No No Bad Kitty

I'm out of horse racing loop for several days, and being back now, and first thing I read is E. J. Perrodin injury. Does this fellow's face say it all for riding thoroughbred race horses? Maybe I'm a little nervous getting on one named No No Bad Kitty. The horse falling on top of you, every rider's worst night mare.

Training since Monday--Tues and Thurs. off for both horses. Wed. Art did a very snappy 15 min off and on riderless + 9f trot under tack. Y continue his mild riderless gallop, and we're lunging both ways in full gear. Whoa big fellow!

Work

The office has got me distracted till the big thing on Thursday. Very little left in this tiny brain for the blog. We've been training:
Art: mile a day trotting under tack. Hopefully we'll be galloping within a couple of weeks. Riderless work about 10 min/day. Today 3 x 2f at 90% speed. I'd like to say he looked good doing the speed but, Art has gotten a little pudgy during our riderless to tack transition. We've got some work to do.
Y: We continue to do gentle riderless work now up to about 6 x 2f with an occasional acceleration of a few strides to work on fast twitch. Tack work has gotten to stage of lunging both ways without problems. We're ready for the long reigns to go with the surcingle and bridle.

Training And Injuries: The Intro

The aim being to support the (hypothesis, theory) fact that conventional trainers and training injures horses, the first step is to dissect the training process and discover the precise manner in which we might cause an injury, depending on how we train.

There's as many ways to train horses as there are trainers. No one does it exactly alike, but, everyone deals with the same basic set of parameters. Teaching, instructing, educating, preparing horses for races involves practice exercise or gallops which can be carried out in various venues, usually the race track but could be the training track or farm or the ever popular "walker" or similar variations.

Once we settle on the venue we deal with the plaguey questions: how fast, how far and how often. Seems simple enough until we take note of the large number of variables that work over the course of the racing prep. What we may thus do with a particular horse in a particular moment involves (or should involve) a rather sophisticated thought process that would take note of all of the variables working that day.

That's training race horses in the abstract. The blog reader will take note of an important word I have introduced in this post. There will be a lot more about the word "variable" or "training variables" as I go on, and also, due to the fragility of the horse, the need to control all the variables in the training process.

Today's training: Last report was Tuesday when we trained at 75 degrees, and then Wednesday I arrived at the farm with this dusting of snow
on the neighbor's house and 30 degree temps and wind chills in the teens. Nob was AWOL in this weather. It was really cold! But, we were lucky in that the paddock surface was yet unfrozen and so Wednesday we accomplished very spirited (in the weather) riderless gallop with all the horses. The yearling was removed after appropriate exercise for him, and Art with the Oldsters did several more very snappy 2-4f gallops, probably about 6 times altogether. Was on the verge of doing too much. Nice conditioning work. Off Thursday in the very cold.

The General Scheme...Of This Blog

Organizing this blog and staying on point has been difficult, but...

I did start the blog with some things in mind, and still want to finish what I started whatever distractions may catch my eye along the way. It'll be a while before the next serious RR race prep, or next year's TC, or purchase of our 2008 yearling, or the latest RR book review and so on, and so, like last year at this time, I hope to make up some ground with the aim to finally get to how we can produce that KY DERBY PROSPECT.

A brief synopsis of the RR thought process on the blog:

How do we compete with the Sheiks and their wealthy peers to get to the Derby?

Preston Burch training--anybody doing it (besides us?)

Why Burch?

Burch or the like is the only training method that will allow us to compete with money.

Why? Conventional training injures horses and is strictly non-competitive for US in that our horses are unable to train identically to the expensive horses and beat them. We have to figure out a better way.

What is conventional training, and what are the methods of the conventional trainers?

What are the records of the conventional training with regards injury prevention.

Exactly how does conventional training injure horses.

