Horses First Racing
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It is wonderful in this game how new challenges and circumstances force one to think long and hard about things. The recent freeze has forced a change in routine and to be honest it is something i never really had to think about in Australia. David Jolly, a good mate and trainer who bought my yard back in Goolwa, South Australia, commented a couple of months ago how cold and miserable it was there and he found the horses just weren't doing as well as he would like. I finally replied at length recently to his statement after falling flat on my back on a sheet of ice. Jolls, 'you ain't seen nothin'!
There is no doubt horses like certain routine, when they are happy routine is what they want. It's when we need to relax or see them start to come off the boil that a change can be good for them.
It is interesting how these forced changes in routine, considered disruptive and a disadvantage, can actually have a huge benefit to some horses. A horse may have been quietly struggling with the workload and the quieter regime may suit them, a horse who has had plenty of racing gets a much needed breather which he may not have got normally. I have had a few put on more weight than i would have liked in the past couple of weeks and we are lucky to have the treadmill which has been a Godsend over the past couple of weeks or some of them might start resembling their trainer.
It's these subtle changes in the horse's personality and condition that needs to be investigated and maybe natures offerings produce an unlikely benefit in the long term. I remember a few years ago we were going through a bit of a lean spell. The places were coming but the winners weren't. The fact we just didn't have the quality of horse racing at that time compounded the problem. Some of the better ones were having a break etc. It wasn't until a meeting between me and the staff that the consensus became obvious. I was forcing the issue by working the horses too hard thinking it was fitness that was the issue. It wasn't, after a couple of weeks of backing off them the stable returned to form as a whole. The better horses returned, the lesser ones tried hard and got the results we needed from them and we had a great second half of the season.
As i write this i suppose i am giving myself a lecture of sorts, relax, don't force the issue and the results will come readily enough.
I have to give all the staff a pat on the back for their efforts over the past couple of weeks. They have all worked hard to get to work and clear snow for the horses to get out. Water has needed to be carted by hand from one of only a few taps that survived the freeze. It's never fun jumping on fresh horses in the winter but they have all gone about their work with admirable enthusiasm. Well done gang.
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