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How can it take 2 months on foot, yet only 1 month per horse, when a horse can only travel between 25-35 miles a day, which is not twice as far as a human can t

How can it take 2 months on foot, yet only 1 month per horse, when a horse can only travel between 25-35 miles a day, which is not twice as far as a human can travel in a day, but about equal?

bedobi 2y ago
I'm sure the author would have more details on the ambiguity. Are the walkers marching soldiers? Is the rider a courier who changes to fresh horses at waystations? It's not clear :)
mavhc 2y ago
Relay horses
nescioquid 2y ago
My thought is that one didn't simply travel alone on horseback, but with a group and baggage, and I wouldn't expect servants to be mounted. The animals help with the baggage. You also would want a group since there are highwaymen and freebooters on the road. I seem to recall oxen speed being about 12 miles per day.
eschulz 2y ago
Horses would often be swapped out at stations when a wealthy person would have to travel very quickly across a long distance. Maybe this is an average since the speed with which horsemen could travel would depend on the rate at which they exchanged their horses. In an extreme example from the year 9 BC, the future emperor Tiberius traveled on the Roman Roads 330 miles (531 km) between northern Italy and modern day Mainz, Germany in 36 hours without sleep. He was rushing to the deathbed of his older brother Drusus after the latter suffered mortal injuries in a freak horse accident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drususstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drususstein
- Phenomenit 2y ago
  So he rode really fast, reckless and sleep deprived to his brother who’d been injured in a horse riding accident?
  - marcosdumay 2y ago
    People never change.
  - eschulz 2y ago
    haha hadn't thought about that, although the Roman Roads could be considered to be a safe highways as opposed to the dangerous paths in Germania. If one of the main characters in The Fast and the Furious gets hurt in a street race, would not his teammates race to him as fast as they could?
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    It does seem a bit ironic (is that the right word?), but it's not like there were many other options for travel at that time.
- moi2388 2y ago
  Yes, for wealthy people who could swap out horses. If it was just a regular person like you or I with a horse, it wouldn’t increase your speed and even slow you down. Horses were used for pulling or carrying loads, they are only faster on short high speeds, not long distances
hammock 2y ago
With baggage, a typical human can only travel about 12-17 miles a day (half that of a horse)
- wongarsu 2y ago
  About 30km/18 miles per day is a common value used in Europe. On a single day you can easily do twice that if you don't carry too much and are used to walking long distances, but it would be difficult to sustain. Also the number allows for time to set up camp (and tear it down in the morning), prepare meals, etc.
  - xandrius 2y ago
    Saying that 60km "can be easily done" is quite a stretch. After 30-40km, even on flat, most people wouldn't do it easily at all. And I walk about 10km daily in one session and often do 30+km hikes.
    - reaperducer 2y ago
      When I was in elementary school, we would do charity walks every year to raise money for the poor. They were 20 miles. It took us all day, but if a bunch of kids between fourth and eighth grades and their nun teachers can do it, I'm surprised how many adults on this web site think it's too far.
      - hammock 2y ago
        Did you do it with a suitcase of stuff for a week- or month-long stay in another city, and contingencies like extra water, food, stove etc if you get laid over in a remote area without facilties? Did you do it rain or shine, on paved roads or muddy rutted-out dirt roads?
      - xandrius 2y ago
        Was it nicely paved and mostly flat? And how did you feel at the end of it? Would you do it again the next day?
mikhailfranco 2y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon A man on a bike beats a horse over almost all distances, especially long distances. The only interesting competitive distance might be a flying 400m.
- PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
  It took 4 years after the addition of mountain bikes for a cyclist to beat the horse at the Llanwyrtd Wells event. Also, AFAIK, the Romans did not have bicycles. ps. I raced this event twice in the early 1980s when they had a mountain bike division, and still have scars on my right arm from one of them.
ssl232 2y ago
Related: https://orbis.stanford.edu/ https://orbis.stanford.edu/

How can it take 2 months on foot, yet only 1 month per horse, when a horse can only travel between 25-35 miles a day, which is not twice as far as a human can travel in a day, but about equal?

bedobi 2y ago

I'm sure the author would have more details on the ambiguity. Are the walkers marching soldiers? Is the rider a courier who changes to fresh horses at waystations? It's not clear :)

mavhc 2y ago

Relay horses

nescioquid 2y ago

My thought is that one didn't simply travel alone on horseback, but with a group and baggage, and I wouldn't expect servants to be mounted. The animals help with the baggage. You also would want a group since there are highwaymen and freebooters on the road. I seem to recall oxen speed being about 12 miles per day.

eschulz 2y ago

Horses would often be swapped out at stations when a wealthy person would have to travel very quickly across a long distance. Maybe this is an average since the speed with which horsemen could travel would depend on the rate at which they exchanged their horses. In an extreme example from the year 9 BC, the future emperor Tiberius traveled on the Roman Roads 330 miles (531 km) between northern Italy and modern day Mainz, Germany in 36 hours without sleep. He was rushing to the deathbed of his older brother Drusus after the latter suffered mortal injuries in a freak horse accident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drususstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drususstein

Phenomenit 2y ago
So he rode really fast, reckless and sleep deprived to his brother who’d been injured in a horse riding accident?
- marcosdumay 2y ago
  People never change.
- eschulz 2y ago
  haha hadn't thought about that, although the Roman Roads could be considered to be a safe highways as opposed to the dangerous paths in Germania. If one of the main characters in The Fast and the Furious gets hurt in a street race, would not his teammates race to him as fast as they could?
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  It does seem a bit ironic (is that the right word?), but it's not like there were many other options for travel at that time.
moi2388 2y ago
Yes, for wealthy people who could swap out horses. If it was just a regular person like you or I with a horse, it wouldn’t increase your speed and even slow you down. Horses were used for pulling or carrying loads, they are only faster on short high speeds, not long distances

hammock 2y ago

With baggage, a typical human can only travel about 12-17 miles a day (half that of a horse)

wongarsu 2y ago
About 30km/18 miles per day is a common value used in Europe. On a single day you can easily do twice that if you don't carry too much and are used to walking long distances, but it would be difficult to sustain. Also the number allows for time to set up camp (and tear it down in the morning), prepare meals, etc.
- xandrius 2y ago
  Saying that 60km "can be easily done" is quite a stretch. After 30-40km, even on flat, most people wouldn't do it easily at all. And I walk about 10km daily in one session and often do 30+km hikes.
  - reaperducer 2y ago
    When I was in elementary school, we would do charity walks every year to raise money for the poor. They were 20 miles. It took us all day, but if a bunch of kids between fourth and eighth grades and their nun teachers can do it, I'm surprised how many adults on this web site think it's too far.
    - hammock 2y ago
      Did you do it with a suitcase of stuff for a week- or month-long stay in another city, and contingencies like extra water, food, stove etc if you get laid over in a remote area without facilties? Did you do it rain or shine, on paved roads or muddy rutted-out dirt roads?
    - xandrius 2y ago
      Was it nicely paved and mostly flat? And how did you feel at the end of it? Would you do it again the next day?

mikhailfranco 2y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon A man on a bike beats a horse over almost all distances, especially long distances. The only interesting competitive distance might be a flying 400m.

PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
It took 4 years after the addition of mountain bikes for a cyclist to beat the horse at the Llanwyrtd Wells event. Also, AFAIK, the Romans did not have bicycles. ps. I raced this event twice in the early 1980s when they had a mountain bike division, and still have scars on my right arm from one of them.

ssl232 2y ago

Related: https://orbis.stanford.edu/ https://orbis.stanford.edu/