Injury Prevention 1987-1994

I bought Jeckimba Bay in '87 with my eyes open forwarned by a horse owing friend named Mary Moore of the money and effort. From my observation at Ak Sar Ben I'd determined that those Nebraska trainers could be out trained, which proved a two edged sword. First you'd have to do it yourself. Unable to out train them by employing them. Second, exceeding Mary's warning, from first moment of purchase the life changed. I equate it to arrival of a new baby.

Despite sufficient saved cash, a life time experience in athletics and an intuitive knowledge of what success in sport requires, I underestimated the expense and effort of getting a horse to the race track. From the moment we hit Altoona in 1989 there were three weekly 410 mile round trips to Des Moines, and the minute you passed the stable gate everybody and his brother had their hand in your wallet. Twenty dollar bills were passed out like sticks of gum.

But, there we were, with RR employed and trained rider, groom and our brand new QH trainer, Griz Trittle sworn on his beard and winstrol he'd leave his grubby paws off my horses. We commenced thrice daily Ivers breezes with JB highlighted by the day the substitute spanish speaking jock did understand "yes" three times in one day, "yes" 1:20, 1:16 and 1:13, but some how missed the part about the 5 minute rests between. He did the first breeze and the second without stopping and was heading to the third when the outrider finally caught him.

Can this sort of thing be done without injuring the horse? I refer the reader to the Ivers tape "Interval Training the Thoroughbred"where the horse got all the way through training and later injured by questionable riding. I can relate. As for us, yes, it can be done. The memory stretches, but, here is some of it:

1. Decent riding observing all the rules: leads, warm up, abort at first hint of trouble, avoid stupid stuff, etc.
2. Gradual adjustment to new surface and new riders.
3. Paying close attention: Every work planned, supervised, recorded, analyzed. I had a mole (employee) in the shed row to keep Griz Trittle away and do the actual work.
4. Gradual progression: I never moved a second faster or inch farther unless positive the horse could do it. Numerous times we had to tred water or back off, a little heat there, slight swelling here or, oh-oh, was that a bad step? Increases in intensity progressed at snail's pace.
5. Persistence: "I want a tally daily to be taken how much the trench in hand is gaining room" (Faust). The horses trained in everything. The days of ten below in the late '80s. We were out there.
6. Athletic first aid and icing: early on I concluded we'd be unable train this way without icing after to prevent fluid build up around micro tears of tissue. Icing was in tubs to above the knees for 20 min post fast workouts. A constant necessary pain. Additionally, every physical problem that popped up received immediate appropriate attention.
7. Advanced nutrition and husbandry: including daily turns outs even when at the track.

If you've got the stomach for it, the wallet, and the time, there it is. It can be done was the lesson of those years. Of course, you go back to K. McGlaughlin's comment: why breeze 7F when you can get away with 4 and so on. I soon modified this protocol, per my posts on Ivers.

Today's Training:
2/16/07: 3 degrees this morn. Then a driving snow storm and 30 mph winds. Rest.
2/17/07 Got in decent riderless paddock work in the snow. The weather still cold. Spring arrives tomorrow.
2/18/07: Shedding our jackets today, we have 45 degrees and a mess for ground conditions. I've yet to see horses completely refuse gallop in the paddock. But, they did at first. As it on one brave fellow commenced to splash through the puddles over still frozen ground, and soon they were all into it. 10-12 min of riderless slow galloping with rests between. Walked under tack. Art went were he pleased and I'll skip the gory detail. We got it in.