Armor Type: 

Brief Description:  A "mail trapper" (or barding) is an armored covering for medieval warhorses, made of thousands of interlinked metal rings. Designed to protect the steed from slashing and piercing weapons, it draped over the horse’s body and was typically worn over a quilted cloth layer to prevent chafing and absorb impact.

Key Characteristics of the Mail Trapper:

Construction: The armor was crafted using the classic 4-in-1 chain mail technique, where thousands of individual iron rings were hand-linked, with each ring passing through four adjacent ones. Blacksmiths typically riveted or welded these rings shut by hand to prevent the links from breaking under weapon stress.

Coverage: Depending on the era and the specific design, a mail trapper could cover a horse's head, neck, flanks, and tail, sometimes extending down each leg individually as far as the knees and hocks.

Layering System: Because metal mail directly against a horse's skin would cause painful rubbing, heavy trauma, and irritation, knights placed a quilted or padded trapper underneath the chain mail.

Head and Face Protection: Since mail is flexible and would collapse over the horse's eyes, the mail trapper on the head was typically combined with or worn alongside a rigid metal plate known as a shaffron.

Evolution and Decline: Mail trappers emerged in Western Europe in the late 12th century. By the early 15th century, advancements in metalworking led to the development of articulated full plate mail for horses (like the peytral, crupper, and flanchards), causing the heavier, less-structured mail trapper to fall out of military use and into decorative or ceremonial roles.