r/interestingasfuck • u/CaraCicartix • 3h ago

Mongolian Horse Archery Takes Years of Practice to Master Balance and Coordination

619 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

107 comments sorted by

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u/iamaswamptiger 3h ago

Yeah I can imagine these boys taking over half the world

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u/patfetes 3h ago

Right up until you hit a mountain, basically

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u/vitrum_analytika 3h ago

Mountain is no wall

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Mountain is wall. Wall is Mountain. Wall help when no Mountain

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u/chendogmillionaire 2h ago

idk, the Zagros mountains didn't seem to do much

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u/patfetes 2h ago

They actually did quite a lot.... the Mongolian horde had a massive stronghold at the foot of the mountains and used that to their advantage turning the way out into their "kill box", They weren't trying to go over them, more stopping things coming through, before crossing later. But you knew this 😉

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u/chendogmillionaire 2h ago

ok yeah but nuance isn't any fun

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Less nuance more binary!

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u/SebastianFerrone 3h ago

Or water, that was also their arch enemy 🤣

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Indeed! A river or ocean would also work! Good luck invading Britain on a horse

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u/SebastianFerrone 2h ago

Diving equipment for horses 🤣

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u/patfetes 2h ago

A sea horse... if you will... I'll see myself out

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u/WillSmokes420 2h ago

Almost like a boat or series of boats strapped together like in thermopoli

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u/PandaPocketFire 2h ago

Interestingly, this type of pony is exactly the type the Mongols took over the world with. They were smaller but extremely hardy, had good endurance, and were very sure footed. They'd ride with many mounts per warrior so you'd have tens of thousands of horses on the march that provided food for the army allowing them to travel with no supply lines. They drank their milk, ate their meat when needed, and would open a vein non lethaly and mix horse blood with milk for a surprisingly complete (in terms of nutrition) meal

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Which is exactly the issue with this kind of military! Thousands of horses make supply lines very difficult and costly if you dont have land in the area.

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u/PandaPocketFire 2h ago

Not sure what you mean. The horses ate grass, and the only time they weren't in grazing planes was when they were murdering people or occasionally as they traveled through hostile terrain and they would take the food of the murdered and have the horses carry their own grass.

Hence, they did not need supply lines.

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u/patfetes 2h ago

They wouldnt always have this advantage, well they would/did to a point. But had they come deeper into Europe they would have needed them etc etc.

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u/PandaPocketFire 2h ago edited 1h ago

Respectfully, I think you're deeply incorrect here.

Edit: To elaborate just a bit, Batu managed to overtake much of Russia and Poland which are arguably the most unforgiving parts of Europe. They made it to central Europe as far as modern day Vienna. Central Europe was far more dense in civilization to be plundered, the land more fertile and grassy and much of the work at the time was agricultural and farming so there were plenty of crops. Keep in mind these horses were born and bred in the Mongolian steppes. Arguably a far harsher an environment then almost the entirety of Europe including the east.

Tangential to the original point: The only time i know of as an actual starvation event for the horses was when one small contingent of mongols went through a dangerous mountain pass during winter that they were told to take by someone trying to trick them and kill them when they came out of the other end, starving and depleted. They did surprisingly well by living off their horses, but did take losses. The mongols made camp just inside the pass exit, sent envoys to convince the mercenaries in the rival army to join their side or at least not fight (many of them were steppe people as well since people soon realized the only way to successfully fight steppe warriors was to have steppe warriors of your own, and the mongols convinced them it was a shame to spill steppe blood.)They paid them handsomely to just leave or fight with them. Then they used their help to defeat and kill the rival army who was waiting to ambush them, they then killed all the mercenaries who did help them, then tracked down and killed the ones that chose not to fight and had left.

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u/SpaceShipRat 1h ago

You can't graze a giant herd of horses in south italy or around the mediterranean in general. Most of it kept goats rather than cows for a reason.

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u/PandaPocketFire 1h ago edited 1h ago

Friend, I'm sorry but the pure density of civilization and agriculture for raiding, as well as the mobility of the entire army would have made this a non issue. See my edit above for more. Also these are ponies born and bred in the Mongolian steppe which is far harsher and less fertile than Italy. These are also nomadic armies. You may not be able to keep a horde of horses there grazing for long, but if you keep moving you can. The limit you're talking about is because Europe was sedentary and you couldn't sustain a herd locally while also having a house you need to come back to every night.

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u/Daedalus_Knew 38m ago

I think they can shoot on both sides of the horse.

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u/Alloth- 30m ago

its sad netflix canceled that series

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u/fatlilplums 3h ago

I love the videos of Mongolian kids on machines like the horsey rides that used to be outside grocery stores practicing their archery. Horse archer camp sounds dope.

