What a horse is capable of

Question
Hello,

I am currently writing a fantasy novel in which my characters use horses.  Knowing absolutely nothing about horses I would like to know what they are capable of, i.e, how far they can ride at a gallop before tiring, how far a horse can reasonably travel in one day (obviously with a rider etc), how you would go about careing for a horse and it's tack if you were in the middle of nowhere for the evening and had no stable.

Anything you could tell me would be fantastic.  I want to ensure my novel is as realistic as possible (even within the realms of a fantasy story!)

Thanks in advance!

Tasha

Answer
Hello Tasha,
   You've asked a very involved question! I myself can't give you a complete answer, however, if you plan to write about horses it would be a good idea for you to spend some time in the library browsing all the horse books you can find.  One good source for understanding horses are the books written by Monty Roberts, and that's where you should start,  but there are many excellent sources of information.  I'm sorry I can't give you information "in a nutshell" - I've been around horses for over 50 years and I'm still learning about them.