Q&A    Questions and Answers:

How do I figure mph on a horse?

Just like people, there's a great variance in the length of stride from one individual to another -- which determines how far the animal will travel in a given amount of time. Long-legged Willy is going to go farther in an hour at a walk than shorter Fanny can.

And, just like people, the only way to make that estimate is by timing their rate of travel over a measured distance at a walk, trot, canter, etc. For convenience in estimating distances, a square 40-acre field is 1/4 mile on a side; a standard city block is 1/10 mile. If you use a 1/10 mile distance, multiply the number of seconds taken by 10, then divide that by 60 to get MPH. On a 1/4 mile distance, multiply by 4 and divide by 60.

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