Throughout history, horses have been the glue that held societies together and enabled those societies to efficiently tear each other apart on the battlefield. Where would the ancient Mongols be without their trusty steeds? Those gallant gallopers not only served as war horses but became a source of nourishment, as Mongol riders consumed the horses’ milk and blood, per the American Museum of Natural History. What would Game of Thrones be without the horsey sorcery of the Mongols, whom George R.R. Martin modeled the Dothraki after? And just imagine the hoofless hell the Korean War would have been for Marines during the 1953 Battle for Outpost Vegas without Sergeant Reckless, a horse and actual sergeant that drank beer, ate bacon and blankets, and transported 8,800 pounds of ammo amid a blizzard of bullets and mortar shells.

Horses have also been cash cows for people who have a need for speed but can’t convince Val Kilmer to be a Navy aviator with them. Those people are called jockeys, and they use horses as their wingmen. Ideally, an equine wingman would fly around the track like a Pegasus hopped-up on speed. Which horse breed is most likely to leave you riding high at the end of the race?

A thoroughbred through and through

Shutterstock