Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 28:36-29:16

Did a sixteen-horse transport also carry equipment and feed?

A follow-up distinguishes the horses themselves from the larger load that a medieval transport had to accommodate.

Horse TransportMedieval Naval HistoryNaval Logistics
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Question

Did the carrying capacity include barding, feed, and stable hands as well as the horses?

Short answer

That is the proposed explanation: the horses themselves leave a substantial allowance for equipment and support.

Notes

Sixteen horses do not by themselves explain the cited seventy-ton capacity. A viewer suggests that barding, feed, and stable hands account for part of the difference. The response agrees that considerable additional material must be involved, using a heavy Shire horse of about 1.1 tons as a comparison. This is an interpretation of the capacity figure, rather than a detailed loading plan.