Quote Originally Posted by Steppe Merc
I suppose that explains the ease of the Norsemen adapting to heavy horse roles in Russia and Normandy.

That's some really interesting stuff you have. Now, I know the Gauls also had pony like horses. Do you know if they are similar to the German ponies, or is it too far from the Steppe? Does anyone know about the Gallic horses?
"More presently, the Exmoor has been found in representations from the Bronze Age as a chariot pony.
The European wild horse, sometimes referred to as the European forest type, lived in the forests of what is now known as Germany and Scandinavia until historic times. He was the wild black horse of Flanders.
Small, shaggy animals were native to northern Europe. They were strong and hardy and required less feed than other types of horses. These animals are thought to be the progenitors of the Shetland pony, and perhaps the Connemara in Ireland. The Connamara pony, seen below, can certainly be traced to ancient times as a member of that group of equids known as mountain and moorland ponies. It originated in Connaught in western Ireland, and later was used to influence the fine Irish hunter.
We can see that the Celts were certainly no strangers to horses. Indeed, the chroniclers of the Roman Empire wrote with grudging admiration concerning the equestrian skills of the Celtic people they encountered in war.
ASTURIAN; Centuries ago the existence of a small horse breed originating in the northwest of Spain was recorded. The Romans referred to these horses as asturcons and thought well of them - and they were popular with the French during the Middle Ages. Pliny (23-79 A.D.) described them as a small breed that did not trot, but moved in an easy gait by alternately moving both legs on one side. It is thought by some that the Astrurian developed as a cross between the Garrano pony of northern Portugal and Spain - a direct descendant of the Celtic pony - and the Sorraia, the original saddle horse of Iberia, which gave the breed its calm temperament. Some other blood must have been present in the Astrurian's lineage, however, because the ambling gait is not present in either the Sorraia or Garrano. Suspected by the author is a strong and more direct link to the ancient Celtic pony, of which some strains at least must have been amblers."