When did saddles and horseshoes first appear in China? ?

China's well-documented saddles appeared in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the invention of saddles can almost be compared with the invention of wheels. With it, cavalry can do all kinds of actions on horseback more easily, and the history of human war has truly ushered in an invincible era of cavalry.

Saddles have a history of more than two thousand years. They were originally made of leather. Stirrups are made of silver, copper, iron, silver and iron. This is an important part of harness. It was invented to help the knight get on the horse.

Archaeologists discovered the hoof material of Koguryo era in three northeastern provinces, which was in the 3rd-6th century AD. Some researchers have put forward a possible reason, that is, it may be related to the natural environment in mountainous areas.

Koguryo's political core area is a variety of mountain cities, surrounded by mountains. Riding in these areas needs to protect horseshoes and strengthen their anti-skid performance, so horseshoes came into being. However, in the Central Plains, the natural environment is relatively good, even if there is no horseshoe, it can be used, so it has not appeared for a long time.

Extended data:

Horseshoe may be an innovation of the Romans, and it is very common in the ruins of BC 1 century. Catullus (about 8 BC horseshoe 5-54 BC) mentioned that a mule lost a horseshoe. The common horseshoe is made of iron, which is quite light, and a through nail hole is punched from one side. The edge of horseshoe is often wavy, and the unfixed ends are bent into anti-slip thorns.

Together with the nail head, it stands out like a horseshoe in the middle ages, making the horseshoe firmly step on the ground. This horseshoe was used until the Middle Ages. But the flatter and heavier horseshoe has been used since Roman times, and it became the most common style in the Middle Ages. In Roman society, exotic "hippo sandals" are also common.

It is a smooth iron plate with two ends bent into a ring. It is clearly tied to the horseshoe, which is undoubtedly used to protect the horseshoe. A few "horse sandals" have sharp nails, which can help horses hold the ground firmly. It can be used on cobblestones or other rough ground. From the "thin straw shoes" used for herding cattle to the tight horseshoes, it took a long time and rarely changed.

But horseshoes are not widely used, and a large number of livestock do not have horseshoes. The binding of horseshoes is to fix horseshoes on the horny skin of horseshoes with nails, that is, to burn horseshoes into a certain shape, then put them under the soles of horses, and then nail this thick iron into the soles of horses with hammers and nails.

And fix it on the ankle bone of the horse with the barb of the nail to avoid falling off. The modern method is to lock it with screws. This is permanent, so if the horseshoe is worn, it is generally difficult to take it off and make a new pair. At most, add a new layer of fixation under it.

References:

Baidu encyclopedia-horseshoe

? Baidu encyclopedia-saddle