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I've heard this before, and it seems reasonable enough (and also that a horse must be rested at least one day a week to recover from the march). Does it also hold true when the human is also carrying camping gear, food, extra clothes, etc? Or is the more realistic comparison human + pack animal vs human on horse?

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I don't know. I suspect they are proportionately as well as absolutely better at carrying large loads at slow speeds than we are; momentum is in our favour as we're on two legs.

But I do know there's a guy currently training to run the London Marathon with a refrigerator (OK a British one, but a refrigerator) on his back.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy7wq4y9w5jo

We have a really distorted view of what humans are capable of!

Loggers hired humans to haul 200-400lbs packs over rough ground that horses could not handle. Those humans were able to go all day with that much weight. If you have the proper way to carry it (on your head not your back!) humans use surprisingly little energy to move heavy loads. It is hard work though. Overall a horse can move more mass in a day if that is the goal, but humans are probably more economical just because humans eat so much less than a horse. (it wears on the body though)

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