Re: Did I read this right? 27 horsepower??

Posted by Andy Martin on August 23, 2006 at 05:41:41 from (64.219.39.195):

In Reply to: Re: Did I read this right? 27 horsepower?? posted by Ron in Nebr on August 22, 2006 at 22:23:36:

My dad, 83 now, thinks that 1 horsepower is the rate of work an average draft horse can be worked at ten hours per day, six days per week, and not lose weight. The "not lose weight" is the key. Although that is not the definition of horsepower, it is a real good "seat of the pants" analogy.

Back when horsepower was invented as a standard, the horses were being used to run pumps to drain mines. This is a steady load and apparently 550 ft-lb/min was about all the average horse could keep up FULL TIME. Any horse or man can put out much more energy over a short period of time than they can full time. Pulling a heavy sled included. If they are expected to pull the sled 30 miles every day (3 miles per hour) the size sled would go way down. Plowing requires some rest and the plow is out of the ground at the end of the furrow. So I would imagine a two-horse plow setup, if you are plowing 1,600 acres (ten quarters) would take several teams to keep up with a lowly H.

A horse on a treadmill or pulling a load in a circle can work pretty steady but they still need to rest periodically. A little one-horse engine, running at full load, never has to rest, so the total amount of work done is pretty impressive over long periods of time.

The "not lose weight" phrase from my dad indicates the horse is not over-exerting.

I have no doubt that if you keep an H at full load on a hammermill or elevator 26 horses could not keep up over a period of several months and maintain their body condition.

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