Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I didn't exactly excel in physics back in the day, but I think the  
formula you want is the one for "work" -- W = Force * distance * cos  
Theta.   So:  given the same mass to carry, a horse moving uphill is  
doing more work than a horse on the level.

As to the effect of a rider - I would think that a poor rider is hard  
to carry because they are out of rhythm with the horse.  Hence, their  
mass is working against the horse and the direction of travel.   
Essentially, because their body is moving (i.e. bouncing) in  
opposition to the horse, there is an additional force component to  
consider.

Think of carrying a child on your back.  In once case, the kid is  
quiet, so all you have to worry about is the added mass.  In the  
other case, the kid is holding onto your shoulders, and jerking his  
whole body back on each step you take.  Besides making you want to  
strangle the kid, it is going to take you a lot more effort to  
rebalance yourself and to overcome the oppositional force generated.

(well -- even if it isn't correct, it **sounds** good, right?)

On Mar 3, 2008, at 11:31 AM, Truman Prevatt wrote:

> A rider will make a difference up to a point. Some rider/horse  
> combinations just don't work. I need a horse with a long trot. I  
> can't get a rhythm with a horse without a long trot. So a horse  
> with a long trot will not do less work with me than one without a  
> long trot.
>
> However, force = the mass X the acceleration of gravity.  The only  
> variable in that equation is the mass of the rider. A poor heavy  
> rider probably is harder to carry for the horse than a poor tiny  
> hinny, but the force - hence do work done - is directly  
> proportionally to the mass of the rider.
>
> Truman
>
> RHONDA LEVINSON wrote:
> > Just my "one horse" study, but I have a TWH gelding that I used to  
> > ride A LOT.  We rode all over everywhere, more than 50+ miles  
> > every week (he's the reason I started getting interested in doing  
> > endurance).  This guy could easily go 25 miles in gait with me  
> > with hardly a sweat.  I let a friend ride him one time.  She  
> > weighed almost exactly the same as I did and was using my saddle.   
> > But, she didn't ride all that well.  At the end of six miles, my  
> > gelding was sweaty and breathing hard.  He seemed to struggle with  
> > the hills.  For him, the rider made a huge difference.
> > Rhonda

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=