The Rohirrim, why horses?

[Rumil]

Evening all,

Some good points made on this thread already, just a few more comments-

The Uffington White Horse doesn't belong to the English, it's Celtic or more likely pre-Celtic, estimated as going back to 1000BC. By the way its a great place to have a look at on a sunny day, and Wayland's Forge (a proper Barrow on the Downs) is just round the corner.

The Eotheod, it's been said, seem to be like Goths, known for their horsemanship, and leading an unsettled, nearly nomadic lifestyle, following the herds. The Rohirrim have settled down a bit, building towns and putting down roots but some still have a nomadic life, following the herds across the green plains. This is a deliberate development by JRRT, and the names change from more Goth-y to more 'Anglo-Saxon' over their history.

As said, the Rohirrim had no reason to lose their horse-addiction, in fact they moved from an area in the Upper Anduin that was likely OK horse country down to Rohan that was excellent horse country - so no reason to change. The Anglo Saxons seem to have been coastal people and anyway had to invade Britain by boat, so horses not so culturally important I expect. This doesn't mean that the English never used horses, they had lots of them I'm sure. For a long time it was thought that the English never used horses in battle (eg Hastings) but this is not so clear-cut nowadays. A lot of evidence points to the Northumbrians using mounted warriors (eg carvings etc).