Horse bow

Intensive horse husbandry and breeding created a close bond between humans and horses. For the next 2,500 years, mobile horse-riding peoples dominated the entire Inner Asiatic region, including by military means: They stole horses, raided their neighbors, and established the offensive cavalry tradition. Initially, Indo-European peoples, primarily the Sassanids, Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians, then the Huns, and later the Turkic peoples, finally followed by the Mongols, formed as warlike horse nomads.

The battle tactics were always similar: a lightning-fast attack followed by an equally swift retreat. Cumbersome infantry and armored cavalry had little chance to react. In the "disguised flight" tactic, the nomadic cavalry galloped away in what appeared to be a wild rout. Enemy troops were enticed to advance, but would unexpectedly find themselves ambushed. The fleeing troops often fired backward at their pursuers, using the so-called Parthian shot across the horse's croup.

Most Asian horse bows/composite bows had a reflex that was created by shrinking the string, which was glued to the back of the bow with hide glue.
Horse bows also utilized the Perry reflex, as the horn plates on the belly were usually glued to the core first, and then the tendon covering was applied to the core. The shrinkage of the tendon then further supported the Perry reflex and, in combination, led to a strong pre-tension.

The bonding of the core to the horn plate was carried out with great care. The two parts were notched to increase the bonding surface and to directly convert peel forces into shear forces. The connection between the siyahs and the core also required very careful workmanship.

The handle with the horn coating of horse bows / composite bows is compressed to about 1000 kg, the back experiences about the same.

The horse bow was designed for shooting from a horse, which is why such bows are very short. This "shortening" meant that only elastic materials, such as horn and sinew, could be used. There are various types of horse bows/composite bows, with each country usually having its own unique design.

Most horse bows / composite bows come from Asian countries.

The most famous bows come from the Huns, Mongols, Scythians, Chinese, Koreans, Magyars, and Turks, to name just a few. The horse bow/composite bow is probably the masterpiece of bowmaking.