Petlife logo

How Horses Have Impacted Human History

The historical impact of horses and how they have changed the history of civilization.

By Althea MarchPublished 10 months ago 3 min read
Like
Changing history via horses impact on humans

Horses have long had a fascination for people. They are depicted more frequently than any other animal in 30,000-year-old cave drawings.

But how did horses evolve from being ferocious beasts that humans could tack on to and even ride, deciding the fate of civilizations and fundamentally rewriting history?

Learn how the domestication of horses impacted entire civilizations and fundamentally changed the course of human history.

Horses have long had a fascination for people. They are depicted more frequently than any other animal in 30,000-year-old cave drawings. But how did horses go from being untamed creatures to domesticated animals that people could attach themselves to and even ride? This piece was inspired by William T. Taylor who investigated how the domestication of horses had a profound impact on human history and determined the fate of entire civilizations.

The ancestors of equids originated in North America. Ancient equid species started trotting across the Bering land bridge around 4 million years ago. They eventually crossed Eurasia and into Africa, evolving into the ancestors of contemporary horses, donkeys, and zebras.

Early humans, including the ancestors of the first inhabitants of the Americas, hunted wild horses and occasionally made tools out of their bones.

Then, between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago, horses vanished from the archaeological record in America, perhaps as a result of a changing environment, human hunting, and competition with bison. But gradually, they would return. Around 2,000 BCE, a highly important development took place on the other side of the globe: people in the western Eurasian steppe domesticated horses.

By that time, several animals had already been domesticated in western Asia, and some of them were being used to pull carts.

However, steppe people created a bridle-and-bit system and chariots with lighter, spoked wheels since horses were typically faster and harder to control. Numerous ancient cultures quickly adopted horses.

Horseback riding appears to have been less common initially than horse-drawn charioteering.

People who did mount horses at this early era may have done so without stirrups or constructed saddles, according to archaeological data. This occasionally altered or harmed the skeletons of both riders and horses. People kept developing less aggressive horses with more stamina and capacity for carrying weight. They also created methods and equipment for better comfort and control.

Around 1000 BCE, cavalry started to fight in most of Asia. Steppe and desert tribes developed a reputation for having skilled horse riders. Some societies' funeral customs have incorporated ceremonial horse sacrifice. Around 200 horses with riding equipment were buried at one royal Scythian burial site in the early ninth century BCE.

Ancient Chinese officials understood the benefits that horses provided for their neighbors, and some wanted more horses for their own kingdom. The Chinese emperor reportedly sent a 30,000-man army west in 100 BCE that assassinated the ruler of a city and laid siege to it in exchange for 3,000 of Ferghana's reputed "heavenly horses." Between the fourth and eighth century CE, steppe horsemen introduced stirrups and other riding innovations to several civilizations.

And finally, nomadic tribes came together to form unstoppable forces that rode horses. Invading, trading, and overthrowing nations over previously unimaginable distances, the Mongol Empire grew to dominance in the 13th century. They built a horse-powered postal relay system that covered 60,000 kilometers. The welfare of their horses was crucial to their empire's success, and the commanders understood this. Before beginning his subsequent military campaigns in 1252, Möngke Khan dispatched authorities to forbid cattle grazing so that their horses would have plenty of pastureland. As a result of the ongoing proliferation of horses, equestrian empires eventually expanded south of the Sahara. The Mali Empire was reported to have possessed more than 10,000 cavalrymen by the middle of the fourteenth century and to have ruled over some 1 million square kilometers of West Africa.

And by the year 1500, horses had been brought back to the Americas. They appear to have escaped Spanish control quickly because Indigenous people traded them over extensive trading networks from the Pampas to the Great Plains. By way of colonization and trade, horses spread much more widely throughout the world. They were a popular and crucial mode of transportation far into the 20th century. Problems with hygiene and animal care, particularly in urban areas, arose as a result.

With the arrival of non-living vehicles of transportation like the automobile, many human centers underwent transformation.

Nevertheless, from the Mongolian steppes to the Montana prairies, people have continued to have complex interactions with horses, including riding, herding, racing, and appreciating them.

breeds
Like

About the Creator

Althea March

I am a writer who searches for facts to create compelling nonfictional accounts about our everyday lives as human beings, and I am an avid writer involved in creating short fictional stories that help to stir the imagination for anyone.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.