What does the racehorse trainer do?

Question

Does the trainer ever actually ride the horse, or does he/she just plan the horse's races and pick riders?

Answer 1

sometimes the trainer trains the horses if the trainer actually owns the horse, or is a minor trainer and can't afford to employ.  The trainer, along with the owner will decide the best race for the horse to enter.  The trainer will usually have a stable jockey that will ride the horse.

Answer 2

sometimes the trainer rides, but mostly just excersizes the horse and works on his muscles and conditioning.

Answer 3

*Arrive at barn somewhere between 4:30 to 5:30 am.

*Look at the days scheduled workouts and horses that are going to the track

*Check with assistant, foreman, and/or night watchmen to see if any horses had problems overnight, running a fever, did not eat, etc.

*Watch all horses not going to track walk.

*Feel every horse's legs for heat, swelling, inflammation or just anything not normal, stretch joints, basically do a soundness exam on each horse.

*Watch these horses walk & trot.

*Move on to first set of horses going to the track.

*Do entire above routine.

*Bring horses and riders outside of shedrow to walking area.

*Watch horses walk and trot before sending them out to the track.

*Go out and watch first set on track.

*Repeat process for however many sets you have.

*By 10:00am training ends.

*Back at barn meet vet and go over any problems, race day medications, etc.

*Have instructions for farrier.

*Meet with assistant(s) and/or foremen and discuss barn issues.

*Decide on work sets and training regime for the following day.

*Make decisions regarding entries, claims, etc.

*Call owners (this is a big one).

*Eat lunch.

*(If it is race day) Change clothes and be ready to saddle horses for their races, leaving lots of time to network with clients.

*If not racing, go back to the barn or office.

*There's a lot of paperwork, regarding keeping owners up to date, making sure horses are nominated for upcoming races, reading the condition books to find races to point for, arranging shipping if necessary, ordering feed, supplies, etc. Some trainers will use afternoon hours to be very hands-on with their horses (i.e. grazing, cold hosing, etc.).

*5:00 P.M. Go home, eat dinner, get some sleep and start the next morning.

Answer 4

as the name indicates, the trainer trains. he/she works on the horses speed, stamina, and keeps him toned and in peak condition. the trainer does all the work in my opinion!

Answer 5

Trainers usually have a pony that they use to escort the horses to the gallops. They then sit on the pony and watch their string of horses work. I've never known any trainer actually ride work with their string. They watch and evaluate the horses breeze or work and with chasers or hurdlers, they then decide which ones need to be schooled over fences.

A good trainer knows his horses. They know what type of ground the horse likes to run on, what distance the horse needs, what grade their horse can run against. They are responsible for deciding race entries, they schedule the horses work program, feed etc. Basically, they run the show and the yard crew and exercise riders carry out his wishes and orders