Quote Originally Posted by Liquor Box View Post
A silverback gorilla is not the same size as a human (it is the same height, but it's probably twice the weight). A chimp would be closer to an ape the same size. And chimps are not trained in strength - if they were they would not be an average chimp any more.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40405026

As for horses, as you point out, they work differently because the size rules come into play - so they are still realistic in terms of carrying capacity etc. I'm not sure that 16 in wrong in terms of the leverage they can actually apply with their limbs to an object. But if it is wrong, the better solution is to make horses stronger - not to say 'oh well, lets make other str differences disappear as well'.
Gorillas cap out at 500 pounds are well within the realm of 'medium sized.' And sure they're not trained, which means that a human adventurer is even more likely to beat them in a wrestling match.

IRL, I would not encourage you to try that.

Horses are so much stronger than humans that domesticating cows and horses and bringing their strength to bear revolutionized all of agriculture and warfare across the whole of the ancient world. A horse can casually kill a human by accident.

And this is all fine, actually, because DND is not a simulation engine. It's a game with mechanics that are designed to be fun. Adventurers on foot need to be able to fight colossal dragons, trolls, giants with pointy sticks. A bear should be something you can fight and beat pretty early on. A horse should usually be less dangerous than its rider, unlike IRL. And yes, this is all inherently absurd, but that's the fun. You can't accept that premise of someone punching a dragon the size of a castle to death, and then turn around and say "but as a woman she should be weaker on average because-"