A samurai was expected to know the equestrian arts. The children of more affluent samurai families would be presented with wooden horses fitted with smaller versions of saddlery and stirrups, and set atop of a wheeled bases that could be pulled along by servants allowing the child to practice mounted bow and arrow and spear techniques from an early age. Naturally, being important war equipment, horses were expensive items in the Sengoku Warring States and Edo periods. Kato Kiyomasa was an excellent equestrian.
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