The Trainer's Perspective: A View of a Racehorse's Early Education

by Sharon Soileau 03-10-2009 02:00 AM

Often a client sends a young horse to me for race training. The horse barely leads, has had minimal human contact, and the proud new owner thinks that his new "toy" can be ready to run in a couple of months. This is just not possible. We'll be lucky if the horse is galloping on the racetrack in a couple of months.

First of all, the horse must lead, meaning it must walk with the person who is holding the lead rope, much like a dog walks on a leash. Babies (young horses) who have not been handled early in life need to learn to trust humans. Horses are prey animals and have an inborn fear of things that are not familiar to them. Once they are comfortable being brushed and rubbed, they will have to be introduced to a saddle and bridle and learn what each object is for, be taught to accept a rider on their backs, and then learn how to gallop on the racetrack amongst other horses. After all of this is accomplished, then they are ready to begin race training.

For the first two or three days, the horse will be allowed to settle into his new home and become familiar with his surroundings. This gives him time to get to know the people who will be handling him and become comfortable with them being in his stall. Once the new arrival has become accustomed to his stable mates and adjusts to a new routine, he will be introduced to a saddle pad. He will be allowed to sniff it before the pad is rubbed along his back, neck, and sides. Some horses object to this at first, while others seem to care less.

After walking around the stall a time or two with the pad on his back, the saddle is brought out. We use "exercise" saddles (pictured on the left), which are smaller and lighter than english saddles. The "student" is also allowed to sniff and nibble the saddle before it is carefully eased onto his back. The girth, which is similar to a belt, holds the saddle in place and has elastic on the ends. It is slowly tightened, one notch at a time, to give the horse time to adjust to the feeling of the pressure. Here again, some horses don't seem to mind the saddle, while others will attempt to buck it off.

Once our pupil is comfortable being saddled, he will begin wearing the bridle so that he can learn the feel of the metal mouthpiece. I always use full-cheek snaffles (pictured on the right) on the babies I start. It is a mild bit and the long prongs on the sides will assist in teaching the youngster to turn. Once the baby doesn't mind the bit anymore, which can be anywhere from a few minutes to a 15 minute session a day for a few days, he begins learning what the bit is actually for.

It has now been about 7 - 10 days since the horse arrived and it is time to start schooling in the round pen, a circular enclosure about 50 - 60 ft in diameter. The baby has already been in the round pen by this time, working on a lunge line (a 30 ft. long rope attached to the halter, which is a leather or nylon apparatus that fits on his head, somewhat like a walking harness used for dogs). He has learned how to walk, trot and canter/lope in a circle around his handler in both directions (clockwise and counter clockwise).

Now, a lunge line, or driving line, is secured to each side of the bit and runs through the stirrups (a ring with a flat bottom fixed on a leather strap, usually hung from each side of a saddle by an adjustable strap to create a footrest for a person). The handler holds the lines about 15 ft. or so behind the baby horse and slightly at an angle to its hip. This way, the handler can be seen by the horse. Now, the baby is asked to move forward. As the horse moves around the pen, his handler will ask him to turn in both directions by pulling on the lines, stopping and going on command. This process is called long-lining, or driving (pictured on the left). The horse learns to respond to the pull of the bit and voice commands. This lesson will continue for a few days to a week or so, depending on how long it takes each particular horse to learn this step of his education.

The next step is actually mounting for the first time (pictured on the left). This will usually be done in the stall. I will put a foot in the stirrup, apply gentle pressure, and bounce up and down. This gives baby a chance to see the rider moving up toward his back. All horses react differently, just as they do in each step of their schooling. Some stand quietly, but most will jump away until they realize that no harm is coming to them. At this time, I will ease up and lay across the horse's back. If he is okay with this, baby is encouraged to walk around the stall before I will put my leg over his back and actually sit on him. Depending on the reaction, I may only mount in the stall for a couple of days.

When the horse is finally comfortable being ridden in the stall, we will go to the round pen and repeat the same process. Many horses that don't try to buck in the stall will try out in the open. We will only walk around the first day or two, then progress to a trot. After the pupil is trotting in a relaxed manner, we step it on up to a canter/lope. I will keep some babies working in the round pen for a week or two, depending on how they are progressing and responding to the rider.

It is now been about a month since the horse first arrived, and if everything has gone well, he is ready to go to the track for the first time. It will probably be another month before he is galloping well on the racetrack with other horses. From this point, it will take about 8 months, on average, before a young horse is ready for his first race.

Ready to run in two months? When pigs fly!

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