By the way, this is kind of the way ō-sode (Japanese large shoulder guards) worked. ~12th century Japan was a land of cavalry and archery (and horseback archery). Japan knew shields but given that the warrior would shoot a bow most of the time, shields would be cumbersome. So instead they decided to put "shields" on their shoulders so to say. Those shoulder plates weren't fastened to the shoulder but rather attached by a knot system, so they could be moved around relatively easily.