Although the spring plowing was going on lively, but Marin was not in a good mood when he saw so many draft horses. Because, after all, these horses are draft horses. Serving them to plow the fields, they are afraid that they will lose weight and get sick, and they must be provided with the best feed, which costs a lot. It is far less worry-free than farming cattle. Although it is slower, it is better to feed and the cost is low. Moreover, even if a cow died of exhaustion, the local tyrant Marin would not feel bad, just buy another one. But if a horse is exhausted, or these excellent horses for breeding, Marin may feel distressed to death.
Although it is said that when Marin goes out, he often rides these horses with his men. However, these draft horses are not suitable for war horses. Not all horses can be a war horse. In addition to being strong and durable, you also need to be brave and obedient. For example, when the whole army is charging, the horse must not lose the chain. Where the rider wants to rush, there is no hesitation. Otherwise, it cannot be regarded as a qualified war horse.
And as firearms were introduced into warfare, the requirements for horses became higher. Because the war horse had to adapt to the violent explosion, and even the air waves generated by the explosion. Of course, it is also possible to plug the ears of the war horse to avoid these sounds. However, with the explosion, the tremor of the earth is inevitable. Therefore, it is necessary for the war horse to be able to use such a situation, so that it will not be frightened before the battle, leaving the rider and running around.
Therefore, not all horses can be war horses. Among a group of horses, there are only a few who are suitable to be war horses. Most horses can only serve as pack horses and draft horses.
For example, the batch of draft horses that Marin got from the French are not much worse than war horses in terms of physical fitness and endurance speed, or even somewhat similar. However, these draft horses have mediocre psychological qualities. Once faced with a fierce and cruel battlefield, they may be discouraged and dare not move forward bravely.
Of course, although these draft horses were used by French knights as draft horses, the breed is basically the same as the war horses used by French knights. Even some draft horses and war horses belong to the same mother. In terms of pedigree, it is no different from those war horses. The only difference may be the psychological quality.
It is precisely because of this that Marin left these horses for breeding. Because their lineage is similar to that of war horses. It's just that he was eliminated because of his poor mental quality.
However, the offspring they produce are not necessarily worse than those pure war horse offspring. After all, even the descendants of war horses may not be able to be war horses. And the descendants of these draft horses who could almost become war horses may not be worse than those pure war horses...
After all, the pedigree of these eliminated military draft horses is similar to that of war horses. The quality of the foals produced by them is not inferior to the foals produced by war horses of the same blood in terms of body.
But in the same way, it is indeed a waste of money to take these draft horses with good pedigree as work horses in the plowland. Moreover, when using these horses to plow the land, because they are afraid of losing weight, they have to be fed with expensive feed and eggs every day, which is too expensive. For arable land, it is better to use cattle. After all, under normal circumstances, cattle only need to eat grass.
This made Marin suddenly think of the mule-a very good working animal. Mules have great strength and endurance, making them excellent working animals. Moreover, they eat less. Like cattle, they usually only need to eat grass, and only need extra meals when doing heavy work.
Ordinary mules are born from the mating of a male donkey and a female horse, also known as horse mules. Mules are stronger than horses, but they eat much less than horses. Usually they only need rough feeding, and they don't need to be fed as often as horses.
There are also some mules, which are born from the mating of a male horse and a female donkey, also called donkey mules. Donkey mules eat less than horse mules, but they are not as strong as horse mules. After all, donkeys and mules are conceived and born by donkeys. Generally speaking, the mother's body has a greater influence on the body shape of the child. After all, donkeys are small, and if they really conceived a bigger foal, they might die in childbirth. Therefore, the general mule is larger because it is born by a mare. Generally, donkeys and mules are born by female donkeys, and their body size is similar to that of donkeys, making them appear smaller.
For ordinary farmers, using mules is actually much more cost-effective than horses. If you don't consider the use of riding on a horse, but only consider plowing and pulling a cart, the function of a mule is no worse than that of a horse, and it even saves more feed. Moreover, mules are less likely to get sick and are healthier. Just like the 1030 horses brought back by Marin, if Marin hadn’t insisted that the horse breeders clean the stables every day and feed them clean and hygienic feed, maybe some of these horses would get sick and die.
