These horses built systems modern markets still depend on.
Long before engines dictated growth, survival hinged on animals bred for labor, distance, and endurance. Trade expanded only where strength allowed it. Farms scaled only as far as muscle could pull. When those animals faded from use, the transition looked smooth, yet entire economic systems quietly rebalanced. Roads remained, fields stayed planted, and cities kept growing. What vanished was the living infrastructure that once absorbed risk, limited speed, and enforced restraint. The loss was not sentimental. It reshaped how quickly societies learned to expect abundance.
