Therefore, they would tie ropes to their horses and chuck them overboard. This way the horses could pull the ship into a windier area, then the horses would be shot because they could not pick them up again.
I said, "WOW!! That's amazing"! I had visions of old pirates yelling "GIDDY UP!!" and using really long whips. Then I tried rationalizing this practice. I know horses are good swimmers, but could they really pull a ship? No. No, they can't. I am definitely sure that never happened.
So, what is the real story? I asked a navy chief and his story was pretty similar to the definition from about.com which states: ships relying on wind power stalled; fearful of running out of food and water, sailors threw their horses and cattle overboard to save on provisions. (It's a puzzle why sailors would not have eaten the animals instead of throwing them overboard.) The Oxford English Dictionary claims the origin of the term "uncertain."
Except that the chief added that they ate the food and water that was meant for the livestock. I believe this is as close as we are going toget but I found it to be an interesting topic.
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