Most Dangerous Two Handed Weapon on Horseback 

Historians: Let's analyze from historical records and physics how weapons were probably used in combat during medieval times. This guy: Hold my chainmail, lemme get one of my horses and some of my polearms...

Great stuff Jason, thanks for taking this on and playing with it!

My favorite thing about this channel is the way Jason treats his horses. The irony always makes me smile: A horse named Warlord, a flawlessly faithful, intimidating, fearless, indomitable machine of destruction. And how did Jason train it to be so? By treating it with absolute kindness, understanding, and gentleness. "Good boy."

That horse is thinking, "Humans sure are weird. Mine likes to talk to that black thing over there while swinging stuff over my head."

Imagine: you are in the middle of the battlefield then this guy comes charging into you and all you can hear is "THWOCK! Good boy".

Polearm and helmet violently colliding a foot away from the horse's head: *WHANG* Warlord: "It is of no concern to me, for I am a good boy."

"This does resemble a meat tenderiser, which is exactly what it is." - a baddass

This man is nearly a centaur. they move so seamlessly. Can't imagine trying to fight someone this well trained on a 1 ton animal with equal training.

The level of professionalism in this channel is amazing. I think Jason commitment and enthusiasm is actually inspiring

I bet this channel got many many new people into history. I'm certainly one of them! Thanks for all you do, Jason!

“I better rearrange his head” and with my twisted sense of humour I immediately thought “you’ve been rearranging his head for a bit now”

Once I watched a horse trainer in Texas run through a pretty impressive reigning sequence with his horse. When he stopped, he leaned forward, removed the horse’s bridle, threw it on the ground, and ran through another “reigning” sequence, sans bridle. So yes, I have no doubt you could easily use a two-handed weapon on a well-trained horse. 🙂

That crow's beak looks absolutely devastating

"Context"I would say is a well trained horse and an experienced rider.Otherwise it would be a mess.

Sir, I like to imagine you're a knight in the medieval times who somehow learnt cinematography and how to access the internet.

14:28 "you'd probably want to drop the two handed weapon..." No, no, no, no Jason..... you don't "drop" a two handed weapon. It magically sticks to your back while you switch to your one handed weapon. Automatically.

The way him and that horse work together reminds me of a centaur. It's like they're connected.

I admire the mental fortitude of your horse. Hardly any reaction on the swinging and smacking. He completely trusts you. I can't even fathom how much work went into this state of mind.

The archers of agincour had also been making their own trenches and wooden defenses, so the leaden mauls they carried were probably related to that kind of work. Probably not intended to become weapons, but at Agincour, they knew it was going to come down to using anything they had.

I like to imagine what your horse is thinking. Maybe something like: "Oh no, why is he hitting this poor helmet again. Doesn't he realise that is isn't a thread?" or "why did he have to interrupt my lunch to talk to a camera while on my back?"

You are one of the very few who could make a first hand experience video on the topic. Thank you very much.

Two handers on horseback in bannerlord is op

Next Episode: Loading and Firing a Ballista from horseback

What I loved the most about this video was knowing that that horse was a good boy, and Jason surely let him know that

10:45 Warlord is trying to figure out the weird signals being sent, and it's oddly adorable.

2H weapons from horseback were common in East Asia, as Chinese and Korean horsemen used polearm and cavalry flail.

just by seeing the appearance of those weapons, it gives me chills to imagine someone being killed by the hit of them.

I haven’t watched the whole video yet but I already know its going to be great!! Love this channel- so interesting!

This is great its actually looking like a medival training.. and the sound bring life to history

The core strength you'd need to be effective with a double handed weapon atop an 'orse

I am always amazed by the frankly astounding level of inteligence exibited by Warlord and your other horses. They're clearly much smarter than most people think!

I love this channel so much. It's one of those "Let's all study the facts and learn together," channels. Legitimate knowledge and experimentation at work.

I just want to give your horse a hug and tell him he’s okay.

I was constantly on the lookout if I could find anything about his horsemanship that should be critisized. I did found Zero, Nada, Zilch. The most obvious is definitely, how great the horses trust in his rider is and that it never showed any signs of discomfort, but instead rather seems to enjoy the partnership, including the action and excitement. This is man and horse working companionship at its finest. What a pleasure to watch! As far a weapon handling on horseback is concerned, the crown probably belongs to the Comanche Indians of North America during the heyday of the Plains Indian culture. To get the idea, look at the paintings and read the accounts of George Catlin. I think the question of using striking weapons like halberds, large axes, etc in two hand fashion can be answered quite clearly, you loose more when giving up amy of the control over your mount than you gain in additional impact power, the real force multiplicator is the horse, it adds much more in regards to power when you concentrate on maximum control of its direction than what you get from the use of both arms instead of one. What he said in the end about the situation of attacking in a closed together, knee-against knee of the men to both sides, and that this would allow to let go of the reins as your horse is led with the formation of the unit, you still would not use a long handled striking weapon as there is the incresed risk that you get entangled with horse, limbs or weaponry of your comrades to your left, right front and back. The exeption is when using a missile weapon, be it bow and arrow or a gun, as when using these you will try to sit as solid and stable as humanly possible and thus give no confusing signals to your horse which also avoids the risk of messing with your horses own balance by throwing your weight around in the saddle to deal the most crushing blow to your enemy with that gigantic 50 pound XXL Zweihänder-Super-Morgenstern-Mordaxt-Goedendag.

