The horses?

Question

When a race horse is bred to race.. how is it raised and trained? and what do you train the horse to do?

does the horse know to collect? canter? or what? any advanced movements like lateral work to make them more athletic?

(i know the horse knows these movements natruallt but are they taught the aids!?)

thanks!

Answer 1

Most racehorses ( Thoroughbreds) are started under saddle in the fall of their YEARLING year, long before it is acceptable to do this with other breeds of riding or performance horses. The reason this is done is because of the tremendous economic pressures the breeders and owners of such animals are often under, to recoup some of the enormous investments they make in breeding and raising a foal. Think about it- when it costs half, or three quarters of a million dollars just in stud fees, ( never mind what it costs to feed and care for the mare throughout her pregnancy and the delivery in terms of vet costs, feed, shots, worming meds, shoeing and hoof care, and the like) the owners and breeders of such horses are under tremendous pressure to begin recouping some of that cost as soon as possible so they can keep themselves in the black and show a profit. For most people involved in racing, the horses are investments, and commodities, and are only RARELY, if EVER, viewed as the flesh and blood creatures which they are. Hence, the pressure to race the horses as 2 year olds- and by the way, the great majority of young 2 year olds are NOT actually 2 when they run their first races- most of them are only about 18 months old, or are what is considered "long yearlings" in other parts of the horse industry. Many people, including myself, consider this practice to be barbaric and cruel in a lot of ways, and wish that this were not necessary. The reason I and so many others feel this way is because it's a known fact that these horses are NOT physically mature when they race- they are still young, growing babies whose bones are still soft and developing, and that makes them very vulnerable to catastrophic injuries and breakdowns like those which have been seen with Ruffian, Go for Wand, Pine Island, Charismatic, Barbaro, Union City, George Washington ( who broke down during last year's Breeder's Cup Classic) many of which are life threatening. The Thoroughbred as a breed was developed out of and is descended from the Arabian, the world's oldest horse breed- all modern thoroughbreds have Arab genes in their ancestries. The Arabian is a breed which matures VERY SLOWLY- most of them are not considered to be fully mature until they are AT LEAST 5, and some not until they are 6 or 7 years old. No one in the performance side of the industry ( which includes all the other horse sports except racing) would ever think of asking these animals to do hard work and subject their legs to the kind of pounding that is necessary in race training, without serious consideration of the possible consequences. But in the racing business, and the breeding business which supports it, that is not the case. Added to this problem is that all modern thoroughbreds are inbred at least to some degree- which means that certain kinds of hereditary defects, such as weak bone structures, are on the increase. This is because the overall gene pool is shrinking and becoming more and more concentrated. When this problem is combined with the pressures to race horses at early ages, the result is a recipe for disaster in a lot of cases.

The other answerer above me has given a description of one method used to start young racehorses under saddle,one that he probably has some professional experience with, so I am not going to waste time writing one of my own. Instead, I will answer the other parts of your question. I will start by saying that racehorses are seldom taught anything beyond the most basic aids and commands, because there is a belief in the racing business that if one teaches them too much, it will take away most if not all of  their running ability. That means these horse are never taught how to collect, or anything like the lateral work one typically sees in dressage. Also, these horses are NEVER TAUGHT TO STAND TIED- they are ALWAYS HELD BY A PERSON OR PEOPLE. Even Barbaro, hero that he was, never learned this lesson- NO racehorse ever does, at least not until they retire from the track, and some of them don't even learn it then. This is a tendency which can make some horses dangerous- there have been cases where some of the more excitable stallions have seriously injured or killed their handlers because of this issue. Most racehorses know how to canter or to move at a working gallop, and the normal racer has 4 basic speeds: the walk, the jog ( trotting), the working gallop, and racing speed, which is used for competition and during breezes. At the working gallop, the horse can go a quarter mile in about 25 seconds. At racing speed, this time is cut in half for the same distance.

Sometimes, after a horse retires from the track, he or she can be successfully retrained in a sport like dressage, and then yes, the animal IS taught to do things like lateral movements. But the normal fate of most retired racehorses, assuming they have won enough to make them worth keeping, is usually the breeding shed or broodmare barn. If the horse is a gelding, then he may stay in racing a bit longer than his ungelded peers- but ultimately, he will have to retire too, and then he will most likely get sold either as a riding horse, or possibly ( at least in countries where this is still legal, such as in Europe and Canada) for slaughter. There have been a few cases of famous horses ending up in the slaughterhouse in recent decades- Ferdinand was one of these, perhaps the most famous.

Racehorses are not taught much, I am sorry to say.

Answer 2

my sista is a trainer she sometimes breaks them in.. she always likes to have them on the bit,, sometimes collected other times she allows them to stride out ,,just depends

jess

Answer 3

The foal is being trained really from the time it is born as the mom will teach it manners. The foal is usually introduced to a halter 2 or 3 days after birth when Mom settles a bit as some will be over protective so depends.  Every horse is different and handlers will judge how fast the baby is trained.  The foal is taught to lead when mom gets taken out for a walk as their natural instinct is to stick to mom so leading can be a pretty easy transition.  IT is weaned from mom usually at 6 months. The foal by now is used to people and being handled everyday to going for walks, grooming.  The foal is now become a yearling and it is then mouthed which is a soft unharsh bit,  they usually spend a few days trying to spit out the bit but they become used to it and accept it.  They are led out and about by a rider on another horse, giving them exercise and getting used to being beside other horses. A saddle blanket is usually put on the foal in preparation for a saddle when it is being brushed or walked around.  The yearling is introduced to the saddle and allowed to sniff it and if you have handled the foal well and gained its trust, they will allow you to do what you wish believing that you wont hurt.  The saddle is put on gently and girthed up with the girth not tight but so they can feel it, he is then led around with that for a few days until they relax, head down lower than its withers is a good indication the horse is relaxed.  Breaking-in is a term I hate as horses should never be broken in but they should be linked up, they trust you,  I have found this method usually ends in the horse not even bucking once when it is mounted, negating the chance of a horse learning to buck its rider off if it gets frustrated. After the bridling and saddling has been successful and the horse is receiving both it is taught the basics, ie turning, stopping.  The horse is not taught collection or lateral movements,  it is then trained like distance runners.  Times are taken and with the breeding records trainers can decide if they are sprinters or milers.

I strapped a lot of racehorses which means I was the morning exerciser and the trainer tells you how he wants the session to be done, depending on the horses condition he decides the type of workout for the week.  If a horse is sore we will make them swim in a special pool which exercises them still but takes the weight off their legs which are the most prone to injuries due to horse being ridden before they have stopped growing.  We also have a horse treadmill which is used if the weather is too dangerous we just make sure that the horse has its workout for the day.  Aids are not taught because it can be so tight in a race and the horse can be bumped causing confusion and the only thing that is worse is a horse lead changing continually!  They can lose stride and also shortens their stride with changing continually.  Most racehorses are waited on and cared for better than a lot of people.  A lot of people have problems with racing because they think it is cruel but I only have witnessed very few cases of abuse and more abuse from kids in pony club.  These horses are treated like the amazing athletes they are and man some of them just love to run!