I'm currently on this last subject already having covered injury causing factors in track surfaces, shoeing, warm ups. I'm about to launch a series of posts that will precisely identify how the conventional trainers go about producing their frightfully quick and nearly 100% career ending injury rate.

When I finish them, I will have made my case against conventional training, and then it'll be on to what we intend, which is the fun stuff--the training of Burch, Tommy Smith, Bill O'Gorman, and Whittingham and hopefully how we may even improve on those great trainers using all the tools today that we have at our disposal.

Training:
Art: 36 degrees at 1 p.m. and raining. 75 degrees yesterday. It'll be fun out there. Shades of last year, EXCEPT, lovely forecast for November coming in a few days.
Y: same deal--day 2 of the breaking process.

Back In Mode

In lieu of my horse photo which turned out blurry, a tree on the farm. The leaves have finally turned about 30 days later than usual, as we've been spoiled by unseasonably warm, and superb, training weather. All about to change if we believe the forecasts.

I'd prefer a gradual drop instead of the 30 degree drop predicted. The vanguard of the front was blowing in tonight as our thin one was taking Art out to the pasture for his tack work.

RR seems back in full horse mode after a brief vacation. The blog will be back to "training" tomorrow. Today and yesterday's below:
Art: 10 min riderless gallop both days about 2-3f at a time with the other 3. This is being attuned to the fitness level of the yearling + 5 and 10 min tack work last two days. Alone in the pasture under tack tonight for the first time. Art is about as good tempered and pliable animal as I've had though we're knocking on wood as to when the first deer comes popping out of the bush.
Y: same gentle riderless stuff as Art + beginnings of ground work with surcingle and long reins.

Weekend Trip

This is as close as I got to a horse this weekend. PK Changs in Chesterfield (St. Louis), Mo.
Eighty years young.
My (much younger) sister.
Driving Route 63 into Westphalia, Mo., just south of Jefferson City.
Horses off Saturday and Sunday. RR off to train after an easy week for the horses. Colder weather blowing in.

Friday Training

Both horses walk-trot-galloped riderless for 10 min. in near dark as RR prepares for a weekend family event in St. Louis to celebrate the birthday of the 80 yr. old mother. Since St. Louis and the free (and available) off season stalls at Fairmount Park is what we're shooting for a year from now this will be a bit of a scouting trip also. A couple of days away from the computer. We'll get back Monday.

Still Lost In Computer World

The RR brain is still on the computer thing, the button yet to be pushed. Interesting stuff on the science weblogs yesterday about new studies on "swarm" theory in lower animals (ants, crickets). We see this stuff with horses daily. They swarm and form a collective intelligence that moves independently of the individual animals. The primary decision maker? Whoever moves first. How many times have we seen that with our equuses pathologically moving in concert as they avoid the latest bogeyman?

Well, it seems that swarm theory may also explain human intelligence, and hence decision making. How do we make decipher everything that comes in through our senses--what catches our attention? Experiments show that "leader" brain cells react to what catches their attention first, and the remaining cells throught their impulses then swarm to the object of their attention, a trait we've apparently inherited from our simpler brothers and sisters.

And so, now you understand why RR unable to get back to racing till this computer things is resolves. Do we push the button on the pictured (above left) top of the line Asus Maximux X38 motherboard or do we go for the much more affordable P35d from Abit? We're still debating?

Meanwhile, back at the farm, first training session after two day layoff this morning--about 15 minutes of riderless walk-trot with a couple of designated gallop bursts for both youngsters. Both showing the occasional limp. I'm sure it's the hard ground stinging them. Hopefully that's it. You'd have to shoe one of these youngsters to see how thin those soles are compared to adults. Just have yet to have time to grow thick.

Injury To Art, Or Is It?

Busy week and quick update on our training. The weather has been great, just the opposite of a year ago, but, during Monday's training we come to a screeching halt with Art as during the riderless trot warm up the horse shows an occasional slight hitch in his gait. Initially hard to tell whether he was avoiding another nearby horse, or whether it's an injury. But, then, definitely injury.

