Quote:The 'tölt' pace is especially useful riding long distance as it is the least tiring locomotion for both rider and horse
Wow, I didn't know about the tolt. I'll have to look that up. I know about the camel pace - most of the family Camelidae use it; camels, llamas, vicunas, alpacas, and guanacos - of which all inhabit arid and semi-arid habitats. Most orses don't gravitate towards it, but I've seen a few here and there that use it, especially young horses frisking. The advantages of the pace is that b/c the hooves on the same side move in unison, it allows the animal to stretch it's gait, making it more efficient for long distances and a slightly smoother, though somewhat swaying, ride. The disadvantages of the pace is what surprises me that it would be used it battle - it decreases stability and balance for the horse/camel, and decreases their maneuverability.
I'd be a bit skeptical about slings and horses for the reasons mentioned previous - the tendency to whack the poor horses head, and the difficulty of slinging laterally seems to make it a poor choice for a calvalry weapon. I've ridden horses a fair portion of my life. The really big question I'd have for horses and slings though, is not overcoming the throwing part, but the problem of carrying ammo. A big bag of rocks slung over your shoulder or around your waist, beating up against you or the horse as you go bouncing and careening across the country side would leave a lot of bruises. Plus the extra weight for the amount of ammo required in battle... Arrows are a lot lighter.
In favor of slinging from a horse though, at a dead run, the horse is usually stretched out flat with it's head lowered, providing a rider with good slinging skills enough space to throw rocks pretty much dead ahead. And a gallop would add a good 30mph of force to the projectile.
A sling in the hand at point blank range would even be a pretty deadly instrument on horse back. You'd probably lose your rock, but in a tight situation you could swing it like a mace w/out letting go of the release end and bash skulls with pretty decent efficiency.
Barak