A Chinese saying that a horse can "travel one thousand miles in a day," though obviously exaggerated, does show the importance people in olden times attached to the horse as a means of transportation.
騎乘、拉車、耕田，馬是人類的好伴侶除了在軍事方面以外，馬也一直是中國人最重要的一種交通工具。中國人常用「日行千里」來形容駿馬奔馳的快速，一天跑一千里的說法可能略嫌誇張，不過馬的速度確實要比其他動物快得多。