Question: how did the horse latitudes get their name

title: Horse latitudes
text: A likely and documented explanation is that the term is derived from the `` dead horse '' ritual of seamen ( see Beating a dead horse ) . In this practice , the seaman paraded a straw - stuffed effigy of a horse around the deck before throwing it overboard . Seamen were paid partly in advance before a long voyage , and they frequently spent their pay all at once , resulting in a period of time without income . If they got advances from the ship 's paymaster , they would incur debt . This period was called the `` dead horse '' time , and it usually lasted a month or two . The seaman 's ceremony was to celebrate having worked off the `` dead horse '' debt . As west - bound shipping from Europe usually reached the subtropics at about the time the `` dead horse '' was worked off , the latitude became associated with the ceremony . 

Answer: answer: A likely and documented explanation is that the term is derived from the `` dead horse '' ritual of seamen.
 Seamen were paid partly in advance before a long voyage , and they frequently spent their pay all at once , resulting in a period of time without income, which was called "dead horse" time .
When west - bound shipping from Europe usually reached the subtropics at about the time the `` dead horse '' was worked off , the latitude became associated with the ceremony .
answer: A likely and documented explanation is that Horse latitudes is derived from the `` dead horse '' ritual of seamen ( see Beating a dead horse ).