There is evidence that the horse collar had been used in China before the first century BC which is a full thousand years before its appearance in Europe.

The horse collar made it possible for peasants to use horses as work animals; whereas in earlier times the horse had been used strictly for military purposes. Since horses move nearly twice as fast as oxens - the main alternative draught animal - use of horses for plowing allowed a single peasant to accomplish twice as much in the same amount of time.