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Post by rmc on Nov 4, 2012 19:32:01 GMT
Posted by ess bee on January 28, 2009, from DCI (Discovery Channel International) Mythbusters forums:
Will a horse bolt when it sees 'the light at the end of the tunnel'? Anyone know if this is true?
There is a fact/myth that when some tunnels were built, back in the days of horse and cart, they needed to have bends in them. The 'reason' being that if the horse saw the 'light at the end of the tunnel' it would bolt?
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Post by silverdragon on Nov 24, 2012 10:24:24 GMT
Answer:- depends on the horse.
I have investigated much of the UK's Canal system, and done so in many forms of transport, including horse-drawn barge...
I can vouch for the fact that the horse drawing the barge we were on through a tunnel did not even flinch when it caught sight of the "Light from the end of the tunnel".....
The horses used to do such jobs were importantly hand picked for the job.
In History it is documented that horses were available at the beginning of such tunnels that would not "spook" easily, and horses could be swapped, with the owners horse walked over the top of the hill should this be the case...
SOME horses, perfectly fine for other work, would not even enter a dark tunnel.
Bends in the tunnel were rather a case of hitting more solid rock than was easily mined out rather than any other reason... and it was pretty hard to put artificial bends in shorter tunnels.
However, I can see how Road-Tunnels and Road horses may have been different.
Again, I suppose it depends on the horse...
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Post by c64 on Dec 5, 2012 17:54:29 GMT
Bends in the tunnel were rather a case of hitting more solid rock than was easily mined out rather than any other reason... and it was pretty hard to put artificial bends in shorter tunnels. The main reason was that they hadn't found out how to use GPS while underground and they weren't very skilled with laser theodolites. |
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