Sahran said:
If anyone's got any ideas on ancient horse breeds or general horse categorization in ancient times, I'd be all ears. I know of the Nisean as the Crème de la Crème and following it various "Iranian" breeds (Urartu/Medes/Persians), usual steppe pony for the Scythians, but all I've got is light knowledge elsewhere.
Categorization for now will probably be:
Pack Horse
Riding Horse
Steppe Pony
"War horse"? (Amongst Western peoples, just whatever they used for a good beefy mount)
Urartian Horse
Maybe a general "Ariyan Horse" for the non Nisean breeds amongst Iranians.
Nisean Horse.
Hi.
The horses breeds are not existed, at the mods period. Every nation had it's own type of horses. It wasn't differentiation between war and other horses. Nobles of same nation(without own horses able for mount battle) could buy "foreign" horses.
I propose to divide horses by nations:
1. Persian horses - horses of central asian type, 125-135 cm highness (modern mountain type of Persian horses had the same parameters).
2. Median horses or Nisean horses - horses of central asian type, 150 cm highness (modern Persian horses had the same parameters).
3. Assyria Horses - horses of central asian type, 130 -140 cm highness, like a persian but had hart constitution.
4. Egyptian horses - small horses 110-120 sm (used in chariots), similar to modern berber horses.
5. Steppe or Scythian horses - steppe full-bodied horses 120-130 sm.
6. Greek horses - mezochondrial horses 120-130 sm.
Babylonia had use assyria horses,
Israel - I think Egyptian horses, but not sure.
Scythian chiefs and paralats could also use Persian or Nisean horses.