the piora oscillation has also been linked to the domestication of the horse. in central asia, a colder climate favored the use of horses: "the horse, since it was so adept at foraging with snow on the ground, tended to replace cattle and sheep." the piora period seems associated with a period of colder drier air over the western and eastern mediterranean, and may have depressed rainfalls as far afield as the middle east. it is also associated with a sudden onset of drier weather in the central sahara.