May 17th update
Yesterday (the 16th) was Chance’s day to be ridden, however, when I went to get him I noticed his left knee was somewhat swollen. He was moving fine, seemed happy, it didn’t hurt for me to touch his knee and he was trotting around the field on his own. I am guessing it’s a bug bite. I have some lumps on myself from ticks or something in the grass. But I didn’t work him, just in case. He was also off today (17th).
Rode Zola today, and have to say, for all my complaints about not steering, balking, face-making, etc., Zola is really good. There are not too many “green broke” TB fillies that can be pulled out of a field, tacked up, and ridden without any real issue. Especially after having a day off. Knock on wood, Zola has never tried to buck or do anything else bad. Despite the fact that we are in a huge field, she has not tried to run off, or play.
I venture to say that if she were being trained like the average racehorse, she would already have been galloping for quite a while. While I confess to being a timid rider, the real issue is the mental state of the horse. I am not timid when I trust a horse. For me it’s not enough that the horse “does” something. I need to know the horse understands what it’s doing, accepts it as okay, and is relaxed about it. There are many horses at the track that “do” things, but do not satisfy those three criteria. Good evidence of this is the loose horse on the track. A horse somehow loses its rider, then runs up the track, the wrong way, so panicked that it doesn’t even see where it’s going. These loose horses are not publicized of course, but they often die, and kill or maim others. For those who saw the movie “Seabiscuit”, the accident where Red Pollard’s leg is shattered, is not far out fiction.
Many horses race and never win – despite having talent – because they really don’t understand what’s wanted. They run because they’ve learned to run, and because all the other horses are running. When whipped, they don’t understand it as a “signal” to go faster, they see and feel it as punishment. They can’t win for losing.
If anyone doubts this, just talk to people who have bought, rescued, or somehow acquired an off-the-track Thoroughbred. They will tell you how the horse doesn’t even know how to stand still when mounted. How it was nervous, high strung, over-sensitive, etc. Many OTTB’s fail at new homes because it’s erroneously thought that this is how Thoroughbreds are. It’s not that racehorses are crazy and just want to run, it’s that the poor things are not trained – they have no idea what’s expected of them and so are in a state of stress and anxiety.
In considering why a TB’s education is so poor, I can site time. Everyone’s in a hurry to get the horse to the track. Exercise riders who break babies, should know better, but don’t seem to. Perhaps the athletic ability and strength to stay on and ride a half-trained horse makes educating the horse seem unimportant. Perhaps they think a calm obedient horse won’t have what it takes. Personally, I think a horse who is calm and educated is more likely to run well.
That said, Zola was great today. She stood still for mounting, and never balked once. Never even thought about it! She was calm, energetic, relaxed, and when I asked her for a trot it was nice and relaxed. If that continues, galloping won’t be too far off.
Zola update May 15th
Since Zola is only doing minimal exercise – we are still in actual training, not conditioning, mode – I decided to ride her yesterday.
I didn’t lunge her to judge her mood, just took her to the mounting block to get on. As yesterday, she didn’t really stand still but it wasn’t hard to get on. She seemed very focused and really resisted stopping even after I was on and asked her from the saddle. Deciding to skip this for the moment – I liked the fact that moving forward has penetrated as something I want – I steered her to the track. As we entered the track she was walking with a lot of energy and never hesitated as we passed her normal balking spot. She did think about stopping as we entered the backstretch, but a quick “get up” kept her moving.
She seemed full of energy and as we hit the far turn she broke into a trot – her decision. Her head was up and it took a good deal of tension on the reins to hold her to a trot. It was not a relaxed and soft trot. I pulled her back to walk mid “stretch”.
We started our second lap without incident, and had a couple almost stops which were quickly averted. I asked Zola for a trot by clucking, which she really seems to dislike – I get ears back, head up, balking, and a dirty look. Still we can’t walk forever, so I asked again, this time with 2 taps on the right shoulder. And it worked! Zola trotted quite nicely, relaxed, with her head in a normal position, and minimal rein pressure. We maintained down the last half of the backstretch, around the far turn, and I brought her back to a walk about mid stretch.
