I Rode through the Desert: Equestrian Adaptations of Indigenous Peoples in Southern Hemisphere Arid Zones

Abstract

One of the most profound consequences of the “Columbian exchange” set in motion by Europe’s fifteenth- to nineteenth-century expansion overseas was the introduction of the horse to parts of the world where it had previously been absent. Alongside the internationally well-known Plains of North America, these regions included several southern hemisphere drylands: Patagonia; the Karoo and Kalahari of southern Africa; and the deserts of Australia. This paper explores the equestrian adaptations developed by the Indigenous inhabitants of these three areas and tries to explain the variability apparent in the speed and consequences of their adoption of the horse.