I was fearing a bucked shin carryover from the mile riderless breeze 10 days ago that was probably too much. But, in the end, I'm unable to find anything, and thus am suspecting the horse (again) has sore foot or feet. The ground has been very hard.

Decision made to give a couple of days off. Art's hopefully slight injury gives everybody two days off. Will be back to serious blogging soon!

Newegg.Com

I've yet to push the button for the new computer hardware at Newegg, but with that $5500 I saved on the yearling the trigger finger is getting itchy. What justification is there for this, after all, just because I generally can issue a few curse words while waiting for my Internet Explorer to load? There is still this stack of bills on my desk! Hmmm..... IRS...!

Let me put it this way. I drive a pickup truck instead of a Cadillac, my horses run $2,500 claimers, and my bank account is usually on empty. BUT, the one thing that I can afford that would look good even in Sheik Mohammed's living room would be a computer assembled with all the latest high end components.

And, folks, after much research at Anandtech, Extreme Tech, X-bit Labs and SilentPCReview.com, yes it's true that $776.00 plus ship will get a near optimized non-overclocked machine that performs at or near the top on all the benchmarks. Sheik M. eat your heart out. Here it is:

Processor E6850 Intel Core Duo
Asus Maximus Motherboard x38 chipset
Corsair DDR2 800 (6400) Ram at latency 3
Hard Drives: My present WD 150 GB Raptors 10000 rpm in Raid 0
Scythe Ninja Mini Heat sink--fanless
Video Card: My present XFS 6600GT

I'll get back to horses when (and if--the matter is still somewhat in doubt) it's built.

Training:
Art: Friday through Sunday has been walk-trotting in the pasture about 10 minutes. Nob says he's still protesting, and so we're careful. Horse has been trotting all of a week so you may imagine he's a little testy at this point. We'll make fast progress this week. He's also been galloping riderless a mile a day with short bursts of speed.

Y: short daily riderless gallops. The ground equipment for tack work has arrived, but, I've yet to put it together. One more shoe to go, and thankfully that bit of torture will be completed for 3 more weeks.

Sunday Morning:

Post 365

365 posts and RR draws a blank on today's post. Generally I have 10 things I might write a book about, but today, on Post #365, the horse part of the brain is "gone fishing".

This in part results from my efforts over the last several days to upgrade the old dinosaur of a computer pictured above left that I built two years ago. It was a "price is no object" effort to get everything to pop instantaneously, and so I bought all the parts from New Egg, read up on the tech forums, and as everything arrived, truthfully, if you know how to turn a screw and read the English language you can "assemble" a computer.

This Athlon X2 4800 with WD Raptor 10,000 rpm hard drives in Raid 0, Corsair XMS DDR1 memory and Asus 32 motherboard was top of the line stuff in early 2006, and though the old system is getting a bit creaky (notice the dust), it's still plenty fast.

But, a few days ago the computer bug hit me again as I noticed I could paste in an Intel E6850 Core Duo processor and some new DDR2-800 Corsair memory and new Asus Maximus X38 motherboard (see New Egg) for about $700.00 and get 35% yet more speed.

So, the last few days instead of scanning the Blood Horse, RR has been busy at Extreme Tech and Tom's Hardware catching up on all the latest. Takes a bit of concentration, and gives the cerebral cortex a bit of a needed break from racing. Planning to be back in good horse racing fettle by tomorrow though, and will catch up on the latest.

Training:
Art: Wednesday off after three consecutive days of trotting under tack. Thursday: second day under tack in the pasture. It was almost dark with deer jumping out of the bushes. Call it walk-trot. The horse was a little spooky in the new digs.

Y: Both rear shoes now on. What fun to shoe a fidgety yearling. You do it one nail at a time, folks. Y now with in full podiatry gallops about 3 x 2f with the big boys and some trot. We're being careful with these very open knees.

