Herding Horses Across Britain

Where in Britain are they travelling? The terrain varies greatly within a few miles.

5th century BCE or CE?

Horses in the wild can travel up to 50 miles or more a day on their own. Depends upon how much of a rush they're in, but between 10 to 30+ miles a day is reasonable.

Two men can handle the horse herd. Horses herd and travel that way naturally. Give them a couple of days to get settled and they need a minimum of guidance and will do it themselves. Horses are a lot easier to herd then cattle.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

You've probably already done this but have you taken a look at Google Earth?

I'm assuming you are coming in at South Wales and travelling north-east? What time of year? I'm asking because that will make a great difference to the grazing available.

Is the man who is being carried on a litter? And, is it being carried by men on foot, or being dragged by a horse (granted, I've only seen this in movies, so I don't know if this was practical in real life)

If men were walking, then that would affect how quickly they could go, but I'd be surprised if they only made 5 mi/day, unless the terrain was steep or otherwise difficult.

Are they going across country or using the Roman roads?

Five miles a day is much too low. JCD's comments are right on.

An injured man on a horse-litter wouldn't slow them much. Put the back end of the poles on the sides of a horse.

WriteMinded said:

Thanks for answering.

Yeah, I figured JDC knew what he was talking about. His comment just had that knowledgeable ring to it.

When you say put the back end of the poles on the sides of a horse, do you mean, men in front, horse in back? or two horses, one in front, one in back? Or none of the above? The guy's amputation is days old. I was trying not to jounce him around too much.

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Make it a horse litter with poles hanging from horses both front and rear. There'll be bouncing no matter how you move him.

WriteMinded said:

Hey, thanks. I didn't know that was ever done.

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They were not rarities.
rather good picture of one
http://www.lookandlearn.com/history...ter-of-the-Fourteenth-and-Fifteenth-Centuries

King Neptune said:

Make it a horse litter with poles hanging from horses both front and rear. There'll be bouncing no matter how you move him.

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Would that need the horses to walk off the same front foot?

mirandashell said:

Would that need the horses to walk off the same front foot?

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I don't know. I do think that the gait of the horses would cause more or less bouncing, but I don't know how it would work.

I was there when a canoe was done with two pack horses. You can't control which foot the back horse does first. He's going to walk off when he feels the pull of the freight/person between the two horses. This is what he's trained to do. Front horse is on a lead to the rider, who's on a third horse. Only thing watching where the feet are is the horses.

On the flip side, most horses are the same side dominate like humans and will start on the same foot. I'm not sure it makes any difference.

If you're carrying an injured person, the sling is sort of like a hammock, with spring and bounce control dealt with naturally by the slack between the two horses. Second horse requires the right personality and training, as there is no control on that horse. Even running a rope from the second horse's halter to the rider isn't going to give you much control.

You're limited to a walking pace.

Terrain is going to determine whether you use a hammock between two horses, or a travois. Flat terrain that isn't rocky and a travois is better. If the horses aren't trained for pack work, a travois is better. Realize that with a hammock, you've got to plan your turns very carefully. With the canoe, at one point we had to hand walk both horses to get through some trees.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

If it was me, I'd leave the injured guy behind and pick him up later, presuming he survived his injuries. Is there any particular reason to take him with them?

Buffysquirrel said:

Is there any particular reason to take him with them?

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No-one left behind?

JCD - very interesting. I know little about horses so it's good to learn this stuff should I ever need it.

mirandashell said:

No-one left behind?

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But they are going back that way, so he's not really left behind.

I think that you'd need to get the injured man onto one horse, if you want to make better time.
How bad is his condition? Did he lose the leg recently, or is it healing, and he could stand up to a little jostling? Is he conscious enough to sit upright?
Jclarkedawe and KingNeptune would know if this would work:
If he could sit upright, and the wound wouldn't start bleeding again,
could he ride pillion with another man? It was common for women to 'ride' pillion until fairly recently, sitting sideways behind a (male) rider, who was doing the actual horse-control. Depending on how high he lost the leg, sitting sideways would be easier that trying to use the nonexistent leg for balance, and if necessary, he could be tied to the rider in case he drifted out of consciousness.
It would make the group more mobile, but I don't know if this would be too hard on the injured man.

If I'm looking for speed with someone injured, I'd go with a travois over the person in a saddle, especially with this big a horse herd. However, very injured people have gone quite the distance in the saddle. You do what you have to do in order to survive. Or you die and solve the problem.

Advantages of a travois is you can strap the person securely to the travois, so that although the travois is moving, the person doesn't move that much. A horse can canter with a travois, as it provides no interference with the horse's action. However, a horse would tire faster with a travois from the drag. But with a horse herd this size, I can change horses every couple of hours and do it quickly. Maybe five minutes to swap out a horse.

But ultimately, if your choice is sucking it up and being on a horse, or dying, you can suck up a lot of pain and keep going. Travel technique in this situation depends a lot on the cultural approach of the people involved. American Indians used the travois with injured, while cowboys sat in the saddle. Different cultures.

All three techniques are used and were used. In the real world, for someone who has used all three techniques, it would be a judgment call depending upon the personalities of the horses involved, the distance to be traveled, the terrain to be covered, the speed to be traveled at, and a S*W*A*G (scientific wild ass guess) as to which one is the best to use.

I've seen a canoe transported between two pack horses and behind one horse in a modified travois. I've seen a kayak transported on one horse. I know people who do mountain rescues out West who used all three techniques for injured. In the end, it comes down to a S*W*A*G.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe