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The temwood lance, on the other hand, light, lengthy, and supple, handled more easily than the heavier weapon, and had a farther reach. - (Swordsmen of Gor, Chapter 17, Sentence #12)

His preference was to bring the combatant birds together, to the point at which, across the saddle, his spear might come into play. Seldom, even, did he have a spear strap, to better secure the weapon. His thinking here was that such a strap might wrench him in the saddle, possibly breaking his back, if the weapon became anchored in a shield or body. The temwood lance, on the other hand, light, lengthy, and supple, handled more easily than the heavier weapon, and had a farther reach. Too, the narrowness of its blade, in the Tuchuk fashion, unlike the broader blade of the common war spear, was designed to minimize the danger of its anchoring in either a shield or body. To be sure, the major value of the lance, as I saw it, would be in fencing away enemy birds, or, in a low, swooping flight, attacking ground troops or tharlarion riders. A tarnsman's usual close-to-the-ground flight was used to rope fleeing females, thence to be hauled helplessly to the saddle. - (Swordsmen of Gor)