Horses that can carry weight

I guess we have to go back in time to the middle ages when horses had to carry a knight in armor. A man in the US today is easily 240 to 280 pounds and many exceed 300 pounds. Despite what people think draft horses are not suited to carry much weight on their back. Draft horses cannot gallop for any significant distance because they cannot carry their own weight well. There are 3 italian breeds that can gallop and carry weight well. These are the Murgese Horse (a direct descendant of the Neapolitan horse), the Tolfetano Horse brought to Italy by the Bulgarians and the Huns and the Sanfratellano horse,who was the mount of the Lombard knights (the greatest cavalry of the dark ages). The Murgese horse is so docile that stallion are routinely ridden. If a contest were held between a Murgese horse and a Thoroughbred over a distance of 19 miles, with each horse carrying a load of 250 Lbs upon their back, I am confident the Murgese will finish first in an easy canter, while the thoroughbred will be dead of an heart attack or lying in agony after its cannon bones fractured and exploded only a mile into the race. The ancestors of the Murgese fought at the Battle of Cerignola, the Battle of Pavia, The Battle of Ravenna and The Battle of Marignano, the Thoroughbred and even the Andalusian did not exist at that time. Claudio Corte wrote a book about war horses (il Cavallarizzo)in 1562, shortly after those great battles and he did not mention the Andalusian or the Arabian (they did not exist).I dare you to find any primary reference to the Arabian as a warhorse before the time of Napoleon. Napoleon is the first warrior in history who rode an Arabian.He “invented”the Arabian. In our modern world, where people are getting heavier, the horses who can carry these heavier people are the horse who carried medieval knights in armor. These horses were not arabian, thoroughbred, andalusian or quarter horses (a breed started in the 1940s). You now know what those horses were.

You may ask….why a contest over 19 miles? Since the time e of Genghis Khan it has been known that 19 miles (30 km) is the longest distance that an excellent horse can cover at a full gallop before needing to stop, or drop dead. 30 Km at a full gallop is the ultimate test of an horse’s endurance. I call it the “trial of Genghis Khan” or the “trial of Testori”. If you do not believe that such trials exist take a look for yourself (seeing is believing):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx9vZAlJ0T4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYVvpm65JLU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4tRQf9SOlI