on horseback. One on each of the six horses towing one cannon and the rest riding on separate horses. Other types of artillery could not move as fast because some of the crew rode on the gun carriages. Swedish riding artillery took part in the Pomeranian War 1805-07 and the Napoleonic Wars 1813-14.
context_page_description: The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs made chariot warfare common throughout the Ancient Near East, and the earliest written training manual for war horses was a guide for training chariot horses written about 1350 BC. As formal cavalry tactics replaced the chariot, so did new training methods, and by 360 BC, the Greek cavalry officer Xenophon had written an extensive treatise on horsemanship. The effectiveness of horses in battle was also revolutionized by improvements in technology, including the invention of the saddle, the stirrup, and later, the horse collar.
  Many different types and sizes of horse were used in war, depending on the form of warfare. The type used varied with whether the horse was being ridden or driven, and whether they were being used for reconnaissance, cavalry charges, raiding, communication, or supply.
context_section_description: Once gunpowder was invented, another major use of horses was as draught animals for heavy artillery, or cannon. In addition to field artillery, where horse-drawn guns were attended by gunners on foot, many armies had artillery batteries where each gunner was provided with a mount. Horse artillery units generally used lighter pieces, pulled by six horses. "9-pounders" were pulled by eight horses, and heavier artillery pieces needed a team of twelve. With the individual riding horses required for officers, surgeons and other support staff, as well as those pulling the artillery guns and supply wagons, an artillery battery of six guns could require 160 to 200 horses. Horse artillery usually came under the command of cavalry divisions, but in some battles, such as Waterloo, the horse artillery were used as a rapid response force, repulsing attacks and assisting the infantry.  Agility was important; the ideal artillery horse was 1.5 to 1.6 metres (15 to 16 hands) high, strongly built, but able to move quickly.
caption: Life-size model depicting c. 1850 horse artillery team with a light artillery piece
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