I was out running yesterday and saw a horse being ridden up a fairly steep section of trail. The piece was bare rock and got me wondering how sure-footed these beasts are going upwards. It was only a short section, though, with the rest of the trail being quite gentle in gradient.
What really prompts the question is that I know the steep piece in question is tough to get up on a mountain bike. It’s doable but it’s usually 50:50 for me whether I make it. So I was comparing climbing on the bike v the horse. On the road (rather than the trail), a 20% gradient is hellish on a bike, but doable if you’re fit. Any steeper and it starts to get impossible. Can you trot up a 20% gradient on horseback?
I would suspect that a horse could get up any gradient that a mountain bike could do and probably more. Coming down is a different story. See The Man from Snowy River for some amazing scenes of horses riding down mountains.
According to Wikipedia, a 20% grade is only 12* slope. I’m not very good at estimating slope, distance, etc., but if this photo is truly a 45* angle, I have ridden horses up steeper hills. It is a bit vertigo-inducing to come back down.
The angle on the hill in that picture is definitely much less than 45°. In the image, the angle of the foreshortened fence next to the lawnmower looks closer to 30°. That angle, in turn, is dependent on the (lateral) camera angle, so in reality the hill is not even as steep as that. I’d guess it was more like 20° or 25°.
People have a very hard time estimating angles as they walk up or down a slope; anything more than a few degrees is “steep” compared to the normally flat surfaces we encounter.
Horses can probably go up any slope that a mountain bike can, and more. They have much better traction than a bike, and more strength in the pushing muscles.
And horses have an easier, safer time going uphill than downhill.
Generally, yes. Especially if they have experience in the area – horses that are pastured on land with steep hills hardly ever get hurt on the slopes.
But for horses that are barn pets, nearly always ridden in a clear riding ring, they may not have any experience with looking for appropriate footing.
But this requires the rider being smart enough to allow his horse to pick the appropriate route. Which often doesn’t happen – many horses are used to being directed by the rider, even by subtle clues as to what direction they should go. After all, by themselves the horse would probably not be dumb enough to go up the hill at all – they would just stay down at the low meadows and eat grass!
I have not thought of that movie in years. Loved it when I was a kid; my sister might still have a video tape of it. Definitely some awesome downhill horseback riding in there.
I know I’ve ridden up and down a few steep hills, though I’m not sure they are anything steeper than a mountain bike can do. I did once see a horse climb a staircase with wider than normal, but not super wide steps (outdoor - was led back down a rather gentle slope).
Does anyone know the grade of the inclineat Spruce Meadows? Horses go down that without too much trouble, though I’ve never seen one go up. Here’s another angle.
My ex-wife and I went on a group ride through a Costa Rican rainforest and had to cross a river. It was fine crossing over to the other side except that it took a while to find an area without any crocodiles. We also had a hard time finding a good place to cross coming back and the guide had to choose a place with a very steep bank on the other side. My then wife volunteered to try out the crossing before the rest of us. Her horse made it half way up the embankment, lost its footing a flipped over backwards into the river. I was worried about both her and the horse but they were just shaken up and not injured. She mounted again in the water and came back with the rest of us and we spent more time finding a better place to cross. Horses are careful with their footing by nature but they aren’t perfect and they can fall going up or down slopes.
NYC police horses have permanently welded barium studs to help with traction on pavement, snow and ice. Most people prefer the removable studs, unless the extreme traction is needed daily – for example, when I lived in Michigan, some people would apply barium in the winter months only, using screw in studs as needed in the competition season.
This photo shows a horse scaling a rocky incline in the Tevis Cup endurance race. As you can see horses rarely walk up a steep slope in the traditional sense. Like a human rock climber, they will use their hind quarters to provide most of the power, and often leap or lunge their way up. The most important thing the rider can do, is stay out of their way!
