Although it may seem safe to assume that one horsepower is the output a horse is capable of creating at any one time, that is incorrect. In fact, the maximum output of a horse can be up to 15 horsepower,[2] and the maximum output of a human is a bit more than a single horsepower. For extreme athletes, this output can be even higher with Tour de France riders outputting around 1.2 horsepower for around 15 seconds, and just under 0.9 horsepower for a minute.[3] https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Horsepower
I must now once again question the nature of reality.
It’s just playing with fractions and linear extrapolation. Horsepower has a time denominator. If you measure how fast I can run (not fast) in .1 second intervals, then take the highest number and extrapolate that to miles per hour it will seem impressive.
the maximum output of a horse can be up to 15 horsepower,
That’s the problem. The unit was not developed on the maximum power a horse could put out. It was intended to be what a typical horse could continuously sustain throughout the work day.
Also why switching horses was a thing: a fully rested horse could run at a higher hp, then change horses and the new one could keep outputting thevhigher up whilecthe previous one rested.
Like switching rechargeable batteries, only the battery was the horse.
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