At that point I turned her around and we went back the other way. I asked for another trot as we approached the clubhouse turn. And again Zola responded well. Which is good, as there will be no galloping until trotting is all relaxed and on a loose rein. We ended with a walk and I was quite profuse in my praise. Was another good ride – and one in which we continued to make progress.
Great racehorse story!
Dawn Willoughby wrote about Chance on the Easy Care blog, and today a comment was posted with the following link, and the question did I think being barefoot gave Vo Rogue an advantage?
Vo Rogue raced barefoot in Australia. He won 26 races from 83 starts and earned $3.1 million! From the description of him as dirty, I’m guessing that he also lived out. He looks pretty happy in the photo – which I also think is a factor.
Unfortunately, his trainer died in 1994, 3 years after Vo Rogue retired, so there’s no contacting him to ask questions.
Update May 14th
It rained Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday, and this morning, but the ground was still good.
Rode Chance, which is a pleasure because he’s so easy. He’s back to normal regarding the saddle – he made a big face (as usual) when I put it on and did his biting thing when I girthed up. That said, he opened his mouth for the bit. That is a first! In all previous bridlings since I’ve had him, it’s taken a finger or thumb in the corner of his mouth to get him to take the bit. This time he actually opened his mouth all by himself. I really think that’s evidence of how much he likes the Pee Wee bit. Which is awesome!
I’ve been increasing the trotting distance each ride and finally we are getting close to the point where we will begin galloping. Just a few more rides.
Also rode Zola today. Put her on the lunge line and she was fine. Got on, walked three or four steps, and she stopped. I took a deep breath and waited a few seconds. Then I urged her to move. Clucking, chirping, squeezed my legs, said “get up”, tapped her with the whip. Got dirty looks. But then I tapped her harder and when she moved her head to tell me off, I pulled on the reins just a little. And it worked, she walked off. We went around twice and she did stop a couple times, but they were very brief, as I grew more confident tapping her harder. As we finished our second circuit and approached where she really gets stubborn, she walked right on without hesitation! A huge improvement. We went another quarter circuit, then I turned her around and went back. We had an nice relaxed trot on the way. I asked her to stop before she thought about stopping, which was great.
I had been dreading riding her, but it turned out to be a good ride.
Drugs and the other problems in racing
Below is a link to the second article in the New York Times series on horse racing and its problems: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/us/casino-cash-fuels-use-of-injured-horses-at-racetracks.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Here is a link to an article on drugs in horse racing: http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/all-the-pretty-racehorses-full-of-all-the-ugly-drugs/
The link below has a list (and links) to many other related articles on horse racing and breeding: http://www.horsefund.org/horse-racing-resources.php
Hydrochloric acid (HCL) – diluted and injected – a good thing?
Here is a link that raises an interesting theory.
http://www.racehorseherbal.com/Infections/HCL/hcl.html
Basically the article reveals that i.v. injection of dilute hydrochloric acid has been used to cure many types of infections that would otherwise have remained chronic or resulted in death. It appears that our bodies are meant to have hydrochloric acid in them and when we don’t have enough it negatively impacts our immune system.
Interestingly,, additional searching online revealed that (in humans) stress initially increases the amount of hydrochloric acid production (hence stress can cause ulcers), but long-term stress actually reduces HCL production, weakening the immune system.
I was shocked – but fascinated. I do happen to be a firm believer that the body is designed for health and that diet/nutrition – the things we put into our body – are critical to health. Further research on the internet (we are so lucky to have the internet!!) revealed that this theory has other supporters. Another good article is here: http://keelynet.com/biology/hcl.htm
For those who don’t like to read I will say that one result of the injection of HCL, was a significant increase in the number of white blood cells in a very short time. What was even more interesting – to me – was that injection of distilled water had the same effect.
