Horse power (machine)

Horse power (machine)

A horse power (also rendered horse-power) is a now largely-obsolete machine for using draft horses to power other machinery. It is a type of animal engine somewhat more sophisticated than a horse mill. A common design for the horse power was a large treadmill on which one or more horses walked. The surface of the treadmill was made of wooden slats linked like a chain. Rotary motion from the treadmill was first passed to a planetary gear system, and then to a shaft or pulley that could be coupled to another machine.

Horse powers were used to power farm implements and industrial processes. Examples of machines that were powered with a horse power include the threshing machine, the corn sheller, pumps and machines for sawing wood. Horse powers were modular in that they could be attached to whichever implement they were needed for at the time, preventing these machines from needing to incorporate power sources into their design. They could also be used interchangeably with other forms of power, such as a hand crank, line shaft, stationary engine, or the PTO shaft or flat belt pulley from a tractor, which eventually replaced them.

The name of the horse power probably predates the name of the horsepower unit of measurement. (For reference the 1864 Webster's Dictionary defines Horse-power as “A machine operated by one or more horses; a horse engine.")

External links

* The Papers of John C. Calhoun mention horse power machines. [http://print.google.com/print?hl=en&id=E0mP0lFIMcYC&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=%22horse+power%22+machine&prev=http://print.google.com/print%3Flr%3D%26q%3D%2522horse%2Bpower%2522%2Bmachine%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN%26start%3D10&sig=2q8YJYxo0pxm1Qi4-XcjzA6YDEo]
*A photograph of a horse power in action. [http://cnc.virtuelle.ca/bonnyville/english/popup_photo/colonisation5.html]


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  • Horse power — Horse pow er 1. The power which a horse exerts. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mach.) A unit of power, used in stating the power required to drive machinery, and in estimating the capabilities of animals or steam engines and other prime movers for doing work …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Brake horse power — Horse power Horse pow er 1. The power which a horse exerts. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mach.) A unit of power, used in stating the power required to drive machinery, and in estimating the capabilities of animals or steam engines and other prime movers… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Indicated horse power — Horse power Horse pow er 1. The power which a horse exerts. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mach.) A unit of power, used in stating the power required to drive machinery, and in estimating the capabilities of animals or steam engines and other prime movers… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Nominal horse power — Horse power Horse pow er 1. The power which a horse exerts. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mach.) A unit of power, used in stating the power required to drive machinery, and in estimating the capabilities of animals or steam engines and other prime movers… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Power — Pow er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See {Possible}, {Potent}, and cf. {Posse comitatus}.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Power loom — Power Pow er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See {Possible}, {Potent}, and cf. {Posse comitatus}.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Power of a point — Power Pow er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See {Possible}, {Potent}, and cf. {Posse comitatus}.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Power of attorney — Power Pow er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See {Possible}, {Potent}, and cf. {Posse comitatus}.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Power press — Power Pow er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See {Possible}, {Potent}, and cf. {Posse comitatus}.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Horse mill — Donkey mill at La Alcogida Ecomuseum in Fuerteventura A horse mill is a mill that uses a horse as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for grinding grain… …   Wikipedia

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