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u/Ras-haad 2h ago

Yeah when I went to camp you got to choose horseback riding OR archery. Both would have been absolutely kickass

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u/front_yard_duck_dad 2h ago

Okay, I've never seen it but now I'm going on a search. That sounds hilarious

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u/catboycruises 3h ago

agree - though i read this as horcher arse camp on the first go 😭😭

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u/Keriyon 3h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/rPeDKfj0EjDpK
That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I see this guy balance!!! The idea had to come from somewhere !!

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u/ungovernable1984 3h ago

Or a gyroscopic arm

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u/abzze 3h ago

Why isn’t this an Olympic sport?

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u/Immortal_Azrael 2h ago

Lack of international popularity? I mean I'd prefer to watch this over most Olympic events but most countries would probably struggle to find people who could do this on a competitive level.

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u/mbh223 2h ago

No one else but Mongolians are doing this crazy shit!

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u/ElChupatigre 2h ago

Welcome to the 2036 Summer Olympics in Ulaanbaatar! This year the host country added horsemounted archery along with competitive throat-singing...they are the favorite to dominate the categories, but we expect to see a lot of fun and exciting competition.

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u/oldsecondhand 1h ago

I think Hungary would have a chance.

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u/thejourneybegins42 2h ago

It's cuz we have 'breakdancing'.

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u/GoldunGote 42m ago

The same reason school shooting isn't an olympic sport. Mongols would absolutely destroy everyone in horse archery. Americans would mop everyone up in shooting children.

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u/cutofmyjib 30m ago

The Mongolians killed the competition

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u/Ov3r-_-K1LL 3h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/26uf3PEF605M20bLi

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u/Amonamission 3h ago

Breaking down my shitty wall!

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u/elon_musks_cat 2h ago

Now there’s nothing left to protect Shi Tpa Town

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u/Ohgood9002 3h ago

That is a tight stirrup

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u/SirGreeneth 3h ago

Can we talk about his fresh trim and drip?

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u/ParaponeraBread 3h ago

Why do you think you’re seeing this particular clip instead of all the other clips of Mongolians doing Mongolian activities?

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u/patfetes 3h ago

Karma bot?

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u/Jumpy_Scallion_3108 3h ago

Balance 10/10

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u/Gertrude_D 3h ago

Yup. I can totally see how they came up with the centaur myth.

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u/patfetes 2h ago

It actually is! Or at least could be. Although it was actually the Mongolian predecessors; The Scythians, the first masters of the steppe

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u/Gertrude_D 2h ago

I know :)

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u/Blakath 1h ago

Interestingly, the myth of the Amazonians was probably inspired by the Scythians, who were also known to be excellent horse riders and archers.

See horseriding and archery were the great equalisers, so in Scythian society both men and women engaged in warfare. In fact, Scythian society was very egalitarian, and its women were also quite sexually liberated. Herodotus records an incident where Greeks captured some Scythian women. The Scythians escaped, slaughtered everyone, got hold of some horses and basically turned into a raiding party.

Greeks basically saw that and created an exaggerated myth of a man-hating society made solely of women.

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u/VolatileGoddess 48m ago

'These female warriors slaughtered us'

'Quick! Say they had otherworldly strength and are part of some secret order or something! We won't look like pussies that way!'

Btw, that was an interesting fact, thanks for sharing.

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u/boltforce 3h ago

I would do it, but I don't have that cool nomadic wooly jacket... If I had it though!!!

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u/dontipitova9 2h ago

Core strength off the charts

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u/BorfGrambo 3h ago

Is there a reason he leans so far? Why not shoot from an upright position?

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u/Intelligent-Low4753 2h ago

Multiple reasons:

  1. Horse is not in the way of the bow arm.
  2. Stabilising the shot.
  3. Rotating is much easier (parthian shot)

Some argue that the horse serves as shield but I doubt it. Horses were costly and Mongol tactics did not result in riding into the enemy‘s ranks.

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u/Renbarre 3h ago

The more you lean out the less you're shaken by the horse, the better the aim?

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Sort of, more the shield. They would actually time the arrow fire with the galop of the horse and shoot around its neck. Crazy stuff! The aim isnt really important when youve got thousands of them, as long as its roughly heading fir an enemy of course.

Obviously here its stylish and he's heavily braced in the stirrup.

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u/Renbarre 1h ago

He's got a rope around his feet or his stirrups going under the belly of the horse, that's how he can stay braced.

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u/patfetes 3h ago

Its cool and in warfare they would use the horse as a meat sheild.

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u/deadwood76 3h ago

Style

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u/PartyMcFly55 3h ago

It might take years to master all that but I can buy that coat right now

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u/VirginiaLuthier 3h ago

Back in the Mongol day, they would pretend like they were retreating on horseback, and then just flip backwards and pick off their pursuers one-by-one

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Surprise!!

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u/Aggravating-Mall-867 3h ago

Look at the little horse he’s riding 🥺

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u/mouthofcotton 2h ago

Notice how we dont see how far off from hitting the target he was.

It is impressive though, especially if we were in medieval times.

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u/Actual-Parsnip2741 2h ago

i did it in Legend of Zelda. Wasn't that hard.

