• Question: how far wold a horse run constantly before it died?

    Asked by philthe2nd to Carol, Ellie, John, Philip, Rebecca on 2 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: John Welford

      John Welford answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      Not something I’ve ever tried to find out. But a bit of searching finds some facts here:
      http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/info/farandfast.html

      I think the most appropriate one is this:
      “1892: Prussian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers raced from Berlin to Vienna. The winner rode 350 miles in 72 hours. The horse died, as did 25 others out of 199 who started.”

      I guess the horse might be stopping to rest/eat at some points during that though, so maybe the answer is a bit less?

      Modern endurance races seem to take part over 100 miles, but there are vet checkups and a few rest points on the way.

    • Photo: Rebecca Lacey

      Rebecca Lacey answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      Apparently a horse can only gallop at full speed for about 4-5 miles before its heart would fail.

      I guess the info that John has shown would refer to trotting

    • Photo: Carol White

      Carol White answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      If a horse gets enough “rest breaks” then it can go for a very very very very long time! But without breaks (which would be very cruel), Rebecca’s estimate sounds about right for galloping (the horse version of our sprint!). 72 hours solid at a steady pace inthe example John describes would be more like our “jog” but wthout any rest stops or food.

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