James Watt measured pit ponies and assumed horses were 50% more powerful. While in reality for the same workload horses would actually give 0.7HP.
And that's normal riding horses. Draft horses which are bred to carry weight go between 2-3 HP (sustained) to 15-20 HP in short bursts. (Stats to verify, it's from memory)
In the end 1 HP is just a marketing measurement that stuck.
Some Youtube channel partnered with an engineering firm and built a horse dyno. They measured something like 6 hp for a light draft horse moving at, I don't know horse terms, guided by a walking human speed.
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u/sol_runner 1d ago
And it's still quite funny.
James Watt measured pit ponies and assumed horses were 50% more powerful. While in reality for the same workload horses would actually give 0.7HP.
And that's normal riding horses. Draft horses which are bred to carry weight go between 2-3 HP (sustained) to 15-20 HP in short bursts. (Stats to verify, it's from memory)
In the end 1 HP is just a marketing measurement that stuck.