The idea of injecting Hydrochloric acid is scary so I did some more research – on how to increase hydrochloric acid in the body. It was very interesting to find that apple cider vinegar is an excellent way. Could this be one of the reasons that vinegar is so good for us?
Unlike us, horses continually produce hydrochloric acid in their stomachs. However metabolic alkalosis can develop when horse are overexerted, through loss of water and electrolytes in sweating (or by diuretics??). Or – and this is my opinion – due to inadequate minerals in diet. Electrolytes ARE minerals. Also, things that buffer the hydrochloric acid (alfalfa, ulcer remedies, etc.) may affect the immune system negatively by decreasing the hydrochloric acid in the body. Please note: acid buffering substances are only needed due to the unnatural lifestyle of horses.
In short, since the body is such a complex mass of thousands of reactions, processes, etc. and science is far from understanding the human body, let alone that of the equine, it seems best to provide the horse with as natural a lifestyle as possible in order to allow those processes of which we know nothing to take place as nature intended.
Trainer using science and technology to train
I received a link to this article today:
It’s nice to see some publicity about those using science and technology to condition racehorses. Australia and New Zealand seem to be leading the way in using heart rate monitors and other tools to get facts about the horses they train.
I will be rooting for Ortensia on June 19th!
Thoughts on exercise
Below is my daily schedule for days when I am not trimming:
6:30 Turn 7 horses into field, feed remaining 4 grain and hay. Pick up the manure in the front acre or so of the fenced area.
Break for breakfast
Weed eat for a tank of fuel
Feed Chance, Zola, Beauty. Switch horses, put Huey, Lucy, and Maura in, let Shadow and Bettina out
Break – check email, do dishes, etc. Have lunch
Put horses in as they ask to go in.
Get hay, do errands, etc.
Ride Chance or Zola
Mow
As I stated in my recent post regarding the horses, Chance has started looking calm and sweet when being tacked up. This morning, as I was picking up the manure, I realized that maybe it’s just because I’m riding him every other day, and not every day. Reflecting on how I feel working every day, be it trimming horses or doing farm chores, I can see that every other day may be the way to go. When I take a day off (occasionally I get tired!) I feel better. My knees, left elbow, and right shoulder appreciate the time off.
Human athletes train every day. But humans are motivated to excel (those that train every day). And even then one can ask do they NEED to train every day, or is it just human obsession?
Some of you may be familiar with the book “The Backyard Racehorse” by Janet del Castillo. She advocates exercising horses 2 days a week, with 3 days off between exercise days. I don’t believe that would be effective, it’s not enough exercise. Again, thinking of myself, I would not gain enough benefit from 2 days of work to give me the strength and stamina to make work easy. Janet’s training statistics bear this out. Her win percentage is barely 3% (59 wins out of nearly 2,000 starts).
When I trained under the name Maureen Gould I had 19 starts, with 3 wins and 3 places. Giving me a 16% win rate. When I was Maureen Luba (first marriage) my win rate was even higher, though the horses didn’t race in my name the entire time. I trained my horses by trail riding them in the winter and spring, then galloping them, then going to the track for 4 weeks. At the track the horses would gallop until their first race. Then they would walk (usually 3 days), race, walk, race, walk. In short they raced frequently which kept them very fit, and walked between races.
This would not work for extended periods of time. But for a short meet it was ideal. My horses did well, stayed sound, and were happy.
Anyway, my point is that I am going to see how continuing to train Chance every other day works out. Of course, the horses are not in stalls and do get mild exercise every day. Everyone goes up and down the hills, so they are getting pretty good butt-building exercise. As evidenced by the photo of Zola which shows her muscles – muscles she didn’t get by ridden around at a walk. I will say that I’ve walked up those hills quite a bit in the early days and it really got my heart rate going and had me puffing like a freight train.
