The short answer to "how did we end up riding horses" is: Humans first hunted horses, for their meat. Then they gradually learned to tame the horses, so they would be around and readily available when the humans needed meat. Since they were tame, humans were able to use the horses to carry things. But the original horses were too small to carry a human. Eventually breeding produced horses big enough and strong enough for a human to ride. Later came chariots, etc., that horses pulled. And later still horses were ridden into battle. The short answer to "why did horses end up letting us ride them" is: The horses learned to trust the humans as the humans gradually tamed the horses. Part of taming is gaining the animal's trust. --SOURCE: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/environment/horses.htm

In the ice age cave men were once looking for horses witch they needed because of it was a long way to get around to find there mane animal to eat the seal. Seal were found very far from France but back then the ice ages ice connected both Europe and the U.S. So many died going threw all that ice and died on there way coming back. Some cave men once found some horse but they were extincting during the time, thats when they finally noticed they needed horses to travel faster.

The horses modern man (homo sapien) knew closely resembled the Prewalski's horse that runs wild in Mongolia (certainly large enough to carry a person). The modern horse (equus caballus) actually evolved on the American Continents and moved into Asia across the same land bridge that brought man to the Americas. From Mongolia, the horse spread rapidly across Asia and Europe adapting readily to the different environments. Ironically, horses became extinct on the American continents some 10-15,000 years ago and were reintroduced by Columbus. In Asia and Europe, horses were first hunted for food. As civilization advanced and animals were domesticated, the horse became an invaluable to agriculture. It was initially utilized for food and milk, and as a beast of burden. With advances in agricultural technology, horses were harnessed to plows, carts, and wagons. The invention of the saddle made the horse valuable for rapid transport over long distances, but because the first saddles did not have stirrups, they had limited use in warfare, except for pulling chariots (which were an advancement, but had limited utility in war). The invention of the stirrup by the Persians gave riders greater stability and allowed the creation of the cavalry. Amazing how something so seemingly insignificant as a stirrup had such a major revolutionary impact on warfare. In addition to environmental adaptations, once horses were domesticated, they were subjected to selective breeding programs to create breeds for specific tasks. I believe that the horse, of all the domesticated species, had the greatest influence on the advancement of civilization. It can be summed up by the quote: Look back on our struggle for freedom, Trace our present day strength to its source, And you'll find that man's pathway to glory, Is strewn with the bones of a horse. --Anonymous The history of the horse is quite fascinating and closely associated with the advancement of civilization. Hope this help answer your question. OKGhostrider Update: Alatea, good question, so I did some quick research into this. The only true wild horses remaining are zebras (in Africa only), and wild asses (primarily in Asia, but a few breeds are found in Africa). Most of what are referred to as "wild horses" are actually feral horses descended from domesticated horses that in one way or another ended up having to survive on their own. There are a good number of mustang herds in the United States, mostly west of the Mississippi. There are also the Assateague-Chincoteague Wild Ponies in Virginia/Maryland. These herds are managed by the Bureau of Land Management with yearly round-ups to avoid overpopulation. IMHO, Mustangs make great mounts with remarkable endurance. Similar herds are found in Australia, South America (I'm assuming, but not sure), Africa (Namibia, left by the Germans) and Asia. The last wild Mongolian Wild Horse (or Prewalski's Horse) was seen in 1969 (the last herd was seen in 1967), but they are being reintroduced to the wild from captive herds. As to how many countries have wild/feral horses, I don't know, but wild/feral horses are present on all continents, except Antartica.