Chinggis Khan (many of us in the west know him as Genghis) was pretty much a bad ass. Chinggis was a powerful and successful warlord that was not only responsible for unifying most of the Mongolian tribes, but also striking fear in the hearts and minds of his enemies… many of which commanded much larger armies than his own. In a time when horses were the main mode of transportation and conquest, Chinggis managed to spread the Mongolian empire and conquer lands as far away as Central Europe and South East Asia. As a result of his organizational skills, the Mongolian empire continued to expand under his sons well after his death in 1227.
Riding on a horse for extremely long distances and being ready to fight is no easy task especially if you were riding for Chinggis. Here in Mongolia, I have had the opportunity to ride Mongolian horses a few times. Riding in Mongolia is quite different than any other horseback ridding I have done, due in large part to the construction and configuration of the Mongolian saddle. Basically, a Mongolian saddle is a simple device made out of wood, leather and cloth. However, compared to it’s western or even an English counterparts, the Mongolian saddle is damn hard… I mean real hard. Ridding for any period of time in a Mongolian saddle is probably one of the most painful things I have ever done in my life. Even a week after my equine encounters, my backside is still raw and bruised.
As it turns out, the Mongolian saddle has not evolved much since the days of old Chinggis. This got me to thinking: "If Chinggis Khan was this great leader, organizer and military mastermind, why did he not come up with a more comfortable means of spreading the empire for his soldiers?" In fact, Chinggis was thinking of his troops and their configuration atop their mounts when it came to saddles. The design of the traditional and contemporary Mongolian saddle – rigid, hard and with very short stirrups – was put into use by the Khan to force his soldiers to ride in a more upright and in many cases, standing position. This made it easier for soldiers to push their horses farther and faster all while being ready to access their weapons to commence an attack or defend themselves against one.
Ready for battle
Still riddin’ tall
Soldiers in Chinggis Khan’s armies must have been pretty tough hombres. Having to stand on a moving horse for prolonged periods of time to fighting distant armies and then basically sitting on a hard, cold knob of a saddle when they were not is definitely part of the reason, in my mind at least, why these soldiers were so successful in their campaigns. I do not know how they did it. After 20 minutes of riding, my legs were stiff and sore from trying to give my already battered butt a rest and I did not even have a heavy suit of armor to add to the strain. Good thing I was not a conscript in Chinggis Khan’s army otherwise I would have probably been thrown to the wolves. Toughen up or get checked out… I guess I have gotten pretty soft sitting in the nice comfortable captain chairs of the Thundra and Little Pepe.
Striking absolutely no fear into anyone or anything… an no, I have not grown, Mongolian horses are just smaller
