Horses

The roots of classical dressage lay in warfare: mounted soldiers used their horses as weapons, urging their animals to lash out or to shield them from enemy swords. Today, although some military trappings are retained, training and exhibitions are almost purely aesthetic.

Originally, the domestic horse was a wild animal of Europe and northern Asia. In parts of Mongolia, truly wild horses still occur. The so-called "wild" horses of western North America and parts of South America are actually descended from domestic horses brought over by Spanish explorers. These domestic Spanish horses escaped and returned to the wild habits of their ancestors. Scientists refer to animals that live in the wild but are descended from domesticated stock "feral" animals.