Although horses are found across nearly every inhabited continent today, genetic and archaeological evidence suggests they were first domesticated on the Eurasian steppe, in the region of modern-day Kazakhstan, around 5,500 years ago. Early domestication likely began not for riding but for a more practical purpose: access to milk and meat during harsh winters when other food sources were scarce. Only later, as domesticated horses were selectively bred for endurance and temperament, did riding become widespread. This shift had a transformative effect on human society. Mounted travel dramatically increased the distance a person could cover in a single day, enabling faster trade, communication, and, eventually, warfare. Entire empires, from the Mongols to the Huns, built their military dominance around cavalry forces capable of striking swiftly across vast distances. The horse also reshaped agriculture, as horse-drawn ploughs allowed farmers to cultivate larger areas of land than oxen alone could manage. Some historians argue that no single domesticated animal has had a greater cumulative impact on the trajectory of human history than the horse, given its role in reshaping transportation, warfare, and food production simultaneously. Yet this transformation was gradual: it took centuries after initial domestication for horse riding to become a common and widespread practice across Eurasia.