I don’t understand why Horses wouldn’t be afraid to charge into a wall of humans with weapons. And if they would do it, wouldn’t the first row tumble and all the other incoming horses would trip over them resulting in a domino effect?
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Other answers here cover the mechanics of a cavalry charge pretty well, so I’m going to go somewhere else. What most amateurs underestimate is the importance of the cavalry charge as a psychological weapon.
A cavalry charge is essentially the world’s largest game of chicken. The cavalry is displaying a threat, consisting of tons of muscle and steel and murderous intent coming at you very fast. They want whatever they’re charging to go “Bugger this for a game of soldiers!” and try to leg it. This will probably end badly for whoever is running, since they are limited in their means to fight back, disorganized and showing their backs.
The chargees, as it were, want to stand still and present a threat of their own, usually in the form of pointy sticks (with or without bang, depending on the time period). However, this only works enough people actually present a threat. If the horses see a hole in the wall of pointy sticks they will head for it, because horses are, as OP rightly observed, much smarter than their riders and not keen on dying.
The chargers, can, of course, head back and start again if it looks like the chargees ain’t moving, but at the same time, they want to get as close as possible to present the most credible threat. And so, the great game of chicken goes….
Depends somewhat on what time period you’re talking about, and what cavalry unit you’re talking about. Ancient Macedonian cavalry for example used double ended spears in their charge, while the common medieval cavalry used lances which they would have to drop after hitting someone. Cavalry charges could also be with sword or saber, particularly common in the 18-20th centuries.
As to answer you’re question about horses charging enemy weapons, you are correct to some degree. War horses would be specifically trained to not be as skittish around weapons, but even a trained warhorse won’t be suicidal. A big decider if a cavalry charge was successful or not was how well the infantry they were charging held their position. You ask about horses charging a wall of humans but think of the reverse. You see a wall a horses charging towards you, even if you manage to avoid the enemy weapon, you’re almost certainly going to be trampled by the hooves of the horses. Many people are going to see a cavalry charge and break formation trying to get the hell out of there.
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