Revisiting Preston Burch

Returning once again to an important training question:

How frequently do we work (breeze) our horses?  Burch's training book fairly consistently uses an every three day pattern with instructions that the trainer decides or improvises the two off days.

This thought was reinforced in the RR stable once again (as it has many times before) due to our riderless fast work since February 25.

Of late we've worked the horses riderless fast every three days, and Days 1 & 2 horses have mostly been off due to weather with some walking under tack.

The result of this--will try to describe what occurred on 3-30 that also included another significant setback for #148.

#148 front right heel bulb injury on 3/29:

Much improved.  Crack on right is troubling except above the scar tissue is newly growing horn.

#148 right heel bulb injury on 3/30

10th time since Oct. #148 has severely raked this same area.  I am about to go Scott Blasi on this talented MFing idiot!

Luckily without tissue tears, punctures or lameness.  Tore off some scab tissue. Decision made to go ahead and work the horse 3/30.

Our pattern has been to go fast riderless every 3 days since 2/25.  On 3/27 we got the most explosive work of the year--full speed and some sub :12s type work.

On this day-3/30- we also had our camera person, and I told her this all but assured they'd fail to cooperate or run fast.  This is indeed happened as horses neither worked on desired path or ever got out of a gallop.  They kept shying away from the camera person slowing themselves in process.

What shows in heat #2 below is that the horses are enjoying and into their work totally on the every three day schedule.  They're energetic, playful, and outrunning their good trainer who must himself run 6f to complete every heat-

Heat #2 where horses first gallop to the starting point, trainer way behind, and then turn into pond and run through an area strown with boulders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI6GiaQu3kI&feature=youtu.be

Ms. Camera person noted after 4 x 2f with fastest heat being the warm up--"they're starting to tuck up".Indeed they are, and will get some vids of this shortly. Preston Burch had something with that every 3 day fast work schedule--my opinion.

#148 First Tack Work Of 2014

Got to start somewhere--slight nervousness from the humans around the big fellow as we tack him up for first time after a stretch of bad weather.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNMpFtvfkU&feature=em-upload_owner

PETA Fires Their Shots

This is the week of the PETA vids--less disturbing on third viewing.  Is it really news that a stable injures nearly every horse it touches--and, tries to keep them running with meds?  From racing's leaders--instead of perspective--we get their agenda of appointing a national dictator that will--based on this vid--presumably stop the injuries and thus the necessity of treatment.  Anti-lasix is woven in, of course, and the hearings in Congress.

My take:

#1 anybody that wants the Fed. Gov. controlling horse racing needs to have their head examined.

#2  racing can police itself, thank you.  We have plenty of good people to do so.

#3 Instead of "supposing" there's a problem and then constantly yelling about the supposed problems, how about proving there is a problem in the first place.  PETA showed us how to do this.

End of rant.

Training:  as of 3/25 we've been 30 days into our fast riderless workouts, now taking place every three days as we're transitioning into tack work on the two off days.  Most explosive and longest of the riderless work happened on 3/25.  4 x 2f much of it in sub-12s, and a "wow" workout by #148.  I'll post on his progress soon, and hopefully some vids.

Wednesday's Festivities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqtANdn50bQ&feature=em-upload_owner

St. Patrick's Day

Gear.  Kept under the tub which serves as a mounting stand.

We've had one day in 2014 without mud or snow:

Just as Mr. Nob mounts #148, #17 on left. Ears go up. Trouble ahead. He sees something. sets off the alarm.  Do we need this being just on board the skittish green #148?

 Groovin' Wind, in front, decides to go for a walk.  Excellent timing. We follow and all ends well.

Sat. Misc.

With warmer weather finally here, thoughts do pass through the horse person's mind as to arrival of the seasons first "FLY".

I was floored this year to spot a horse fly about 2/15 between near zero degree days when it reached about 40 degrees f.  Next fly?  On 3/15 and 75 degrees f the thought was just going through my head when I walked to back of my truck, and sitting there on the pressed alfalfa bale, voila, a whole family of them.  Enlarge the vid.  The little black dots are, well, baby flies.  Apparently the little fellows chose that spot to sun themselves, or possibly they emerged out of the alfalfa and were so stunned at the weather they were unable to move.  At any rate, we're fearing fly season just around the corner.

In the #148 injury dept. here is the front left heel bulb on 3/15.  Good news and bad.  This will probably be sufficiently healed to gallop through sand in Tulsa, OK hopefully by about tax day.  And, the bad news:

Part of this injury affected the coronet band -- lower right heel the separation of the hoof wall shows--u can see the black between the horn and the sole.  There's no hoof wall growing in that area because the hoof is without a coronet band in that area.  Worry!

#148 freshly shod front left with Thoro'bred #7 level grips.  Pretty decent job if I do say so considering the horrible muddy conditions we're shoeing in.  And, that the horses have retained all of their shoes, and yet to have an abscess in all this mud--testament to the shoer and so I will take a bow and knock on wood since it's raining buckets as this is being typed.

