Victrix Cavalry Size Comparison Photos

[wmyers]

Many have seen this image:



Seeing how oversized the Victrix Republican Roman Cavalry is in comparison to the Victrix Numidian, does anyone have size comparison photos of the other Victrix cavalry sets?

[Cubs]

I recognise that horseman!

[fitterpete]

Yeah. I'd like to see how the Greek Heavy cavalry size up. Even to other manufacturers like Foundry.

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

Looks like a good mounting block is needed................ to stop the poor rider straining his knees bending down to get on the..erm...horse?

[fitterpete]

Does anybody have the Greek heavy cavalry? I'm looking to see how they match up to really any other cavalry. I'm hoping they are big or at least as big as the Arab heavy horses. Thanks

[Panaldi]

Had this on my phone. Aventine on the left, Victrix hvy. Greek Cav., Foundry Macedonian.

[Atheling]

In reference to the first comparison shot in the thread; I don't know the actual answer to this but...... is it not a question of the type of breed  of horse/pony and geographical location of where the horses were bread that dictates their size?

[Panaldi]

The Roman horse looks ok, I’d consider the Numidian horse to be smaller. But the Roman cavalry trooper seems stretched?

[Johnp4000]

I was thinking the problem is the size of the trooper, he looks ridiculously over sized compared to the Numidian. It is strange but I think the Aventine horse looks rather stubby

[fitterpete]

Thanks Panaldi!

[Johnp4000]

In reference to the first comparison shot in the thread; I don't know the actual answer to this but...... is it not a question of the type of breed  of horse/pony and geographical location of where the horses were bread that dictates their size?

For my sins I was once dating a very horsey girl and I can remember that there are approx 400 breeds of horse, a lot are products of more modern breeding techniques, and dependent on the breed the height can vary between 1.4/1.8 metres , surprisingly the length remains very similar, an average of 2.5 metres head to toe. This refers to modern horses, so I am not sure how much variance you had in classical times, like did the Ancient Brits use horses or ponies?
It is amazing what useless information you can pick up over the years, of course never had an equine question on a quiz machine.

[Atheling]

For my sins I was once dating a very horsey girl and I can remember that there are approx 400 breeds of horse, a lot are products of more modern breeding techniques, and dependent on the breed the height can vary between 1.4/1.8 metres , surprisingly the length remains very similar, an average of 2.5 metres head to toe. This refers to modern horses, so I am not sure how much variance you had in classical times, like did the Ancient Brits use horses or ponies?
It is amazing what useless information you can pick up over the years, of course never had an equine question on a quiz machine.

[Puts geek face on}

I actually find it interesting. Mike Loads has done a lot of TV work looking at horses, warhorses, ponies etc on his various shows and I found it fascinating.

[Johnp4000]

I have some Numidian foot troops and comparing them the Romans are taller, but don't seem as large as that cavalry figure.

[Wiegraf]

That picture is on my blog from Bazookajoe here on the forums. Yessss, the Victrix are massive , especially the riders.

You can see more comparisons here:
https://destroycarthage.blogspot.com/2018/10/victrix-made-shetland-pony-for.html

They're also quite wide, and I find that their Greek, Gallic, Iberian and Romans all follow a similar pattern. To be far, they are well done minis for the details and one cannot deny that they would be a pleasure to paint.




However, they seem a bit on the large size when next to anything else... including Victrix' on cavalrymen!



That's a HUGE rider!



And next to the pachyderm it seems the horses could well be near cousins. I guess the old forest elephant may not have been so big, but it just seems odd...


From my understanding on it, ancient horses in this part of the world were often described as shorter and stocky compared to medieval counterparts.  There were larger horses in times of old, and it seems the Romans had some standards and preference for large, handsome horses - but what was available in just the Mediterranean world before expansion would have been limited, and I am sure that selective breeding and eventually more trading with the east would soon develop bigger, stronger breeds of horses.

Ultimately, I think though its really the riders that there's an issue with for me personally. That Numidian VS Roman.. is ludicrous!

I think Victrix did well with their Numidians. Strabos describes Numidian horses as "Small, hardy animals" which is the feeling I get from their cavalry.  I think Victrix got the description right for the Numidian cavalry so I always recommend them for use in Carthage and Rome.

The Victrix cavalry are all gone in my collection now. I sold them off or traded them, since the size of their riders and horses simply bothered me way too much.  Now I use Aventine and Foundry miniatures, which feel a bit closer to what I imagine horse size would be.

[wmyers]

Thank you for the excellent blog post!  Well worth the read.