Peasants Revolt of 1381 Reenactment

During the Middle Ages, wealthy and noble travelers rode ambling horses. Knights had their squires lead or perhaps ride their destriers or warhorses because of the discomfort of riding a trot over long distances--especially since posting to the trot wasn't discovered until late 1700s.

Tony Robinson's special on the Peasants Revolt of 1381 is fascinating. As part of the investigation, Mike Lodes (not sure of spelling) leads relays of horses to re-enact the peasant leaders' ride from Canterbury to London. For most of the trek, riders are mounted on what looks like draft or draft crosses. But at minute 45:26, Mike and his team "put on a sprint thanks to some authentic medieval technology, they switch horses." The team mounts the much smaller Icelandic horses, which are close to the medieval amblers considering their history, and ride a fast 18 mile amble with the horses just as "fresh and spritely" at the end as when they started. Mike demonstrates what an amble is and why it would be more comfortable for horse and rider over long, rough roads. At 13 to 14 hands, Icelandics are much closer in height to the average horse ridden in the early Middle Ages.