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u/CaperSteelRed49 2h ago

Psh, easy.

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u/X4dow 1h ago

Aoe2 magudais

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u/paraworldblue 1h ago

I believe this man is what's known as an Elite Mangudai. Dude can rip apart a trebuchet with only arrows.

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u/UndeadAnubis24 3h ago

Is this how they would have fought during the Mongols hey day, as well?

I can see why they conquered as they did, if so. This is certainly more impressive than anything any other nation was doing. In the field, I don't even know how you would counter this with what was available at the time.

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u/AshfordThunder 2h ago

It depends on how it was used, horse archers were nothing new for the surrounding nation, China had a long history of dealing with them just fine. It was a common misconception that the Mongols succeeded because of horse archer, when in reality they used a combination of light and heavy calvary with lances. Although horse archery is certainly a factor.

I think what was op wasn't horse archer, it was Genghis Khan. Also their spy network. The Mongols had the most comprehensive spy network at the time, their intelligence system is unmatched, and they would often instigate and exploit political instabilities.

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Its impressive for cool flashy style points and absolutely worked when they had a home field advantage and engange, retreat, then ambush. The arrow fire was akin to musket volume with better accuracy. They were making excellent use of their technology.

The counter to this... terrain! Rocky paths and shield walls. If the Mongols ever made it into Europe they would have been stomped out in the alps by the Romans. Shield wall and uneven ground are the enemy of the horse archer.

You see the same thing happen with the Native Americans and their use of the horse. Although the Americans were technically amd litteraly "outgunned"

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u/Immortal_Azrael 2h ago

The Romans weren't really around by the time of the Mongol conquests. Not the western empire at least.

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u/patfetes 2h ago

True that. Although Mongolia is east 😉

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u/Immortal_Azrael 2h ago

Yes but Europe and the Alps are west.

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u/UndeadAnubis24 2h ago

I read that as possibly the Holy Roman Empire being the meaning?

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u/Lumpymaximus 3h ago

Wow. That guy is fucking huge!! He must be like 8 foot tall!

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u/patfetes 3h ago

Smol horse

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u/WillSmokes420 2h ago

Looks easy to me but im from MAINE

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u/crusty54 1h ago

Probly kinda tricky for the horse too.

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u/blanketswithsmallpox 1h ago

I thought for sure it was going to cut to some random person holding a fruit on their head then getting an arrow to the chest or something lol.

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u/One_Economist_3761 1h ago

Mongolian drive by shootings.

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u/Economy_Meal 1h ago

This should an olympic sport, not the current archery and all the gadgets and they use now

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u/microvan 48m ago

The amount of strength it must take to ride a horse like that….

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u/Ash_Cat_13 11m ago

He blinked as he shot

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u/teabagged_drumset 3h ago

Useful in 2026

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u/bdanmo 3h ago

No wonder these guys were kickin ass back in the day

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u/azaleawhisperer 2h ago

Better, or worse, perhaps than playing Rachmaninoff? Years of practice.

Good on all who take the human adventure to a more excellent place.

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u/patfetes 3h ago

I'll say this again, two shots stitched together. If he had fired in the first half he would have snagrd his necklace and ended up headless

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u/lazoras 3h ago

something is going on here....is it the horse? the saddle?

I started at the arrow tip and worked to the necklace...

the bow is moving but the arrow tip stays steady...ok the mans arms are moving up and down from momentum and he is compensating his aim...impressive!

but then

the necklace is barely moving, it's not bobbing up and down barely at all ..

his legs are barely moving...

so is the horse incredibly steady? is there a gimbal on the saddle???

I think it's his hips...??

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u/patfetes 2h ago

If it helps, you are seeing two different shots. The first he draws and actually tangles the necklace!!

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u/GiddyGabby 3h ago

And then he just falls, right?

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u/Potential-Leg-8860 3h ago

It’s a shame a fat American with an AR-15 can win that fight

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u/johnvarley1 3h ago

Anyone, with any rifle could win that fight

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u/patfetes 2h ago

"Modern" rifle. Is a musket a rifle? The natives won battles against musket fire in a very similar fashion. The revolver and the ability to reload faster is actually what won out.

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u/Excitedly_bored 3h ago

An in shape Brazilian would win too. What's your point? Oh, I see, you were trying to insult Americans with something completely unrelated. So, instead of commenting on this display of human performance, you had the burning desire to throw out a meaningless insult. Strange and sad. Seek help.

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u/Ur_Just_Spare_Parts 1h ago

No hes saying that while this is incredibly impressive and obviously takes decades to achieve this level of mastery, any amateur holding a semi automatic gun would win in an actual fight so its effectively a useless skill in terms of modern warfare.

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u/ConversationOk74 3h ago

No, they can't aim except at their teammates

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u/patfetes 2h ago

Shots fired... at your foot

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u/Potential-Leg-8860 2h ago

And school kids. They’re good at that