Mongolian Horse

Timeline

1. c. -1000–1200Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauNomadic peoples long herded horses on the Mongolian Plateau; through natural selection and artificial breeding they formed the stocky, hard-hoofed, hunger- and thirst-tolerant steppe horse type, laying the physical foundation for the later Mongolian horse.
2. c. 1206–1350Karakorum · Mongolian PlateauFrom Genghis Khan to the early Yuan dynasty, the empire organized herds and horse levies through the thousand- and hundred-household system; each rider usually kept several remounts. The Mongolian horse supported long-distance raids, postal relay, and encirclement hunts, forming the material basis of steppe military advantage.
3. 1351–1360Chagatai Khanate steppe · Tianshan steppeOn the eve of the Yuan dynasty's decline, the Chagatai and Golden Horde khanates still relied on steppe horses to maintain cavalry and caravan escorts; horses circulated among steppe tribes as tribute and trade goods, and the herding system continued the management traditions of the imperial era.