Training.  Since 2/25 fast riderless works every two or three days.  The 3/15 work was the first of the year in dry conditions, and also thus the fastest.  Horses really motored for 4 x 2f.  Even the warm up was fast.  Too dark to ride when this was all done.  Got to get back on 'em!

Wed. Misc.

Well--what can one say?  We finally get a camera person to film our riderless fast work, and instead of getting a nice vid of the 4 heats we get 15 vids 10 seconds long.  For reasons unknown our good cam corder operator keeps shutting her camera off 10 seconds into each vid -- reminding me of that post in Scientific American that some folks are just challenged when it comes to logical response to specific day to day stimuli.  When you've got a beautiful developing gallop right in the sights of your vid, for what reason on god's green earth would you turn off your camera? I hesitate to ask.

Here's one e.g.--and, does this nicely show the athleticism of our 17-2" hand big fellow?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mhKBgbB36Q

I never asked the young lady why she kept turning off the vids, and instead told her what a great job she did, and that btw she turned off the vid every 10 seconds, and that that must have been because of my highly questionable instructions to her.  Smoothed things over.

At any rate, even though we got good vids, horses failed to cooperate by declining to really motor over the mud that day.  One of these days I'll catch a real run on a vid.

Training:

Since 2/25 when #148 came back into action we'lve done fast riderless work every 2 or 3 days.  #148 getting stronger although to date failing to show that nice ground eating stride of last fall when he was a little smaller.  Will see.  Mr. Nob got back on both horses 3/10.  Good to get back on and looking forward to daily rides.  Would you know it--very next day 30 mph tree swaying northern wind prevents tack work.    Riderless fast work instead WU + 3 x 2f went very fast for both horses.  First day of year with good ground, and then the rain comes in. Weather related problems continue.

Santa Anita Handicap

Blogger almost calls sister to wheel the Santa Anita Handicap Trifecta for the surest Trifecta since who knows when.  Resisted the temptation.  I'd thought it possible that one of the three would get run off their feet, and--happened.  Got one right for a change.

Quite a performance by Game On Dude.  And, did I see those fractions right?  1:31 and change for the mile?  Got to be a mistake.  Game On Dude's performance rousing enough to spend $2.95 on DRF PPs.  What training caused that performance?

Looking at GOD PPs--well--looks like u can breeze a horse every 5 days. First for Baffert? What is world coming to? They waited 8 days after his last race on which prior GOD had breezed every 6 days.  Since in that race GOD finished up the track, supposing Baffert decided to space breezing even closer.  Never seen Baffert do that.

Count 'em:

2/8 raced.
2/16 :47.4
2/21 1:00.4
2/26 1:25.4 (7f--what is world coming to?)
3/3 1:00.3
3/8 Wins SA Handicap by lengths.

The race was GOD's sixth fast work in a 30 days.  That's once every 5 days.

I do want to post one caveat.  Do you breeze this hard every 5 days including 2 races in a month unless the horse bones have previously been conditioned to that?  Hopefully Dude comes out of this sound.

Training:
Weather has been mud and cold.  So much for the spring forecast.  We've been able to continue strong riderless work.  How do I get 'em to go all out and long.  Just avoid bringing the cam corder.  3/7 they all three went all out riderless for about 2f--WU (which was fast--they were into it) + 2 x 2.5 F and each heat contained about 2f with them racing each other down then up the hill.  We've passed on riding due to mud and cold. Limiting # of heats till big boy gets stronger.

Winter Exit; Spring Enter

48 degrees March 6; -5 overnight on March 3.  Rest of March, looking good, if u believe the forecasts.  Per last post horses have been going riderless every two or three days since #148 recovered about 2/25 from his latest scrape on his heel bulb injury.  Got some very decent fast stuff here and there, although fails to show in the last post vid.  Horses were bellied March 4.  March 5 more deep winter and we passed.  Get back up tonight, and hopefully some progress.  Shipping to Tulsa postponed till April due weather.

3-4-14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLmkAjO5s24&feature=em-upload_owner

Sat. Misc.

Quick training catch up.  Despite constant bad weather including the -5 degrees forecast for tomorrow, we're back--since mid February when #148 re injured his heel bulb--to regular riderless fast work in our new paddock. Every time I take the cam corder to record something happens to slow them--deep snow, slick mud, refusal, or running through the wrong area--to point I now leave camera at home and they go fast every time.  I'll catch a vid of fast riderless work one of these days.

They've gone fast riderless every other day or every third day--depending on weather or ground--last ten days.  #148 has looked weak, which is unsurprising, although the last Thurs work his strength definitely had improved.  Managed a 4 x 2f likely in about :13s for at least 1f each time. Aim of this is to improve fast twitch muscles till we can do some real training.

On bad news side--since #148 has popped up to near 17'2" hands we're failing utterly to see his beautifully efficient stride that showed last fall.  Hopefully this will come back as he regains his strength.  View of #148 heel bulb taken Thurs.  It's healing despite all the mud and deep snow.  Our good rider is also finally healing from the 2/14 tumble down the steps, and we'll get back on as soon as weather warms up, and it will, I am thinking.