I love your relationship with your horse companions.

Your horse is a badass and should have his own channel. Game reviews maybe.

Mounted Games riders all ride with knotted short reins, they often have to control and stop their mounts from gallop to stand using just 1 finger. To olso gallop straight, to let the rider vault on with a " click click" from their rider. With training, the pony understands and I'm sure big intelligent horses would have been trained easily to ride straight without contact from a rider. If they trusted him. Like Warlord trusts you. Mounted games was developed from mounted army training exercises. Agility is a must for mounted soldiers for 1000's of years. And expensive, clever horses don't you think? I'm loving each and every video. The best on RU-vid by far.

Jason is the Bob Ross of the medieval period.

What an unbelievably well trained horse...

I just had a glimpse of a remembrance about that beautiful red saddle that you made for one of your horses... If I'm not mistaken, you said, answering to one comment, that you would try adding some golden leaves to it, if the yellow paint that was mentioned looked good. How is that actually going? I've just saw the new logo and, for whatever reason, this saddle came into my mind... I won't, of course, lose the opportunity to compliment the incredible overall job done by you and your team! From the research to the presentation, everything is well thought and well cared! Kudos!!

Love the way Warlord does not flinch when you swing the pole-arm. Such a good boy.

Thank you, it's great that horse riders like you do this kind of test. We can spend all day speculating over how much we trust artistic depictions, at the end of the day we'll need this type of evidence anyway.

I have a question, perhaps a silly one with a silly no brainer answer but non the less... I am 24 years old and have been doing Historical Armoured Combat for about a year now. I fight with a hand and a half primary and I fight exclusively on foot (war horses aren't common in the Florida heat lol). The question that has been ticking at me is this: how did a mounted knight prevent a footman from taking down his horse in the midst of Combat? The horses seems to be the easiest target compared to a knight in full harness, so I'm curious if horses where protected by heavy armour as well, or perhaps societal restrictions that may have been common. Anyway, love the videos, been a fan for a long time now! Much love to you!

"I'm just going to rearrange his head a little." Well, that is what a pollaxe is for....

The Soldier For Killing took a real beating! I wonder about rider balance with a two-handed weapon on horse, for the enemy is, of course, not just going to stand there waiting to die. Good to see Warlord again, too!

You can tell your horse has a lot of trust in you. Love these videos.

These are my favorite kind of videos from this channel when you test weapons and equipment from horseback. The force of that blow was incredible to watch, excellent job to you both.

Splendid presentation, as always. It's one thing to discuss medieval arms used on foot but an entirely different set of problems and techniques when mounted. Great living history.

Love the content and how you connect with other content providers discussing history and possible historic scenarios.

that bec de corbin looks absolutely nasty. I shudder to think the kind of wounds it can inflict with that cruel, hooked tip!

This reminds me of Braniac history abuse. An old history show that aired a long time ago, but this channel does things so much better., everything is so professionally presented and done.

Reminds me of all the good shows you'd see on history channel's, not all the alien/conspiracy stuff you see now 🙄

Shout outs among historians - helping one another gain views and giving we the people more content and greater knowledge

Wow, that hits with some force! That must have been done as the results, especially in the initial first charge, look like they would have been devastating!

Love those slow motion takes. Thank you Jason!

Somebody give that horse a medal for not getting spooked

Outstanding, physics tells it all, these experiments are the ones that need to take place when laying a theory on how weapons were used.

*SFK = Simulated French Knight?* (I was just playing World of Warcraft so I immediately thought AFK, as a player Away From Keyboard would have a character about as responsive to attack as the SFK! ;)

"this is for imparting impact on a target" is the smartest way of saying "this is meant for hitting people" i've ever heard

When horses are a BIG part of everyday life and work, you begin to grow a bond with a horse that let's you use minor legs movements to control a horse without a big need for reigns. This has been demonstrated by professional horse trainers like Buck Brannaman, and Mongol horse bowman and women...I think alot of people from that time period would have so much horse experience that they could release the reigns and still have alot of control over the horse

By the way, your best video is the one concerning the use of rush lights. Great job!

i had never thought about this before i always just assumed lances and shorter one handed weapons (like hand axes, swords and maces) where used i think that polarms are highly underrated and it was great to see a potential new use for them

I've watched Matt for some time now. I only came across this channel maybe a year ago. It is SO interesting to see the cross pollination of the channels! You, and Matt, also "interact" with Todd Cutler who I also enjoy watching. You guys are like the league of modern medieval knowledge! Thank you so much for all the fascinating content!

