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As American migrants moved westward, cow herders found a need to control their herds and their lead cows. Based on their knowledge of herds of wild horses, they knew that this role would be best filled by lead mares. This would quickly have produced the earliest domesticated horses.
But before settlers moved across the land, Native Americans populated it first.They shared this uncharted land with the mustangs and eventually tamed them. The two became an image in history that went hand-in-hand. Wherever an Indian was, his horse was not far behind him. The Plains Indians were the first to domesticate wild horses in North America, and did so around 1540.
As time progressed, the demand for domesticated horses increased. Those in the West were still used as cattle-herders and transportation. In large cities, they were also used as transportation, but also for manual labor. Perhaps the most notable use of the domesticated horse was in warfare. Beginning by 360 BC, horses were used in the Greek Cavalry. In the Americas, the use of horses and development of mounted warfare tactics were learned by several tribes of indigenous people and in turn, highly mobile horse regiments were critical in the American Civil War. Their use in wars began to die out during World War I as tanks were introduced to battle. By World War II, they were scarcely used in battle, but were still heavily used for the transport of both supplies and troops.
Today the most common uses for horses include police mounts, cattle-drivers and search and rescue teams. Horses are also used for entertainment purposes and are commonly owned as pets world-wide.
After their use in wars died out, what was it that sparked people's interest in keeping horses for personal reasons?
Anthony, David., W. (2007). The horse, the wheel, and language. (p. 568). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/math-and-science/9781400831104
There were two reasons other than wars that the Greeks/Romans maintained horses as part of their lives. One is the obvious transportation factor. Carriages, though forbidden in Rome while the sun was up, were incredibly useful to ancient civilizations (of course). The other reason was that the horse was the sacred creature of Poseidon/Neptune, the God of the Sea. Ironically, wealthy sailors normally had a horse,though they were a part of the few that had no need of land transportation. This was done as a way to appease the Earth-Shaker (Poseidon).
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