Archie

RR watching snippets of Day 4 Keeneland. An ARCH brings a $325,000 bid from Seth Hancock(typical of what occurs--read on), and here's Hip 620 by "Zamnidar" but in foal to ARCH that gets $350,000 from Vin Cox Bloodstock from New South Wales. I'd say "nice work Claiborne" where ARCH stands. Might there have been a relation between Seth Hancock's bid and the fact that he stands the stallion? Nevertheless, please excuse while RR takes a short break for more self congratulatory back patting as our new, presumably slipping through the crack, $3,500 yearling proudly carries ARCH who stands at Seth Hancock's Claiborne Farm for $25,000 as his broodmare sire on the catalogue page. Nice looking stallion though. Watching this sale you could run a mule through there today and get twenty grand. What do you do with a $250,000 mare? Sell her at Keeneland?

Training:

Art: We're in the transition with Art from riderless to tack work. We'll lose a bit of conditioning, but, got to be done. 11/6 Art trotted 1.5 miles in the paddock and was for the first time taken in to the pasture under tack. Such an agreeable fellow he's been from day one, and this continues. Through a nice and dry November these first stages of training are so much easier physically and psychologically. Nob is enjoying the whole deal at the moment even as we're keeping an eye out for the first blizzard.

Y: The yearling shoes arrived from Breeder's Supply in Lexington. To my disgust the shoes "Tony" described over the phone as the "exact ones they use at the Keeneland sale" turn out to be steel plates. Sorry Tony, I'm noting my own yearlings through the sales have always worn some sort of very thin aluminum shoe which stay on better on these small hoofs than thick queen's plates.

So, we improvise. $40 of too heavy to stay on steel plates in the garbage, and we beveled down the toe grab level with the webbing on a #5 level grip, adapted it to #4 size and applied to right hind with nary a protest from Y. Nice job of raising this youngster Eagle Valley Farm (home of Shore Breeze)! Definitely has had his feet handled! Took too long as the dark caught up with us, so skipped the groundwork, but he galloped riderless around the paddock a few times in his new shoe.

Training Camp

What's it look like from back of a horse? Even at the standstill I was unable to get Art to quit fidgeting, but, if you specifically look down, you get some idea. I'll figure out how to post the camcorder clips one of these days.

We are training two youngsters, and so I thought I might in the future organize the posts, so that they look like this per last night's training:

Art (age 2): 1.5 miles trot under tack. Last Friday's riderless breeze at 2 x 1 mile at 90% speed was a tough one. There was some slight heat in the shin of the left front afterward, and so we're backing off just a bit this week. I call this time of year "training camp" instead of the off season. Starting last June it took me 5 months to get to 12 year old Groovin's Wind's final pre-race breezes. Five months from now puts us into April 2008 with this youngster just now beginning serious tack work.

And so, with Art, we're best about our business. If there's one thing I've learned of late with my young horses it is that time flies, and each day has a place if you want to get them to the races. The weather around here has been great compared to last year's weather disaster, and, if the weather holds, hopefully we'll be going in a straight line to the starting gate of a 4f race at Eureka on the first Saturday in May. It's other than the Derby for Art, but, at this point we'd take it.

Y: The new yearling will be designated Y till we figure out a name. Yesterday was Y's 9th day at the farm. The new yearling plates have yet to arrive, so Y is still without shoes on the hinds, and getting a bit long in the toe overall. I've thus avoided anymore speed work (he ran fast on his own two straight days when he got here). Based on last week's work the youngster now lunges to the right, wears the saddle and accepted the bridle at first asking. He warms up at the trot with the oldsters nightly and this would include about 4f of slow galloping changing directions in the middle. Mild stuff to date both due to lack of rear shoes and this fellow's knees are going to require a couple more months before I'm comfortable with serious work.