Thank you so much, your excellent videos have been no end of help to me describing and formulating my fight scenes in my books.

These videos are fantastic. I love how he manages to breathe life into history. And the subject matter is always so interesting! Not just names, blah, blah, dates blah, blah... but things you've always wondered about; daydreamed about. I hit the like button just as a Modern History video begins because I already know it's going to be great. ❤ And you get to see beautiful horses and a handsome mule! 😄😉

that strike with the tournament axe is why gorgets existed

The little hammer looks impossible to survive from a moving horse.

WoW! The last to the nek was a perfect death blow! I really love your channel! Thanks

On a well trained horse. I am always so impressed on how he trains his horses--and how well trained they are.

This is a really great video. The horse factors with disciplined/trained, control, & speed really give a bigger effects even more than lance/spear.

It's good to see how actually could work from someone who clearly knows how to ride, how to fight with medieval weapons and how to put together these two things. I have just one question: you said that it would be easier to ride straight without touching the reins (while using a two handed weapon) if one is put among other riders knees to knees. But swinging the axe wouldn't result in hitting your friends? It's not like just putting your lance under the armpit as in joust, is it?

So happy that you and Captain Context are in communication, great video!

Love watching you work with the horses.

Regardless of effectiveness, two handed weapons on horseback are insanely cool looking :o

2:18 The Battle Donkey Sounds his Warcry!!

Great video love to see RU-vids history community work together. But could you link the videos you mention in the description in the future?

Great work! Reminds me what I read about cataphracts of ancient Parthia, that reportedly used two handed lance..

Didnt search for this but thoroughly entertained nonetheless

All I can think is... Wow, that horse is way more chill than I would be....

Wow, that last blow! You spun the breastplate around even though your blade alignment was off (which is not a surprise, considering you hadn't used a swinging polearm from horseback before). I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a blow like that! Thank you for the video, great job.

Amazing how quickly Kingsley and Warlord can adapt... shows a lot of skill and training on bother their parts to be so flexible!

sorry I'm lost. is he a good boi or not? also wow, that last hit would have been absolutely lethal

Those last two hits were so meaty, there isnt any getting up from that.

Good to know empire Griffin knights with halberd are possible.

The amount of control you have over that horse is amazing.

Ah good, now I can get my dnd party off my back for using a halberd from atop a Pegasus

Ah, if Jason could ever collab with Matt or Lindy that'd be great. And look at this guy. Rest of the world is shut indoors and he decides to ride a horse with a polearm. What a lad.

thats what i like the most of this channel... medieval warfare seeing through the perspective of a seasoned horsemen. Not just weapon, armor or tactics... the horse is a fundamental piece of the combat. also, any update on the battle donkey?! haha

As other have already said, 2handed weapons and polearms on horseback were prevalent in East Asia. Not surprisingly, we also have a strong tradition of mounted archery there as well. The horse harness used there were made in order to be avle to control your horse with your legs so it makes it way easier even if you are using a polearm rather than a bow. Even spears were used with two handed, with all of the body behind the spear

I love this channel. Very interesting as usual.

Well, that there SFK was killed stone dead, twice! (Your channel is now my first port-of-call when relaxing after work - thanks, especially thanks for the videos with you wonderful horses and of course 'Muley''.)

How about Alexander's companion cavalry? Very long spear and no stirrups. It'd be interesting to know how difficult it was to be cavalry in the ancient times.

Makes you realise just how valuable War Horses must've been, and how vital the industry behind replenishing their ranks was.

"Is it possible to use two-handed weapons on horseback?" The Ancient Greek _Kontos_ lance, rather than being couched like medieval lances, was carried two-handed due to its size.

I was impressed by how great the horse was

Other historians: I wonder if this guy got killed by a double handed weapon on a horse! We should go through records to see if that was ever a thing! This guy: I SAWED THIS MAN IN HALF

You’re videos are used in my history class because they’re quality

Haha simulated French knight right

I recognized you in the Playstation games conference. I didn't know you co-founded Rebellion! That's awesome. Well, thanks for making great content, Jason.

I honestly thought this worked better than expected. From watching Matt's video I thought it would be way harder, but now I think I understand why the Japanese and other Asian cultures did it - it just looks so devastating! One thing that can also be tested is using even longer shafted weapons - halberds and bardiches for instance. Anyways, really great job sir, nice horse, nice clang action and very informative video overall. Cheers!