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2006/10/26 08:12:22
Subject: A rant on horse sizes
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Cowboy Wannabe
Sacramento
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Recently there have been some amusing comments to the effect that GW horses are too small for their riders, or too small all around. While it is true that the oversized equipment can make the horse seem small, the amusing reality is that GW horses are on the whole, too large. Heresy you say? http://horsecare.stablemade.com/_articles/size.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destrier Look at these links, the first of which states that a large size for a horse is 165cm at the withers, a spot above a horse’s shoulder. The second link states that a destrier, the largest riding horse used to haul knights around was approximately 15 hands, or 152.4cm. Now, I do not know about you, but I am a good deal taller than 165cm, and since the average height of a man in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> is around 5’8”, or 172.7cm, chances are a number of you are taller than that as well. So a model horse’s whither should be lower than the top an average man’s head, or around 28mm from the base at most. Given that most GW models are rather tall for a standard human, the horses should all be shorter at the shoulder than their riders. A casual look at the newer horses will tell you that this is not the case. In addition, unbarded horses should be smaller than barded horses, which were bred to be strong enough to carry a knight, plus armor, plus the barding for a whole battle. (not as big as a plough horse though) Just look at these monsters http://us.games-workshop.com/news/sneakpeek/Warhammer/image6.jpg or these http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/bretonnians/catalog/images/knights_errant.gif , or these http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/highelves/catalog/images/EllyrianReavers_large.gif (ok, using the my little ponies was a low blow) Here is a link to a page which discusses the size of model horses better than I ever could: http://wk.frothersunite.com/scale/scalehorse.htm Personally, I think the only good horses GW has ever made are the plastic horses for LotR (sadly too small for Warhammer), all the other ones are decent at best, and at $5 each, not even very affordable.
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2006/10/26 08:25:26
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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[DCM]
Gun Mage
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Just so we're all on the same page, the below circle is where the horse's whither is. So while infantry should be a wee bit taller than a horse's back, it should not be taller than it's head.
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2006/10/26 09:24:21
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Cowboy Wannabe
Sacramento
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exactly so, unless of course the horse is particularly small, say like a mongol pony, or horses used in the new world by conquistadors
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2006/10/26 09:59:14
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Legendary Dogfighter
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so, the GW models are too big?? I think my old horses look fine. Besides, I'm sure that when you're fighting orcs you need something a little sturdier than an average horse.
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2006/10/26 10:34:14
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Plastictrees
Amongst the Stars, In the Night
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I think the horse sizes are merely yet another indication of GW's poor scale management in WHFB & 40k's plastic lines, where the proportions are ridiculously exaggerated. It's not like they can't do quality figures to scale, just look at the LoTR lines, as already mentioned. It just seems they choose not to take the same amount of care.
Plus, until the recent scale correction with the BfSP gobbos & dwarves (which were slightly smaller), scale creep has plagued all of GW's plastics. For a game that is supposed to be 28mm Heroic, sure are a lot of figures that fit 30mm and even 32mm scales...
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2006/10/26 11:46:36
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Pyromaniac Hellhound Pilot
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They'll fix it down eventually.
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2006/10/26 13:43:03
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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[DCM]
Gun Mage
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Posted By lasgunpacker on 10/26/2006 2:24 PM exactly so, unless of course the horse is particularly small, say like a mongol pony, or horses used in the new world by conquistadors Of course there are larger horses as well. Clydesdales START at 18 hands (over 6') at the whither.
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2006/10/26 13:49:00
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Jinking Ravenwing Land Speeder Pilot
In your house, rummaging through your underwear drawer
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I once had a dream where I did a spin kick and knocked this dude off his horse.
Awesome.
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"Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow"~Oscar Wilde |
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2006/10/26 14:02:21
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Foul Dwimmerlaik
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My girlfriend owns a fresian and it is almost 18 hands. She says they were bred as warhorses once upon a time. Evidentally they almost went extinct so andalusian was bred into them, making them smaller and lighter.
Its not entirely unfathomable to have a horse that is taller in the withers than a human is tall. Especially if we are talking in ancient terms.
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2006/10/26 14:39:10
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Pyromaniac Hellhound Pilot
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Nah horses have been progressively bred larger as time has gone by--for instance in the Bronze Age they where too small to be ridden by a human adult.
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2006/10/26 15:32:16
Subject: RE: A rant on horse sizes
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Foul Dwimmerlaik
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In some cases, but fresians were bred with andalusians to be smaller so that they could make better student horses.
While it may have been a small horse to begin with, it was also much larger than it is now at one point. Look at morgans or clydesdales. Their stock comes from fresians.
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