Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Todays Work
Sumwonlovesyou had her first official work today at the Fair Grounds. She worked four furlongs after the break around 9:00 am. She backed up (jogged the wrong way on the track) for 1 1/2 miles before hooking up with my pony. They galloped to the 5/8ths pole where the ponyboy set her free. Sumwon broke off nicely from the 1/2 mile pole and settled into a steady pace around the turn. She did not switch leads on time going into or coming out of the turn, which we are attributing to poor habits she had developed. She responded well at the 3/16th pole and finished up strong while galloping out on her wrong lead. She was a bit winded pulling up but quickly recovered. The clockers did not post a time for her probably because they (like alot of us) misspelled her name. I did not clock her but believe she went around 51 for the 1/2 mile. The time was not important as I was pleased that she was willing to listen to the rider and not just take off. I think that as she gains confidence and trust she will do better with her lead changes and anxiety around other horses. She has gotten significantly better in that regard and hopefully will continue to improve. As for a race, it is increasingly looking like Keeneland will be our best bet. It is not that she could not run now (if there was a race) but I want to get her where I'm satisfied that we have got her 100%.
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9 comments:
glad to see she's improving and that you are pleased with her progress..
tony and i would like to come down and visit--i've gotten the day off of work monday, march 19--would that day be ok? if so, i'll need to hammer out the details of what time and where to show up. thanks so much chuck for everything you're doing for us and deetee.
As far as the lead issue goes, that's how she was going in her races at MTN and TP. I'm curious, not being around horses and all, how does a trainer work on a horse to get them to switch to their right lead? I know someone had mentioned that some horses just won't do it because it is uncomfortable...is this a physical uncomfort or more of a mental block?? Once again, just curious...
Just wondering, too, do you automatically put your barn on products like Gastroguard and Lubricin as a general rule?
Thanks for the detail, Chuck, it's much appreciated!
Jeremy
Lead changes are something that horses are usually taught early and become like second nature. Sometimes failure to change can be a physical thing. In this horses case I believe that she was poorly trained and simply gets confused. She still has some growing to do and as such is not yet fully developed in her hind section, which also may be another reason why she is having a hard time with her leads.
Riot
All my horses are on Lubrisyn. I use U7 and Reborn for ulcer management. All my horses get U7 daily and many of them also get the Reborn. Gastrogard is given for those that have serious ulcer problems.
CS
Thanks for the details Chuck. It's obvious you know what you're doing even if I don't. In fact, I was wondering if you have the same expertise with red headed woman. I have a wife that always takes the lead in every conversation with me. Any suggestions on getting her to switch leads and let me talk?
Spyder from SC
Spyder
Just throw the reins at her and hope she gets tired.
CS
Groan! :-)
I thought changing leads was a natural habit in horses and not something a horse really has to be taught. With a horse of this age, shouldn't she know her leads by now? Is it in the best interest of the horse (and rider) to be working it if it doesn't understand its leads? Isn't there any danger of the horse crossing its legs and possibly falling not being on the correst lead? I read an article once about this happening to a jockey in a race.
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