Mules, on the other hand, are more resistant to rough feeding. They can be fed casually, and they can still be alive and kicking, and they are not easy to get sick. It's just that mules are not easy to give birth to. Moreover, mules themselves are basically unable to produce offspring. If you want a mule, you have to find a cross between a donkey and a horse...
Marin also thought about crossbreeding mules for serfs to use, but at that time, he absolutely refused to let the batch of mares and donkeys in his hands crossbreed to produce mules. Because, this is too wasteful. If you have the time, you might as well think about letting the horses mate themselves, leaving excellent horses.
And among them, the horses that are generally used to breed mules are all inferior horses. For example, Huaxia's horse breeds are not good, and they are generally short. But it is no problem to use it to breed mules.
Even if mules were to be bred, it was unlikely that Marin would use the batch of high-quality French horses in his hand to bred mules. Those who breed mules are generally inferior horses that can't stand on the stage.
And the pure war horses in Marin's hands and the draft horses that are only a little worse than war horses are absolutely wasteful when they are used to train mules. Moreover, Marin also vaguely believed in the theory of "inheritance from the father", and was afraid that the mare that had given birth to a mule would give birth to a mule when it was needed to give birth to a war horse...
Regarding the theory of "inherited from the father", although humans have not proved to have this characteristic, many animals have been proved to have the characteristic of "inherited from the father".
Therefore, if you want these mares to give birth to good horses, you must ensure that the males that mate with these mares are all excellent. Otherwise, the mare may give birth to a defective product for you to see. Especially for mares that have given birth to mules, even if they are bred with Arabian horses, because they have given birth to mules before, they may give birth to a horse with mule characteristics. That would be embarrassing...
Marin has learned that as far as the current horse breeds are concerned, all horses suitable for knights and war horses are heavy horses. The fighter among the heavy horses is the British Sharma. This kind of horse is very huge, and it can be called Yao Ming among horses. The shoulder height is generally more than 1.7 meters, and there are many with a shoulder height of 2 meters...
This kind of heavy horse has great strength. In later generations, some wineries in the UK also used Sharma to transport beer barrels weighing up to 5 tons.
Ordinary draft horses can generally only pull 1.5 tons of goods. Even on gravel roads that are currently in good condition, it can only pull 2 tons of cargo. Sharma, who is strong and strong, can generally pull three or four tons of cargo, and can pull up to 5 tons of cargo, which is very powerful.
However, although this kind of horse has great strength, its endurance and speed are average, so it is not suitable for use as a war horse. It is generally used as a draft horse, which is very suitable for transporting artillery.
Thinking of this, Marin decided to go to the UK to introduce a batch of Sharmas for breeding, so as to provide excellent animal power for the future artillery units. After all, a heavy artillery weighing one or two tons needs a strong horse like Sharma to drag it.
Moreover, Marin also intends to introduce some excellent horse breeds and improve Shire horses to breed heavy war horses that are very suitable for knights.
The specific method is to use Shire horse mares to breed with outstanding war horse breed stallions to produce tall and strong heavy horses with extraordinary endurance and speed.
Because the size of the mare largely determines the future size of the foal. Therefore, using Shire horses as mares can ensure that the foals born will not be short in the future. And combining the excellent qualities of stallions, such as endurance and speed, it is easier to breed excellent heavy war horse breeds...
For example, Marin intends to use Arabian stallions and Shire mares to breed a new type of heavy horse with good endurance and speed.
Although, Arabian horses are only medium-sized horses, and they don't match well with tall and strong Shire horses, but whatever. Does a horse have freedom in finding a partner? It's all arranged by the horse owner for a direct bridal chamber...
What if the Arabian stallion can't climb the body of a Shire mare? It's easy to do, let's build a step...
Marin only needs an excellent war horse, regardless of how a mare feels...