[ANON POST] One Horse, Two Riders

[orange_fell]

Setting: standard-ish fantasy setting, technologically equivalent to maybe the 13th century

Comments

[cattraine]

Instead of running the horse to death is a straight shoot for freedom, I suggest evasive action --traveling down a shallow stream, over rock if they can find it, doubling back, even hiding in a copse of thorn bushes (if no tracking dogs are involved)---and that they alternate cantering short distances with a fast walk. Then if they have no choice, they pull a Butch and Sundance move and hop off and send the animal cantering on to lead the pursuers away. Remember, men on horseback will also have a problem traveling through dense forest and underbrush, and that is possibly how they could shake them off the trail, especially if they have no clue where they leapt off the horse (or swung up in a tree). People seldom remember to look up when they are following a trail.

[cattraine]

The problem is that they’re in relatively treeless terrain and have pursuers pretty close on their tail. The plan is to go as fast and far as possible in a sprint, and then pull the Butch and Sundance move and do their best to hide in the rocky/mountainous landscape. In other circumstances I think what you’re suggesting would definitely be the best bet, but I’m afraid it won’t really work in this setting and situation.

[cattraine]

Then write that as matter of factly as possible and don't fret about the details.

[cattraine]

That's the plan, I just want to have a general sense of how far the horse can go.

[anonymous]

They aren’t really trying for distance, though - they’re going to have to abandon the horse anyway, and the goal is to put as much space between themselves and their pursuers as possible first.

[mindways]

I have read stories in which someone runs alongside a horse hanging onto its tack in some fashion to run faster + with more endurance than a human normally can. To whatever extent that's accurate / realistic (which I do not know), I'd imagine that it would work nearly as well for two people as for one - it's more weight, but better-balanced, and probably still within the horse's carrying capacity.

Depending how much speed such a technique gives, it might give them a better head start than the "blow out the horse by trying to canter with two armored men on its back", and would likely be less risky. (An overloaded cantering horse could injure themselves at any time, particularly if it missteps - that 10-15 minutes is not guaranteed.) Also, it'd mean they'd have a fit horse for diversionary tactics once they have to stop and go on foot.

[anonymous]

Hmm. I'll have to think about that, then. It's necessary for them to be on the horse at least at first, but maybe I'll have them dismount and try this as soon as possible. At any rate it sounds like setting off on foot at the earliest possible moment is the way to go.

[poniesandphotos]

The horse wouldn't be able to go very fast, or very long with two large men on it. Assuming the horse is fit and healthy it would need to walk frequently. Also- riding double is HARD. Trotting- the gait that is most comfortable/sustainable for a horse is almost impossible to sit double- the person in the back would bounce right off- there is a reason we sit where we do when we ride- it is a bit more stable close up by the withers. A canter would be a bit easier, but not sustainable for the horse A fit horse can quickly canter for maybe 10-15 minutes loaded like that at max, but would be fairly blown and would need to rest/walk for a while. Making the horse continue past that point would risk foundering the horse (the bones of the foot rotate through the walls of the hoof)- which it would never recover from/would make it so foot sore it would be unable to carry a rider short or long term

[poniesandphotos]

Assume a pretty fit horse, pretty good riders, mid afternoon and a relatively smooth (though probably somewhat muddy) dirt road. The countryside is relatively treeless (though broken and rocky), hence the need to put some distance between them and their pursuers - they plan on hiding, and climbing up into the mountains where horses will have a hard time following them, but they'd like to have a little bit of a time cushion first.

[laurose8]

Do they have to stay together?

[laurose8]

Theoretically they could split up, but only one of them knows the area well enough to navigate easily off-road, and there are other dangers involved that make it infinitely preferable for them to stick together and have at least a bit of safety in numbers.

(Also, the plot calls for them to be together at this point - they are two semi-strangers who have been thrown together in a bad situation, and this trek for the border is necessary to build the friendship.)

[herecirm]

Chainmail is seriously heavy - it's also not very comfortable to ride in, because it weighs you down in the saddle, negates any padding and puts a lot of pressure on your seat bones. I realise a sore behind is probably the least of your characters' worries if they're fleeing for their lives, but it might be something to think about. Riding double at the best of times is a little iffy as the second rider will be sitting over the horses delicate kidney area (without any padding from a saddle), and with chainmail added I think this would be uncomfortable for both horse and man. A horse would struggle with two full grown men if both are wearing mail.

If they don't care about the horse, they could run it until it literally can't run anymore and then abandon it and go on foot. How far are they from the border? Would it be feasible for them to split up? The horse could travel a lot quicker with one rider, who could perhaps draw their pursuers off the other man's trail.

[herecirm]

They’re about thirty miles from the border, but that’s thirty miles of steep, rocky mountains. Two or three days of hiking, essentially. They’re fully expecting to abandon the horse and go on foot at some point - I just want to know how far they can feasibly get first. Someone above said 10-15 minutes of cantering, which if my calculations are right (Google tells me a canter is 10-17 mph) is roughly three miles.

The guy who owns the horse has a soft spot for her, but he’s also a pretty pragmatic guy in a desperate situation, and is willing to push pretty hard short of actually killing her. As to splitting up - see above.

[nineveh_uk]

Thinking of the weight mentioned above, I wonder whether they would be better off abandoning their chainmail. If they are safe once over the border then they might be better off getting there without it than part of the way with it, because getting only part of the way is effectively the same as getting none of the way, except they are more tired when they're finally caught. So abandon the armour and weapons etc., and instantly the burden on the horse is less so they can ride it harder at that point, and when they come to the terrain that they and their pursuers will need to traverse on foot, they actually have an advantage over their pursuers.

[herecirm]

Without getting too deeply into the story, the mountains that they are going to have to traverse to reach the border are not the kind of place you want to be walking around without weapons. They are indeed going to ditch some of their armor when they set off on foot, but they don't really have the luxury of planning out their initial flight - it's basically a case of "Unexpected high-stress confrontation, Character A swings Character B up onto the horse with him, they hightail it out of town while the antagonists run off to saddle their own horses and pursue the heroes."

What you're suggesting would definitely be more ideal, but I'm afraid I've gone out of my way to make everything about this situation less than ideal for my protagonists. There's not really any planning or forethought involved.