How much can a single horse pull?

Silver1

Silver1

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Aug 20, 2000
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The Stable/Saddle
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Today I was just bopping around with Mear, ground drove her in a closed bridle outside her paddock for the first time today, and I decided to give her some work to do at home so she wouldn't think she could just rush home to her hay. Well, it so happened that I had bunches of 50 pound bags of feed that needed taken to the shed, and the shed is at the top of a hill that, shall we say, is steep. I decided 'why not' and decided to ask her to haul it up.

She pulled a load I couldn't budge up the hill like it was nothing at all. O.o I am a strong person. I realize I'm not as strong as a horse but...she's making me look bad! Just how much can a determined 1200 pound horse pull?
 
They estimate, one and a hlaf times their own weight.

But with Shetlands it might be proportionately more.
 
Apparently with Shetlands it *can* be up to 4 times their weight but that is their ability to move something, not pull it for any distance - I think that comes from the pulling contests in the US where they just need to move a weight a certain (short) distance. Wally's statistic is the usual one for actually working with horses/ponies.

My Shetland pair (when hard fit) could pull 18st of driver & groom together (I was lighter in those days and my groom - dad - is still only 9st) plus 4 wheeler marathon vehicle for 25 miles mostly at trot (with a 1/2hr break in middle) happily and come back only warm.
 
newrider.com
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