Walk To Trot

Art would have been trotting and galloping months ago had we gone on with him. As the horse failed to grow there were questions of physical maturity vis a vis rider size and also whether we'd persevere with the very small horse.

But, Art grew and he's trotting now for the third day. With the sporadic breaking Art was resisting the trot, and so after the Woodland's ended I told Nob I wanted a trot asap, and when it failed to happen after three tack sessions in a row where the horse was still fretting at everything unusual after the two month tack layoff we resorted to THE BOOK featured last post. Helps to review occasionally how it's really done.

Here is what the book said referencing the transition walk to trot:
1. The horse should be be walking forwards actively and attentively before the rider asks for the trot (instead of slopping along as Nob had been.).
2. The rider keeps contact with the horse's mouth without actually restricting him. (Ok!).
3. The rider's legs are in contact with the horse's sides but not being used actively. (We were kind of doing that.)
4. Here's a big one we tend to overlook: By keeping BOTH the legs and hands in contact with the horse in this way you will be keeping open your lines of communication to the horse.
5. To ask for more the rider squeezes both legs actively against the horse's sides and softens the hands forwards to that the horse feels free to increase the pace and go forwards into the trot.

Nob tried all this by the book the next day voila the horse was trotting. Nob said key was the sudden leg squeeze--Art spurted forward and combined with the softening forwards of the hands and a touch of the whip they were off.

The last three days the horse is all over the place at the trot, but, I'll expect to see better form tonight.

Training:
11/2/07 Friday: Riderless w/u + 2 x 1 mile 90% speed. 10 min walk-trot under tack. tough w/o.
11/3/07 Sat. Rest.
11/4/07 Sun.: Riderless w/u + 1 x 1.5 miles slow gallop + one mile trot under tack.

Riding The Youngsters

Nob began riding my horses in 1999, and since I taught Nob everything he knows, I'm able to relate that every horse we've dealt with has posed some sort of challenge. This one runs away, that one refuses lead changes, the other one over there frets to the point of danger, and so on.

How nice would it be if right off the bat we could train and mold our race horses into perfect push button mounts?

With my new youngsters there are several books I refer to. Preston Burch of course. Bill O'Gorman's book provides a comprehensive step by step guide in the breaking process. O'Gorman starts with extensive groundwork and comments on this groundwork:

"This breaking regime will not be regarded as fashionable nowadays...the method described may seem, particularly in its emphasis on minor detail, to be both old fashion and boring to read. It is offered as a basis for safely breaking the vast majority of yearlings under the prevailing conditions. It has produced the most prolific winning two year old in Britain on six occasions."

"The most prolific winning two year old in Britain" six times will get your attention, and so, I'm considering O'Gorman's method of breaking yearlings.

I also refer frequently to the book pictured "The Complete Handbook of Horses and Horse Riding"aimed at the show horse-jumper crowd, but of interest as the best riding manual out there. There's neat stuff like this:
on every page as the book breaks down in text and photos beginning riding to advanced dressage techniques step by step. The titles and chapter headings alone indicate the comprehensiveness:

Forwards to Trot
On into Canter
Full Speed Ahead-The Gallop
Influencing the Horse
The Rider's Goal-To Lighten the Forehand
Control and Motion-Introducing Lateral Work
Maintaining Rhythm
Bend and Flexion
Working Within Each Pace
The Half Halt
Developing Lateral Work
Variations Within Each Pace
Achieving Collection and Extension
The Counter Canter
Flying Lead Changes

Now, if only our race horses...sigh! Let's say there's some value in this stuff in racing, but, we also take note of Bill O'Gorman who writes:

"The Old Man, as we addressed my father in his absence, always said that he made a mistake with the first yearlings he broke in forgetting that they were to be ridden by stable lads and trying to make them into show hacks."

Interesting! I'll post a bit more on this, and explain precisely how we moved Art, the two year old, on into trotting based on the above.

