For most of human history, there was no faster way to travel over land than on a horse. When it comes to transporting people and their possessions, horses have two important advantages: They can run very fast and very far. Their speed and endurance are amazing for a creature so large, making them the ideal animals to carry people and goods around the world.

Horses offer other advantages as well. Since they eat grass, horses can go almost anywhere that humans can, eating as they go. And unlike cows and camels, which must sit and rest to digest food, a horse's digestive system allows it to graze and walk all day. By carrying people, goods, and ideas between civilizations, horses changed history.