Why have zebras never been utilized as cavalry animals?

Question

Also – do they have white base with black stripes or black core with white hair? How did this help them survive in the wild?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Riding on horseback wasn’t used until the 4th century BCE china, which is SUUUUPER late in military AND domestication history. Early war wagons had been used around 2500 BCE in mesopotamia, but had a mixture of pack animals like oxen and donkeys pulling them, not just horses.

Horses weren’t domesticated until sometime between 3500 BCE and 2000 BCE.

So horses were fully domesticated and put to work and selectively bred for thousands of years before one was bred to be big, brave, and trainable enough to ride in war. Well, ridden commonly enough that it shows up the in few records left.