I’m confused about the meaning of this word. Is it how much a horse can pull translated into how much the engine can pull? Also, what is the actual “metric”? Why do we still use this? It seems archaic.
Also, what type of horse was originally used to get the measurement?
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It was an arbitrary unit that was used by engine manufacturers to compare the energy output of their engines to horses. Many of the things the first engines were used for (mostly pumping water out of mines) would commonly be done by horses, as they were stronger than humans, and readily available back in the day. When engines became a thing, their manufacturers would compare the power output of the engine to horses, so that their customers understood how much power the engine provided.
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