Is there a way for a player to breed horses so that he can maintain his fine horse's bloodline? I don't know how advanced horse breeding techniques were, or how much it would cost, etc.

Any help is appreciated

To my limited knowledge, there was no breeding program, per se, during this time period. There was individual attempts to gain the best horses, but not in the way our modern mindset thinks.

Any information to the contrary would be appreciated as well. My characters, being long time role-players have instituted small advances along this line.

Bob

I've got a player who's breeding horses , trying to create the Frisian Destrier in his backyard... he's actually getting darn close to it, having gotten his hand on some prime breeding stock during adventures.
Be warned that this can become a huge income source (my player luckily generously gives his horses away).

We use the following rules (which paste bad)

Roll stewardship
Roll horsemanship

horizontal Result stewardship, vertical horsemanship, in order crit/success/fail/fumble
1234
2345
3456
4567

roll steward:fumble
horsemanship
crit4
success5
fail6
fumble7


1: unusual horse of superior quality
2: unusual horse or superior quality
3: regular horse of regular quality
4: regular horse of lower quality
5: no new horses
6: disease: no new horses, roll extra survival for each horse
7: bad disease: no new horses, horse herd halved

Superior, regular, or lower quality?
1 step up, no step, or 1 step down of expectation


Expectation:
Cross between types averages types, round down
type:
10: Shire Destrier
9: Frisian destrier
8: destrier
7: andalusian destrier
6: charger
4: courser/palfrey
2: rouncy
1: sumpter
0: nag


Raising and training.
Types 0-4: 2 years to become usable
Types 6-8: 3 years to become usable
Battle training: add 1 year

Maintenance, 1L/year per breeded horse

Untrained horses: half value
Young horses: half value again
Unusual horses: double value
Selling horses: at half current value
Example: young untrained destrier: buys at 8, sells at 4

Amount of horses
New horses per year: 1D2 per regular herd (20 horses). Young horses and horses in training do not count.

fg,
Thijs

To my limited knowledge, there was no breeding program, per se, during this time period. There was individual attempts to gain the best horses, but not in the way our modern mindset thinks.

Any information to the contrary would be appreciated as well. My characters, being long time role-players have instituted small advances along this line.

Bob


That's my opinion too.
I also think that the only people with the resources to maintain large stables of high quality horses for breeding purposes are the major nobles with their many many manors and huge estates.

Also, I think it used to be held that warhorses were geldings, so you wouldn't be able to breed from them anyway. I don't know if that's true anymore.

That's my opinion too.
I also think that the only people with the resources to maintain large stables of high quality horses for breeding purposes are the major nobles with their many many manors and huge estates.

I think that if knights can breed horses (per the BotM), I would let them do so for specific breeds. I'D multiply the costs, maintenace and income by the ratio of the breed cost/charger cost. ANd to get a new mount the knight would have to sacrfice the income to get the horse. Functi0onally, that works, but the net effect is pretty much the same as limiting it to the major nobles.



Also, I think it used to be held that warhorses were geldings, so you wouldn't be able to breed from them anyway. I don't know if that's true anymore.


I believe the topic is still debated. Some claim that geldings were prefered becuase stallions were too vicious, while others sate that stallions were prefered becuase of thier viciousness. There might have been social problems over a man riding a "ermasculated" mount.

I believe the topic is still debated. Some claim that geldings were prefered becuase stallions were too vicious, while others sate that stallions were prefered becuase of thier viciousness. There might have been social problems over a man riding a "ermasculated" mount.


Debates will be endless

My current opinion is that war horses were stallions, pretty much as a matter of masculine obligation

Debates will be endless

One things that happened a thousand years ago, probably. UNless somebody invents time travel or sme such. It7s one of those things that we simply can't determine with the information we have. One of those annoying bits of common knowledge that everyone at the time took for granted, and so failed to put in down in black & white.



My current opinion is that war horses were stallions, pretty much as a matter of masculine obligation



I think that is the previaling view these days. That stallions would tend to be larger and stronger than mares and that they could be bred, thus establing breeds are strong reasons to support this view.

At least in 13th-century France, I think they would generally have been stallions. Jean de Joinville, who wrote about the reign of St. Louis and his ill-fated Egyptian crusade, reports that in at least one battle the Christian knights were severely inconvenienced when their warhorses were attracted to the mares among the Muslims (I don't recall if the Muslims were riding the mares at the time, though I don't think so; nevertheless, 1) the image of an amorous warhorse trying to force his affections on a mare to the discomfiture of both riders remains a wonderful mental image and should be cherished, and 2) Muslims in the region actually did ride mares into battle).

e: or rather, I think it was in Joinville. Don't quote me on that. I am certain, though, that it was one of the crusades.