One horsepower is defined in the United States as equal to 746 watts, or (roughly) 550 foot-pounds of work per second, which translates as the amount of power needed to lift 550 pounds upwards one foot in one second. A typical horse, by comparison, can lift just shy of 400 pounds the same distance in the same time.Which is to say that an average horse has about 0.7 horsepower. Which seems dreadfully unfair, somehow.
