Although before the stirrup, men fought on horseback, the riders lacked the leverage to charge one another. The Knight brought shock tactics to the battlefield, disrupting or breaking the enemy with his charges. With the horse's domestication in the latter half of the second millennium BC, the horseman tended to be small and quick with lightweight armor and minimal weapons. His attacks depended on surprise. With the coming of the iron stirrup, all of this changed. The new stirrup and new saddles provided such stability that riders equipped themselves with armor and heavy lances. Charging became a favorite tactic - which required the breeding of larger, stronger horses.