To give some context, I'm Filipino, and I was watching a documentary on how the horse was introduced and then very quickly got integrated into the Native American way of life and warfare.

It got me thinking about how that happened in the Philippines as well, or even just South East Asia in general. I know it's generalizing, but I would think a place of mostly islands and wild jungles would not lend itself well to the use of cavalry, and yet we eventually (by the 20th century), have cavalry regiments.

There's even a famous unit called the Philippine Scouts, which were a decorated American Military unit (to the detriment of casual internet research, as they're the only result I run into when I google). But the question remained on how horses and cavalry got to that point? Like, were they used in the Revolutionary Army? Or against the Americans during the Philippine-American War?

Any thoughts?