 If they could not breed enough high quality mounts, they would purchase them even from the other cultures.The Byzantines fielded various types of light cavalry to complement their "Kataphraktos", in much the same way as the Romans employed auxiliary light infantry to augment their armoured infantry legionaries.Due to the empire's long experience, they were wary of relying too much upon foreign auxiliaries or mercenaries (with the notable exception of the Varangian Guard).