Summary I: PRESERVE

Big big part of race horse performance involves the practical effect of getting the horse safely around the race track and accomplishing the training objectives. Training schematics, all the best laid plans, become rather irrelevant unless we're able to execute them on the race track.

While in human athletic training the limits of training involve intuitive ability and will to carry out the training schematic, with horses quite regrettably we're substantially limited by the ever shrinking pool of capable riders and the stark reality that our large investments are at the mercy by and large of 120 lbs junior H.S. graduates often in various states of further disability ranging from were they are at with their riding, attention spans, drugs and alcohol, or even the ability of the particular jock to pay attention to a single mount in the midst of an exhaustive morning/afternoon riding schedule.

There are thus in horse racing practical problems of acquiring a capable rider for our horse and then the bricks and mortar work of getting that rider to carry out a program.

These are large obstacles that have done in large percentages of wide eyed neophytes. Presume, however, for discussion purposes, that we have the intelligence, money and position on the race track and energy day to day to put somebody on our horse that at least has a chance of carrying out the designs for this horse.

What in summary is it the rider need do with our horse? In this mode, think "preserve and enhance" which are broad words to describe what needs to be going on out there on the oval when our horse is galloping.

The big one is the PRESERVE as owner/trainer better have the understanding any rider, good and bad, can ruin your horse's career TODAY by what I call "stupid stuff". I'll avoid repeating once again a list of rider stupid stuff that goes on daily by the moment at tracks throughout the country, and merely make the point that anyone wanting to succeed with a horse better understand the definition and details of stupid stuff for otherwise, although your horse may survive today, it's not for long on a race track.

If, e.g., you somehow believe your horse will survive breezes without appropriate warm ups, persevering on the wrong lead, cantering the horse down the race track side ways, stupid unexpected pull ups, unbalanced riding, breezing half a mile on one lead etc. etc. etc. good luck to you. You'll need it.

The PRESERVE-- understandin the term combines with communicating the urgency to our rider. From my practical experience this is hardly done on day one with the new rider. Instead, we plan our initial work outs to be simple enough that hopefully nothing will happen as we acclimate our rider, day by day, to the requirements.

My own technique with riders was generally to introduce and emphasize one thing I wanted done per day, effusive praise after the particular goal in fact occurs, and then reinforcement by mentioning verbally, generally on the walk to the race track, every single day thereafter.

I know that leads or failure to get them are the #1 cause of race horse injuries, and that is generally where I began with my riders. Lucky to have one that understands "leads" intuitively, and you can get on to the other stuff. If you have a rider failing to get leads or oblivious to lead changing you are playing Russian roulette with your animal.

B. Pressey's remarks last post go to the workout, and will get to them. Merry Xmas to Bill. Continue next post.