Horse culture

The term "Horse culture" is used to define a tribal group or community whose day to day life revolves around the herding and breeding of horses. Notable examples are the Mongols of Mongolia, and the American Indians of the Great Plains, after horses were imported from Eurasia during the 16th century.

History offers many examples of horse cultures, such as the Huns and other peoples in Europe and Asia. Horse cultures tend to place a great deal of importance on horses and by their very nature are nomadic and usually hunter-gatherer societies.

As the natives progressed throughout the plains, so did their culture. The natives stumbled onto something that would revolutionize their entire world, the horse. As the horse integrated its way into the lives of the natives it also transformed the vision of the plains for them. For the natives, the horse was a very valuable resource. They used horses for transportation as well as for breeding and trading purposes. Horses reinvented hunting for the natives and were successfully and efficiently used for warfare. This advantage mainly focused around increased mobility: the ability of the horse to cover a lot of ground in a very short period of time. In a sense the horse offered the natives liberation and allowed them to easily move place to place, bringing on a nomadic shift in there culture.However, there were some disadvantages to adopting horse culture. Having to worry about protection of the horses from predators and thieves was a big concern for the natives, although not something that directly impacted their way of life. Horse culture changed their way of life in one negative way. Adoption of this culture required them to live in smaller groups, rather than living in big groups as they had been doing for hundreds of years. This allowed room for horses to graze and feed easily.