Training/Injuries: How's It Happen

I'd next like to break down the training process, and we're speaking of conventional trainers here, D.W. Lukas and progeny, and identify how injuries occur. Earlier in the blog I documented the injury rate with Lukas (horrific, but, in line with other conventional trainers.). Question is: how's it happen? And, perhaps I'll try to take a look at conventional training as it's developing with such as Plecher and Asmussen to see whether things may be changing. I believe they are, and we see this as we compare the percentage of Lukas horses still training compared to Plecher's.

How will I proceed with this? Dunno. Truthfully, it's been so long since I've considered the question in detail, I'll have to rethink the whole thing. In my own training I internalized injury causing factors so long ago, and avoidance of them, that it's now days more traveling on automatic pilot instead of considering this stuff.

For the blog readers, you can leaf back through last May and see the comparatively very hard training of Groovin' Wind, and take note--to date, zero injuries through the whole process. Nor, do I expect any, knock on wood. None of my horses have suffered the slightest injury since May through lot's of volume and speed work. I know what to avoid. Now I just have to remember what I'm avoiding.

Training:

The trainer shielding his eyes as he timidly checks this morning's Woodlands workouts on Equibase would be RR afraid to look at this mornings 4f breeze time under jockey Renee Torbit. Preface by noting this is the first time I've watched Groovin' Wind gallop (other than riderless) in a good long while. It was even more pitiful than I anticipated. Very little effort on the horse's part, zero racing stride, galloping by me at the 3/16 barely more than two minute clip.

Time to retire? I'd pull the plug in a minute but for one thing. This is other than the Wind we were training this summer. At the farm and at Eureka we were constantly ooohing and aahing re Wind's workouts. But, at the Woodlands, the horse appears lost. Something gone wrong here, and we have a challenge that has to be solved quickly. Oh--and it was :52.6, 7/8 this morning. In fairness, all the 4f workers were within a couple of seconds of each other except one. It was a slow track. The only thing to cause comfort, Wind is capable of much better, and we were doing :13s. Jock said Wind got into his breeze only at about the 3.5 pole. Excuses.

Possible problems:
1. Bleeding--he's been coughing some post workout.
2. Horse without a clue what he's doing at the track--answer, blinkers, company. We'll see.
3. Shoes. He might be going slow cause he's failing to get hold of the deep surface and thus is protecting himself. Might have to switch from level grips to regular grabs. We'll be watching this.
Next breeze Sunday or Monday. Art galloped slow riderless 2.5 miles last night. Scotched "fast" due to hard baked ground after the recent rain.