Training:
11/2 Fri: Art: riderless: w/u + 2 x 1 miles at 90% speed. I'm unable to say Art looked good in this tough w/o, but that he accomplished it easily is a big step forward. 10 min. walk-trot under tack. The yearling went through the w/u with the oldsters and was removed. He's been saddled! 11/3/07 Saturday, they rested.

Off Season Training

November and December arrives with central standard time, cold weather, the old year closing out, and the first baby steps to a possible May 1 Amart start at 4f maiden at Eureka to kick off the 2008 campaign. Those would be the "exalted plans" as last evening we take the first baby steps with Nob finally getting a sustained trot with Amart. The interesting riding technique that achieved this small success will be posted tomorrow.

It's a nice time of year. Pressure of race training with schedules to meet, jocks to find, and the constant concern over break down and injury has lifted, and we're into the relative pleasure of watching rapid daily progress while the weather holds. Personally I do have the sadness of watching the old generation with all the effort and years of good stories drift into the background. The oldsters are all still there. Got a call yesterday from Archie, Missouri with the new owner of Acesmash rhapsodizing over how much her kids like the new horse. I'd posted earlier, bunch of well cared for animals at that farm, and so its good to see Ace will continue a decent life. Blew one with the talented Ace, and sworn to avoid doing that again!

Wind and Al of course are still around, helping me train, they're more sedate now then they were as youngsters. Showing a few whiskers. It's passage of time, and it gets to you if you think about it.

They say though it's hard to get old with a good two year old in the barn. Art is back to Preston Burch stuff. Light galloping and tack work last night, riderless breezing and tack tonight. Had the first riderless training session for the yearling yesterday and violated everything i posted about handling him yesterday. It went extraordinarily poorly as the young fellow failed to understand at all that he was to "gallop". I'll try to be smarter tonight and help him along instead of forcing the issue!

Avoiding The Same Mistakes

I continue to read with interest the fall out from the Breeder's Cup, the new stud fees are being announced, Stormello has been retired, the 2008 season is almost here, the horse racing world marches on.

My promised finale on how "training causes injuries" is in the works, I'll introduce (drum roll) "The RR Rules", and thereafer, hopefully having made my case against conventional training, the blog will take a closer look at Preston Burch, Whittingham, Bill O'Goram and T.J. Smith of Australia as to how they prepared and raced horses, and see if we can learn anything.

For today I'm considering my new little horse and how to fast track him to the races, all the while looking over at last year's yearling Amart trying to figure how after a year we're basically nowhere with Art except that we have a fit, exuding good health type horse.

So, where did we go wrong with Art and why is he still so far from the races? Weather of course and numerous hoof problems as well as lack of physical maturity would cover the generalities. But, the experience with Art also gives me to opportunity to avoid the mistakes I made, and there were several.

With this new guy I've avoided the quick introduction to the herd that I gave Art last year. I've been very protective of the Shore Breeze yearling, and this has avoided "chasing" by the herd and injury risks that involves. I've given this horse additional time to get his bearings before commencing everything, and I've been more comfortable with that then I was starting Art last year training right off the bat. I'm working with the little colt, but in a very deliberate, totally in control of every variable manner.

Additionally, Art reminded me (it's happened before) how devastating to training foot problems can be. Instantly with Art's arrival, rain, deep mud and lost shoes, five of them in the first 45 days, and then one abscess after another. This simply must be avoided!

Thus this afternoon I'll be consulting with the Farrier's section of Breeder's Supply in Lexington as to an appropriate yearling shoe. When the rains come this year (and luckily we're back into our normal relatively dry weather pattern), instead of leaving things to chance, I'll be aggressively applying anti bacterial soaks (probably bleach) to the hoofs daily during abscess weather. And, of course, there's a dozen more things that might go wrong that I've yet to think of. It's a no margin for error business, and I'll be trying once again to pull that off.

The weather has been great. In good weather my horses move forward quickly. We'll see how it goes!