[MTV]

Two men agreed to participate in an unusual horserace. It was agreed that the man who horse crossed the finish line first would be the loser and the man whose horse crossed the finish line second would be the winner. Naturally, as the contestants approached the finish line, they made their horses go slower and slower until finally they came to a halt, got off their horses and sat down at the side of the road to discuss the situation. Just then a stranger came along who listened to their problem and suggested a course of action. The men immediately jumped on the horses and sped toward the finish line. What did the stranger suggest, consistent with the original arrangements, which made the men spring into action?

[MTV]

I read it a few more times... Got the answer. Pretty easy actually.. Just requires a bit of thinking...

[MrRoboto]

Did they switch horses?

[MTV]

[Kensta335]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Did they switch horses?

[ibeclueless]

good job

[radix]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Did they switch horses?

I guess I don't see what that solves. AFAICT, there are only a couple of possible scenarios:

1. The two men know which horse is fastest to begin with, in which case the man on the slower horse would never agree to the switch.

or

2. It is unknown which horse is fastest, in which case the switch would make no difference in the outcome except to switch who would have won.

so I guess I'm not understanding this riddle. What does switching horses accomplish?

[radix]

NM... "man whose horse", not "man". I see.

[Kroy]

what if the man crosses the finish line before the horse?

[alpha325i]

manhorsepig...half man, half horse, half pig