200 miles in one day on one horse?

Angilion · 6 Feb 2018 at 06:26

Having just read the thread about persistance hunting and having watched a video that reminded me of this old story, I decided to make this thread.

There's a legend that "Swift Nick", a highwayman in the 17th century, robbed someone in Kent at 04:00 and created an alibi by riding to York, changing his clothes and washing so he didn't look travel-worn and then strolling into town to make a bet with the mayor on a game of bowls at 20:00. After being arrested for the robbery (he was recognised), he was acquitted on the basis that it couldn't have been him because he couldn't have been in Kent at 04:00 and York at 20:00.

That's ~200 miles in under 16 hours (allowing time to wash, change and stroll into town).

I'm almost sure that's not possible. Not with one horse. 13mph is a fairly slow running pace for a horse, but sustained for over 15 hours with a rider? I don't know much about horses, but as far as I can tell 40 miles a day is really good going for a top quality riding horse. Is 200 miles in a day possible, even assuming the world champion distance runner of horses? The legend says it was the same horse all the way, not a relay of horses, and that the horse was unharmed.

Rroff · 6 Feb 2018 at 06:37

I'm betting it was more than one horse - an experienced endurance rider with a horse in peak condition for endurance can manage about half that distance in about half that time and then the horse is pretty much done for the day.

(Not the first time I've seen this topic discussed but I can't find the link to it off the top of my head).

Bear · 6 Feb 2018 at 06:57

Meh, Mark Beaumont rode more than that in one day on a bicycle and the did the same again and again for 78 days to ride around the world in 79 days

Vonhelmet · 6 Feb 2018 at 07:05

Bear said:
Meh, Mark Beaumont rode more than that in one day on a bicycle and the did the same again and again for 78 days to ride around the world in 79 days

I don’t think bikes get tired in the same way as horses

Richie · 6 Feb 2018 at 07:06

Bear said:
Meh, Mark Beaumont rode more than that in one day on a bicycle and the did the same again and again for 78 days to ride around the world in 79 days

Man... My bike always runs out of puff well before that.. oh wait...

Avenged7Fold · 6 Feb 2018 at 08:37

Bear said:
Meh, Mark Beaumont rode more than that in one day on a bicycle and the did the same again and again for 78 days to ride around the world in 79 days

Meh, I've sat down on a plane and smashed that while eating nuts and drinking wine.

Bear · 6 Feb 2018 at 08:44

Vonhelmet said:
I don’t think bikes get tired in the same way as horses

People do though and that was the point

D.P. · 6 Feb 2018 at 08:53

Bear said:
People do though and that was the point

A bike provides a massive mechanical advantage. And the long distance are only on man made roads.

glenimp617 · 6 Feb 2018 at 10:19

I would imagine a horse can travel a far greater distance than someone on a bike

Vonhelmet · 6 Feb 2018 at 10:27

TheOracle said:
I would imagine a horse can travel a far greater distance than someone on a bike

Why?

Googling suggests a horse can cover 40-60 miles a day. That’s an utterly trivial distance for any halfway competent cyclist.

phonemonkey · 6 Feb 2018 at 10:31

TheOracle said:
I would imagine a horse can travel a far greater distance than someone on a bike

Undoubtably theyre faster, at least initislly, but I think the 'secret ingredient' for the success of Mark Beaumont and the like is mental. It's probably why we made such reasonable hunters back in the day despite not being especially strong or fast, we didn't give up. A mix of determination, resolve and motivation. You push yourself beyond your physical limits because you understand what's at stake and want the reward. You can't give that mental edge to a horse.

In the case of the highwayman, I think it would only be possible if he was able to change horses on the way. IIRC it was possible to change a tired horse for a fresh one at various staging posts, but how he managed to use them without being spotted I'm not sure. Perhaps he had accomplices acting as stage posts along the route or perhaps the news of his arrest never reached those who saw him at the staging posts, or at least didn't reach them quickly enough.

Avenged7Fold · 6 Feb 2018 at 10:42

I disagree, the success is down to a body that he has trained to take the punishment and mainly the efficiency of a bike. His mentality is astonishing but lets not ignore the efficiency of gears.

You chase an animal till exhaustion, it will go to the point of near death. You may not set up a scenario where you can get a horse to push on with all its might against a cyclists but you can most definitely push a horse to its physical limits and ride it to exhaustion and death.

FrenchTart · 6 Feb 2018 at 10:44

I've ridden more than that in one day on a bicycle too but I guess that technology wasn't around back then. Unsure, maybe with multiple horses if what Rroff says is true.

=XDC=FluphyBunny · 6 Feb 2018 at 14:17

I would imagine its has remained a 'legend' for good reason.

Doogles · 6 Feb 2018 at 14:26

I think it's totally possible but he'd have had to have at least 2-3 horses to do it, maybe he had teleportation!

adolf hamster · 6 Feb 2018 at 15:07

that's an average of 12.5mph, which isn't a full-scale gallop, although i'd imagine you'd still want to change horses though.

certainly possible if he changed horses, although changing horses would mean he'd potentially be noticed doing so thus giving evidence for his ability to have managed the trip, so he'd have needed to change horses that were stashed by his cronies.

its different to a bicycle, as a bike can free-wheel down hills whereas a horse can't and generally if you're on the flat the energy you need is minimal.

Django x2 · 6 Feb 2018 at 16:17

My partner is a seasoned (25 years plus) event rider. Her horses can manage 90 minutes full whack (mixture of gallop, canter, trot). Only at gallop are they faster than me on a mountainbike. They also cannot sustain that pace for as long as I can on a mountain bike. Then they completely rest until at least next day, if not longer so no, I can't envisage that it was the same horse for the entire 200 miles.

Vonhelmet · 6 Feb 2018 at 20:45

Moses said:
Couriers would swap horses, so that’ll be that.

Bikes turn humans into mega efficient travellers. Just walking we’re way down in the rank of most efficient animals, but a human on a bike is a different story. A man walking = .75 calories per gram per kilometre... a man on a bike = .15 calories per gram per kilometre.

On my phone at work so I’ll have to provide a poor link,

Www.bikeboom.info/efficiency

I read somewhere that cycling is the most efficient means of movement that any animal in nature can achieve.

adolf hamster · 6 Feb 2018 at 20:52

Vonhelmet said:
I read somewhere that cycling is the most efficient means of movement that any animal in nature can achieve.

not sure i'd count cycling as "natural", and if you're talking maximum distance travelled for minimum effort on the part of the animal then there are plenty of better candidates.

unless you're meaning the most efficient form of travel using exclusively it's own power (ie no external assistance) then you'd likely be right.

Vonhelmet · 6 Feb 2018 at 21:52

adolf hamster said:
not sure i'd count cycling as "natural", and if you're talking maximum distance travelled for minimum effort on the part of the animal then there are plenty of better candidates.

unless you're meaning the most efficient form of travel using exclusively it's own power (ie no external assistance) then you'd likely be right.

I struggled with how to word it, but the point is there is apparently no more efficient way of getting around. Walking, running, whatever... they are all harder work.

I also never said it was natural as such, so while it would be tempting to consider something like a car which is also not natural, it is most definitely not self powered.