The horse

Dass aus Wildpferden das Hauspferd wurde, hatte einen sehr großen Einfluss auf die Möglichkeiten des Menschen, die Welt zu erobern.

The horse is an important domestic animal. It was domesticated in the steppes of Europe and Asia and spread from there over large parts of Europe during the 3rd millennium BC.

Horses enabled humans to spread their genes, diseases and cultures much faster than their own limited speed would have allowed. In addition, the availability of horses revolutionized passenger and freight transportation as only railways and cars did again in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before that, ponderous oxen pulled the carts – they were powerful, but ox carts did not really move very fast.

Horses changed that, they can travel many kilometers in a day. Horses also brought innovations in warfare, e.g. as draft animals pulling chariots or as mounts for armed warriors.