The Mughals rode on the backs of sword yielding elephants. The swords were strapped to the elephants’ trunks.
The Rajputs were on horseback. One would think this left them at a great disadvantage, but they were obviously aware of the social behavior of elephants.
Elephants will not attack baby elephants. When a baby elephant is orphaned - for whatever reason - other elephants will step in and take care of it.
The Rajputs did not have a herd of orphaned baby elephants, so they improvised. They strapped fake trunks to the heads of their Marwari horses, making them appear to be baby elephants. Instinctively the elephants of their enemies would not become aggressive toward the horses, which they perceived to be young elephants!
The brave and intelligent Marwari warhorses were trained to rear up on their hind legs and to then put their front hooves on the elephant’s forehead. This allowed the horseman to attack the enemy rider with a lance
The Rajputs combined the most useful characteristics of Arabians, Turkumans and local stock to create the Marwari; a fearless and hardy horse breed with which they cleverly defeated endless invasions.
