Distance: Testing The Theory

By taking one of these 4f FR pills your horse will be ok. Or, will it? The blog has surmised 4f as the minimum distance a horse must breeze to achieve race appropriate fracture resistance (FR). The horse works 4f times "x" number of breezes at minimum speed of :12.5 sec/f and, voila, we are assured the cannon bones will hold together?

In what sort of "first" race? 5f, 6f, 8f, 1 1/16 mile??? And at what racing speed? Are we satisfied in this first race just to get it around there, or are we of questionable sanity and sending the horse all out for the the win in its very first race?

There are, or course, numerous variables affecting FR in course of a race. You probably have more chest hairs than I have to breeze 4f exclusively and send the horse out there for a first race at a mile and a sixteenth intending to go all out for the win.

However, after much consideration my belief is that if you have done enough of those 4fs that your horse will hold together. Why is below, but a short word about how many breezes before the first race are "enough".

Sufficiency in terms of number of breezes prior to a horse's first race is unknown to me, nor has the blog dealt with this issue. I do think we know enough to say that 3 months of once a week breezing holds most horses together provided the horse had some conditioning going in. I'll limit my observation to stating that probably around the 3 month mark the horse will be getting to FR, and also the observation that smart trainers avoid going for the win in the first couple of races. My guess is that there is a much higher injury rate in the first two races of the career or the year than any other single race in a sequence.

The Q whether a pre-first race sequence of 4f breezes is enough for FR strictly in terms of the "distance" instead of number of breezes--probably again the trainer stats, and what we see trainers do and get away with is the main test we have of the theory. The trainer of note that I have observed as using strictly 4f breezes is Zito, although he exceeds that distance frequently before race #1. I have however personally witnessed preparation of youngsters by numerous trainers with 3f and 4 breezing exclusively. While certainty on this is unknown to me, and also that it is true that all of those trainers injure every one of their horses, I believe injury causation for these sorts, including Zito probably results from other variables than the distance of the breezes before the horse's first race. For most of these conventionals the stupidities seem to kick in after racing begins.

And thus--------I am comfortable enough with what I have seen added to what I have considered on this blog to say that 3 months of once a week breezing in 4f at :12.5s will get your horse through any sort of race safely in terms of bones. Needless to say this is a minimal program (as repeatedly stated), and it would take quite a fool to engage in that sort of program with the intent of sending a young horse out there to do 8.5f in :12s. Would that horse racing for an idiot make it through with bone soundness? I'd think that trainer would be skating on the bare edge--and so, please take note that the 4f distance, while considered enough here for minimum FR fails to permit the trainer also to ignore every other aspect of common sense.

The question of distance and soft tissue injury, next post.

Training:
Wed. 2/16: Off.
Thurs. 2/17: 4 times up and down the hill, walk trot followed by 3 or 4 riderless pasture spurts.
Fri. 2/18: 4 times up and down the hill (we're increasing distance now) mostly trot, with enthusiasm.
Sat. 2/19: 5 or 6 riderless 1f spurts in the paddock on light but deep mud.