September 3rd, 2025
3 Sept 2025 · page 1258 of 1306
Cast: Baron Bertrand Barber, Elaine Barber, Harriet Barber
Comments (25)
Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
Huh, gotta give some respect to Elaine for this. Also, still waiting for Chekhov’s Magpie to cash in.
Well, she did marry into the Barber family, so passive feats of badassery are not beyond her.
Rich again? You’ll gamble it all away in 3 months.
That’s if the Magpie hasn’t put all the loot into Sid’s pockets by the time Bertrand hits the toll road.
It is morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money.
Oh, sure, Bertrand, I can see how much you’re suffering. It must be sooo hard for you to frame your relatives for larceny and kidnap two guys who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Author comment: “So slow, Harriet, honestly.”
Hang on a minute, that’s Vee’s line in the last panel on this page!
At least the horses are happy!
Let’s see now, three petals a’flying. Oh yeah, the volcano is getting set to blow.
Yay mom!
soooooo slow
Well, she IS a Barber after all.
Please say Harriet gets her own horse and we arent about to pull the “two adults, 1 horse” trope… because no. Not at haste nor distance does that work.
That carriage looks pretty heavily loaded though. They have a chance!
Does the weight of the people doubled up on the horse matter? Also does the type of horse play into it?
I would think that most urban carriage horses would be chosen for their temperament (docile), endurance, and strength. While two draft horses might get up to speed pulling a carriage, I can't imagine that it would be too smart to push them to do that in an urban setting (so obstacles, potholes, etc), especially while you are sitting in the carriage that they are pulling and could crack a wheel or topple the carriage. A single horse is going to have more maneuverability in a crowd or around obstacles, and if this one is a thoroughbred, it might be more bred for speed. I wouldn't know about 2 person riding vs one person, especially without knowing how skilled either of them are at riding.
Speaking of which, how does a Baron know how to drive a carriage? Wouldn't they normally have a servant for that, even as a baron? I could see him knowing how to ride a horse, but driving a carriage seems like something that would be considered a menial task.
On a side note, it would be a hilarious end to the chase (and turning the trope on its head) if he did immediately break a wheel racing out of there or instantly get stuck in so much traffic that he couldn't take the carriage anywhere.
There is a lot of traffic around the Anchor right now (as we saw in the scene with Will clearing them a path to the station), so that’s a distinct possibility!
It does matter. Pulling a carriage puts weight on a horse differently than two people pushing down in a saddle designed for one. Historically, if there were two riders, a woman would be riding pillion to reduce the weight on the weakest part of a horses back, and it would only be for short distances. Obviously easier for two slight women than an average man with an average woman, but still not great for the horse at all. A horse should max carry 20% of their weight on their back, including all tack. So a large carriage horse COULD hold them both, but again, not at speed nor distance.
If that’s all, and considering that they’re in a stable that likely has some spare material for carriages trailing around, my keywords to take (most of) the weight of the second person off the horse would be “travois” and “mushing” …
There’s a much simpler answer: a horse that hasn’t been trained to carry two riders is just going to buck them right off. There’s a bunch of amusing wedding videos online showing people learning that the hard way. Horses do not like adult humans sitting right over their kidneys and tend to object violently when they do. It’s not necessarily a size thing either, some of the biggest and strongest horses I’ve known were very sensitive to saddle fit and putting a second person on their back would result in an instant ballistic dismount before the second rider even got seated.
Speaking of saddle fit it’s a tribute to Hollywood if a horse just happening to be standing there fully saddled and bridled right when the protagonist needs one doesn’t violate your suspension of disbelief. Hurriedly tacking a horse is a five to ten minute job and that’s only if you know which saddle and bridle fits the horse. But give the author a break a conveniently saddled horse is far from the most fantastic thing in this comic. At least horses trained to carry two people do exist, as opposed to say, magical portals in mythical cities.
yes, i honestly thought the fully-tacked up horse was what was going to get me in trouble here rather than anything else…!
I’ll play the devil’s advocate here and point out that we were wondering why the baron would serve as the coachman himself. The horse may have been for him (why allow yourself to be seen on the coach that might draw suspicion after the fact) and he switched roles only because after the ladies’ arrival, he couldn’t wait for the flunkie scheduled to drive the coach anymore.
This was my assumption and why I didnt batt an eye at this part. I thought the horse was originally for him and he was going to go in the opposite direction of the coach.
I realize I should have phrased my first question better. I was wondering if the combined weight of the two women was still less than what the weight the horse would normally carry, if that would make a difference? It sounds like the weight distribution and experience of the horse makes a difference. I didn't assume that the horse was a carriage horse, as I thought that we were in the hotel's stables, but I could be wrong about the location. As such, it amuses me to think that some poor very muscular chap was going to go on a joy ride with his significant other only to have his horse confiscated by very angry mom Elaine.
In a general sense, we are in a magic world so we can just hand wave it all a magic or a friendly spirit helping out. Maybe some heavy rich chap inscribed something into the saddle to reduce the weight of whatever sits upon it.
The difference between a carriage horse and a saddle horse is mostly how they’re trained, and many horses are trained to do both. That said, you do want to size the horse to the task. The bigger the load, the bigger the horse. Carriage horses do tend to be bigger, but that’s a trend, not a rule. The issue isn’t just the weight, it’s the weight distribution. A second rider puts too much weight too far back for most horses to tolerate.
How about if Elaine slings Harry in front like a sack of potatoes?
Have you watched Game of Thrones? Maisie Williams gets carried around like that for about half the show.
Harry’s face in the last panel had me cackling!!