warhorse

Etymology

From war + horse.

noun

1. (historical, military) Any horse used in horse-cavalry, but especially one bearing an armoured knight.
2. (figurative, informal) An experienced person who has been through many battles, situations or contests; someone who has given long service.
   Certainly this was a bold proposal to an old warhorse like Ecuyer, and, like a true English bulldog, he voiced a reply which made the Indians wince. 1909, Charles H. L. Johnston, Famous Indian Chiefs, Boston: L. C. Page & Company, page 188
   Srinath: India's warhorse [title] June 2, 2002, Kashif Qamar, “Srinath: India's warhorse”, in BBC News
3. (theater, music) A regularly revived theatrical or musical work, as with Hamlet or a Beethoven symphony, or as excerpts thereto. May imply that the work in question has become hackneyed.
   a Wagner warhorse
   I remember taking the old warhorse, “Una Voce Poco Fa,” from Il Barbiere (Rossini) to three of the greatest living singing masters in Italy. 1910, Millie Ryan, What Every Singer Should Know, Omaha, Nebr.: Franklin Publishing Co.
   Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo[…] presented a typical program of Russian warhorses of the 19th and early 20th centuries[…] 1997-08-06, Jennifer Dunning, “Horsing Around With Balletic Warhorses”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   A Mendelssohn Warhorse Gets the Perlman Treatment [title] 1995-08-05, Anthony Tommasini, “A Mendelssohn Warhorse Gets the Perlman Treatment”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   […] the ROH mounts a new production of an Italian repertory warhorse that is fully on the level of the one it replaces […] 2006-06-11, Stephen Jay-Taylor, “Tosca dress”, in rec.music.opera (Usenet)