Skip to main content
Worldbuilding

Return to Answer

added 19 characters in body
Source Link
fgysin
fgysin
  • 3.3k
  • 17
  • 27

Data from the ancient Roman army: Cavalry without foot had a marching speed of around 35 kilometers per day. This is only a little bit more than what marching foot would achieve  (ca. 25 km per day).

  • Keep in mind that long distance travel speed for horses is walk, not trot/canter. And the aim was that this speed could be carried on for indefinite durations, without horses or riders being worn down, or out of shape in case of sudden engagements.
  • Further the horses needed to carry a fair bit of heavy equipment i.e. the cavalry man plus his gear (easily another 40 kg).
  • Also, Roman troops generally fortified their camps each night, and cooked meals based on raw grain, which took time to grind and prepare. If this is skipped, there might be some more time for daily travel.

All in all, I'd take these 35 km to be the bottom lineminimum of what you could expect from a heavy packed, slow traveling cavalry group on decent roads. If your group is lighter packed, smaller, and doesn't mind wearing their horses down a bit (i.e. giving them a couple of weeks rest after reaching their destination) I think 60 km is per day is a realistic maximum.

P.S. If somebody is interested I can look up the exact sources for this (a book about the legions of Augustus).

Data from the ancient Roman army: Cavalry without foot had a marching speed of around 35 kilometers per day. This is only a little bit more than what marching foot would achieve(ca. 25 km per day).

  • Keep in mind that long distance travel speed for horses is walk, not trot/canter. And the aim was that this speed could be carried on for indefinite durations, without horses or riders being worn down, or out of shape in case of sudden engagements.
  • Further the horses needed to carry a fair bit of heavy equipment i.e. the cavalry man plus his gear (easily another 40 kg).
  • Also, Roman troops generally fortified their camps each night, and cooked meals based on raw grain, which took time to grind and prepare. If this is skipped, there might be some more time for daily travel.

All in all, I'd take these 35 km to be the bottom line of what you could expect from a heavy packed, slow traveling cavalry group. If your group is lighter packed, smaller, and doesn't mind wearing their horses down a bit (i.e. giving them a couple of weeks rest after reaching their destination) I think 60 km is per day is realistic.

Data from the ancient Roman army: Cavalry without foot had a marching speed of around 35 kilometers per day. This is only a little bit more than what marching foot would achieve  (ca. 25 km per day).

  • Keep in mind that long distance travel speed for horses is walk, not trot/canter. And the aim was that this speed could be carried on for indefinite durations, without horses or riders being worn down, or out of shape in case of sudden engagements.
  • Further the horses needed to carry a fair bit of heavy equipment i.e. the cavalry man plus his gear (easily another 40 kg).
  • Also, Roman troops generally fortified their camps each night, and cooked meals based on raw grain, which took time to grind and prepare. If this is skipped, there might be some more time for daily travel.

All in all, I'd take these 35 km to be the minimum of what you could expect from a heavy packed, slow traveling cavalry group on decent roads. If your group is lighter packed, smaller, and doesn't mind wearing their horses down a bit (i.e. giving them a couple of weeks rest after reaching their destination) I think 60 km per day is a realistic maximum.

P.S. If somebody is interested I can look up the exact sources for this (a book about the legions of Augustus).

Source Link
fgysin
fgysin
  • 3.3k
  • 17
  • 27

Data from the ancient Roman army: Cavalry without foot had a marching speed of around 35 kilometers per day. This is only a little bit more than what marching foot would achieve(ca. 25 km per day).

  • Keep in mind that long distance travel speed for horses is walk, not trot/canter. And the aim was that this speed could be carried on for indefinite durations, without horses or riders being worn down, or out of shape in case of sudden engagements.
  • Further the horses needed to carry a fair bit of heavy equipment i.e. the cavalry man plus his gear (easily another 40 kg).
  • Also, Roman troops generally fortified their camps each night, and cooked meals based on raw grain, which took time to grind and prepare. If this is skipped, there might be some more time for daily travel.

All in all, I'd take these 35 km to be the bottom line of what you could expect from a heavy packed, slow traveling cavalry group. If your group is lighter packed, smaller, and doesn't mind wearing their horses down a bit (i.e. giving them a couple of weeks rest after reaching their destination) I think 60 km is per day is realistic.