More reflections on Lasix
Recently, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board (NYSRWB) opened a two-week comment period on the raceday use of Lasix. The proponents of Lasix make strong arguments for its use. In fact, regular readers may remember that not too long ago I reversed my own position on using Lasix from no to yes. This was based on an article which stated that bleeding (Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage – EIPH) is responsible for sudden deaths on the racetrack. To me, that seemed an unacceptable risk.
There is a lot written about Lasix, mostly pro, and I’ve read a lot of it. I confess that I make many decisions based on what could be termed intuition,gut feeling, or instinct – something just feels right or wrong. I may have no logical reason at the time I make a choice, but eventually the information will either come to me or it will work its way from the depths of my mind into consciousness.
Lasix is just such a case. Gut said no. Then, second-guessing my gut, I swayed over to yes, despite the fact that I do not believe bleeding is caused by high blood pressure caused by fluid in the horse’s system. Horses evolved to run. They evolved a spleen which contains up to 30% of their red blood cells. A spleen which contracts during flight to flood the horse’s system with extra blood cells. They are born blood dopers. I am fairly certain that nature built them to withstand extra fluid in their bodies.
But Lasix has been proven to reduce or prevent bleeding. Why?
The other day light dawned at Marblehead. All the stuff I read and heard finally got processed by my brain and the critical question floated into consciousness. Lasix is a diuretic. It is given hours before a race to flush water from the horse. The horse races and doesn’t bleed. But wait!! In other places in the world, Lasix is not allowed on race day, however, horses are TRAINED on it. It still prevents bleeding. How can that be? A diuretic given days before the race prevents EIPH? And there is my answer. Lasix does prevent bleeding. But NOT because it’s a diuretic
Some internet research quickly revealed the fact that Lasix (furosemide) is a sulfonamide. Sulfonamides are drugs that prevent the growth of bacteria in the body. See below:
Definition
Purpose
And there it is. A good argument for the real cause of bleeding. If using Lasix 72 hours (or more) before a race (the amount of time it takes to give a negative drug test) prevents bleeding, it’s due to its being a sulfonamide, NOT a diuretic. The diuretic effects of Lasix last 2-4 hours. Certainly not 72.
So, my position on Lasix returns to the original. No. We will not be using Lasix. I will however do some research on natural, legal, substances that work on the same bacteria as sulfonamides.
March 10th update continued
Rode Zola this evening. I mounted and rode to the entrance to the track. (It sounds funny to say entrance, but now that the grass in the field is so high I stay on a mowed path.) We reached the track, turned left, went four strides, and stopped. So, we were right where we had left off at our last session.
I dismounted, took Zola back to the horse trailer, put a halter on over her bridle, attached the lunge line and returned to the field, where I learned something. Usually I have a specific, and different, tone for each command, but it seems that it is not necessary. I was annoyed and in a stern, and I confess, irritable tone, called out trot . . . then canter . . . then trot . . . then walk, and tone made no difference, she performed flawlessly.
Hoping I’d made my point, I took off the halter and remounted. Once again Zola balked after a few strides down the track. This time I waited her out and eventually she gave in and off we went. When we got halfway down the backstretch she suddenly got energetic and broke into a trot. We trotted all the way around the far turn and then I brought her back to a walk.
When we reached the spot that Zola feels means the ride is over, she stopped. Which came as no surprise. I waited her out again. Not quite as long as the first time. Again on the backstretch Zola’s energy picked up and I encouraged her to trot, returning to a walk after we came out of the turn. Once again Zola stopped at her spot. Once again I waited her out. It was a short balk and we continued on almost right away. I made her walk halfway around the clubhouse turn, than asked her to stop. We then turned, walked back up the track, and I was careful to stop her before we got to her spot.
She is in heat, so it remains to be seen if that is the cause of the balkiness. It didn’t escape my notice that she wanted to go fast on the side of the track furthest from the other horses – and her new friend Sweet Tea – and that she stops at the point where we are heading away from the horses.
- View from the driveway January 25, 2012
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