A courser is a swift and strong horse, frequently used during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 as a warhorse

Horses in warfare

The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons...

. It was ridden by knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

s and men-at-arms

Man-at-arms

Man-at-arms was a term used from the High Medieval to Renaissance periods to describe a soldier, almost always a professional warrior in the sense of being well-trained in the use of arms, who served as a fully armoured heavy cavalryman...

.

Coursers are commonly believed to be named for their running gait, (from Old French cours, 'to run'.). However, the word possibly derived from the Italian corsiero, meaning 'battle horse'.

Coursers in warfare

The courser was more common than the destrier

Destrier

The destrier is the best-known war horse of the medieval era. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. It was described by contemporary sources as the Great Horse, due to its size and reputation....

, and preferred for hard battle

Medieval warfare

Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. In Europe, technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery...

 as they were light, fast and strong. They were valuable horses, but less expensive than the highly-prized destrier. Another horse commonly ridden during war was the rouncey

Rouncey

The term rouncey was used during the Middle Ages to refer to an ordinary, all-purpose horse. They were used for riding, but could also be trained for war...

, which was an all-purpose horse.