It may have been the knights’ horses which were more vulnerable to arrows. When Richard Lionheart marched along the coast in the Holy Land the knights would make sure they had the Mediterranean Sea on one side and cover by infantry on the other side. Instead of shooting the knights’ horses with their arrows, the native archers would shoot the footsoldiers who acted as a human shield. The footsoldiers wore padded clothing underneath their chainmail hauberks, and were soon trotting along looking like porcupines due to the many arrows attached to their protective clothing. This suggests that chainmail protects against arrows fired by composite bows at least, which is why the users wore them.
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