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Would the absence of horses affect human history?
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Horses have a peculiarity. They are very hardy: they are able to work at the same level as a person who, by this parameter, is the undisputed leader. Wild horses escape danger by falling into a running frenzy. Therefore, it is very easy for horses, firstly, to make a large group move in the right direction, and secondly, they can move even towards an obvious danger. Not always, but often. Even a donkey closely related to them, but a more intelligent donkey will not run into battle at the enemy on orders. And a horse, led not only by a rider, but also by instinct, can do it.
So in an economic sense, everything would be about the same without horses. But in military affairs it would be more difficult to replace them. As a result, the cavalry relative to the infantry in this alternate world would be noticeably weaker. There would not be such a big difference in capabilities between them. Knightly culture would have taken other forms. It is possible that nomadic pastoralists would have weakened relative to their settled neighbors.
Horses could be replaced with other animals, for example: camels, donkeys, deer, moose, bulls, and so on. Although some of them today work together with a person and do a good job of this work. Still, horses made a great impact on the development of human culture.
So how do you imagine the absence of horses in the history of humanity?

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