>From: Graham J Robinson <gjr_at_dcs.gla.ac.uk>
>
>Peter Metcalfe wrote :
>
>>You have obviously forgotten that these mustangs were descended from
>>Spanish horses that had been bred to take a rider for something like
>>two thousand years. The CharUn horses are not in the same position
>>as they are bred for things meat food, milk, draft and carriage.
>>Under such circumstances, you will tend to get a diversification of
>>specialized types just like you do for _cattle_.
>
>Specialisation is a relatively modern concept - it was not found amongst
>the various steppe nomads in the real world, who could happily ride and
>bleed the same horses. The only horses that were not suitable for riding
>were used for meat, not kept with the herd.
Some animal specialisation does go back a long way but it is generally
in suitability for the area in which the animals lived rather than
purpose. So you get Scottish highland cattle being a very different
animal from English breeds. The same applies with horses, an animal
breed to survive on the steppe in going to be different from one
breed in a plains area. The CharUn aren't going to keep a separate
breed of horses for riding even if they ride the best stallions and
geldings for preference, and almost all horses will end up in the
pot eventually.