# Pulling and driving (distance w/ weight)



## DumbWriter (Feb 4, 2011)

Hello everyone. 

You'll get to know me real fast. 


The scene in question:

One mule pulling a cart driven (riding) by two adults. One man one woman. In the back is a footlocker *full* of thin hardcover books (maybe 50 to 75 pounds) and a bunch of sturdy peasant type medieval furniture- say a table, some chairs, a bed frame, and a chest of drawers (empty). 

First, is this way too much for one mule to haul? (I'm starting to think it is) What about two mules? Would that be more realistic?

Now, with the description above how long would it take to travel a decent road at 20 miles and at 50 miles? A few hours? Days? Between that when should the mule or mules rest? Thank you! :twisted:


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## DumbWriter (Feb 4, 2011)

Doing a little research.... I came up with about 4 hours for a horse and full wagon to go 20 miles? Does that sound right? Thanks


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

that sounds right and the weight you,ve described i reckon one mule would fly with it


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

What is the weight of the carriage? Weight of people?


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## DumbWriter (Feb 4, 2011)

I was picturing something similar to this: Justin Carriage Works - Western Ranch Wagon
Is this called something other than a ranch wagon? I have a book on the old west when has drawings of a lot of carriages etc. 

This looks awfully low to the ground though. 

From a height weight chart would estimate the man to be about 180 pounds or so and the woman maybe 115 pounds. 

Thanks again. You guys rock


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

when i,m driving a long distance i spend a lot of time walking at the horses head or walking/driving especially on inclines,hills etc just to help him out and after a long pull uphill i will pull in somewhere for 5 minutes loosen his belly band and just let him get a bit of a rest


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

jimmy said:


> when i,m driving a long distance i spend a lot of time walking at the horses head or walking/driving especially on inclines,hills etc just to help him out and after a long pull uphill i will pull in somewhere for 5 minutes loosen his belly band and just let him get a bit of a rest


Jimmy, If I have a long hill I have to get out and push.:lol:


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## sharick (Feb 3, 2011)

I have a 762 lb. 13.3h horse. Went for an almost 22 mile ride, pulling about 375 lb. 4 wheel buggy, husband weighs just under 200, I weigh 121, took us just shy of 4 hours. Did not get out on inclines, used brakes on declines.
Think alot has to do with conditioning of horse/mule also - wether their riden/driven just every now and then or on a regular basis.


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

i enjoy the walking ,when i,m driving the weight the hoorse is pulling is between three quarters of atonne upwards to a tonne with sometimes a horse or two tied at the back,the journey is 97miles ,going i take my time (maybe a week ] but when the fairs over i do it retun in 3 days


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## jimmy (Aug 26, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> Jimmy, If I have a long hill I have to get out and push.:lol:


 you must be very strong lol


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## goodhors (Jan 25, 2011)

First as a writer, you need correct terms for the reader. A cart is ALWAYS 2-wheeled. So then picturing a 2-Wheel vehicle with the load you mention, has me wincing for the bad weight of shafts on pulling animal.

Wagons, buggies, carriages, are 4-wheel vehicles. These kinds of vehicles can carry more weight, bigger "payload" with less stress on the animal or animals. Animal is is just the propulsion system, not actually carrying any weight. Surface the 4-wheels roll across, can greatly influence the ease or difficulty in moving the loaded vehicle for the animal.

Photo shown from Justin Co. is an Express Wagon, Light Delivery Wagon type vehicle. Could be pulled by one or two animals. Some were taller wheeled than others, but lighter built, for easier pulling by the animal than farm wagons. His looks a bit heavy compared to antiques. Didn't carry as heavy a load in most cases, just doing deliveries. Often only had one medium size animal pulling, 15H, 1000 to 1200 pounds. Out west, Pairs are more common for driving, often smaller animals of 14H being common. But with added power of 2 and wagon or buggy could still be driven with a single if one of the Pair got injured. The single would be TIRED when he got in! Western folks would often cover great distances to reach town, 50 miles was not uncommon, so that Pair would last better with any size to the load.

With FIT animals, a 20 mile drive on a GOOD road like we see nowadays, should be easily done in 4 hours or so. Roads of the past years, unless summer, dry and hard, could be a nightmare, and 20 miles is then an all-day drive.

Fifty miles with a modern vehicle having good wheels, bearing in the hubs, again FIT animal/s, on modern roads is doable without damage to anyone. I would say to plan to stay overnight at the destination, before heading the 50 miles home again the next day. Modern Amish with good roads, bearing hubs under vehicles, often will do 40 to 60 miles in a long day, with their very FIT horses. They tend to use a lot of Standardbred horses, Saddlebreds, both bred to cover long road distances with their big stride and speed.

Not sure how big a mule you are talking about, how fast he covers the ground. Mules can be excellent to drive, but tend to be more of a one-speed trot, the best ground covering gait for driving. Horses above, usually have a couple trot speeds, so you can vary how fast you are going. Walking breaks let the animal rest a bit when going long distances. So for me, it would be walk a mile to warm up when leaving, then trot a couple miles, walk a mile, trot a couple miles, etc. 

I would stop about 30 minutes every couple hours for giving animal a drink, opportunity to urinate, stand still. Might give him a serving of hay at that time, with water before hay and after. We have done this on trail rides, wagon train outings. Works pretty well. Not letting him urinate can cause kidney problems. They quickly catch on what the stopping is for, will get over being shy about going if offered the chance. YOU are the driver, have to keep track of that. Stop more often to see if he will, maybe 30 minutes later, if he didn't go at the last rest area.

So with your mule, you may want to time him on a good road, see how long it takes him to cover a mile walking, mile trotting. Speeds will decrease as he tires on a long trip. It would be easier then, to figure his time for a longer journey and larger load. Most Wagon Trains are usually walking, and we figured 4 MPH, which is faster than most folks can walk. Using BIG striding horses for lead wagon, sometimes we even went faster, but all walking. Adding in trot time, you would be faster, arrive sooner, if animal is long-strided, overstepping the front hoof prints.

You need to know your animal, keep an eye on his fitness, see how he is managing in possible heat, uphill and down. We never got out of the vehicles, horses had bigger strides than we do, would lose them!

There are tables about how much loaded weight to the pulling animal is most productive. For competition, we usually figure no more than 60% of horse weight as his load. Of course that is a timed distance, with hard work along the way. Flat lands, good roads, you could probably edge the load percentage up a bit with no harm or damage to animal.

So his TOTAL load would be weight of vehicle, passengers, freight. Bulky items like furniture, but not heavy, doesn't count. Ground he will be covering will count, hills are harder than flat lands. He has to hold load going down, as well as pulling it all up the hill. Brakes are helpful on down hill, if your vehicle has them, to keep from pushing on him all the time.


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