There is dispute in medievalist circles over the size of the war horse, with some notable historians claiming a size of , as large as a modern Shire horse. However, there are practical reasons for this dispute. Analysis of existing horse armour located in the Royal Armouries indicates the equipment was originally worn by horses of , or about the size and build of a modern field hunter or ordinary riding horse. Research undertaken at the Museum of London, using literary, pictorial and archaeological sources, supports military horses of , distinguished from a riding horse by its strength and skill, rather than its size. This average does not seem to vary greatly across the medieval period. Horses appear to have been selectively bred for increased size from the 9th and 10th centuries, and by the 11th century the average warhorse was probably , a size verified by studies of Norman horseshoes as well as the depictions of horses on the Bayeux Tapestry. Analysis of horse transports suggests 13th-century destriers were a stocky build, and no more than . Three centuries later, warhorses were not significantly bigger; the Royal Armouries used a Lithuanian Heavy Draught mare as a model for the statues displaying various 15th- and 16th-century horse armours, as her body shape was an excellent fit.