Question for trainers .Where do you train?

[Blue feather]

I am considering training at my small farm.I know several trainers who train with an exercise machine only. They ship to track to breeze. Some appear to do it successfully. Any feedback would be helpful.

[dublino]

Have you looked at this?

http://thoroedge.wordpress.com/

It might be a help if you are only conditioning on a treadmill, having someway of monitoring the horses fitness?

Just a thought....

[madelyn]

I/we have tried it "all" - but really, unless you are just conditioning a layoff who already knows how to race, you need a track with a starting gate for your young horses to be able to be schooled on. I know several trainers who use Eurocisers and galloping wheels and I don't really know anyone who safely uses them above a jog. What they are GREAT for is putting a horse to walk cool in after the horse has worked. The concept of galloping in one of these might seem good until you have a bad actor really break it up and kick the divider or rear up and put its legs over one, bringing the thing crashing down and causing $$$ damage. I've seen more than my share of accidents in a wheel.

The filly/mare that I talked about in another thread (my five year old maiden) was schooled on a little dirt track with hills etc. on a small farm that was nothing more than a path really, for over a year. She spent a few weeks at River Downs but it was not NEAR enough. The trainer I hired to pick her up from that environment said "she needs to go ON THE TRACK" and "IN COMPANY". And that is what we are doing.

Certainly, you can do prep/pre-condition on a farm with a wheel - like 60 days of jogging. But at some point the horse needs to learn about the track.

[ageecee]

If you have older and experienced horses then its perfect for them.

If you have young and unstarted horses then thats probably not the best thing for them. They need to be at the track seeing everything.

[Joltman]

Janet DelCastillo's Backyard Racehorse book addresses the topic well. Many successful trainers stay off track at suitable facilities (emphasis on suitable - like Fair Hill) and are very successful. Save for a couple of breezes in company and maybe a couple weeks at the track, off the track is the way I would go, if I ever go again.

jm

[madelyn]

Fair Hill has a track. When I say track, I don't necessarily mean racetrack. A decent track at a training center is perfect.

[karenkarenn]

I have one in Hurricane Ut.

[Joltman]

I think that small training tracks can be safer surfaces, better cushion, than what is at the race tracks, which get constant use often at speed.

jm

[karenkarenn]

Its true less horses there and less accidents.

[madelyn]

The BIG difference is that small training centers may not have enough equipment to do the constant repair and maintenance that larger operations do to their track.

[karenkarenn]

UNLESS they get money from others using their property for other things. It does happen and they do make the money..

[madelyn]

It really depends on the place. To get back to the OP's question, there is only so much you can do on a small farm unless you are really just bringing one back from a layoff.

[btcountess]

How's High Point and Trackside (former Spectrum) in Louisville area?

[madelyn]

Trackside does not open until March. It has gone to a Churchill schedule - closed end of Dec until about mid-March. It only has the track and Churchill's running it. You can't get in there with any non KY-breds, they make you maintain everything yourself, and the only reason I "love" it is that it is 15 minutes from my farm.

High Point is a great facility but nowhere near Louisville. It is 1hr and 10min each way from me and really and truly in the middle of nowhere. Something like 15 miles east northeast of LaGrange. They've kind of always been hard to deal with unless you take a lot of stalls. For example, if you have six, and there are three empties, they will make YOU move to give 9 to someone else. I know one small trainer out there who has had to move three times in the last four months. I don't know if you get the "scope" of that - you've got all your equipment in, your stalls fixed and bedded, feeders and buckets, everything done and you have to tear it all down and move to another barn. But it IS a really great place, with Eurocisers, Turnout paddocks, 1/4 mile indoor track, etc.

There is nothing else in Louisville area in winter except private. Skylight is all private.

[stlouiskid]

I have known a lot of people who try and get horses fit by jogging them in big barns, etc. Problem is when they get to a racetrack, they often freak out. Seen several fast horses ruined like this. Part of a good racehorse is the eye, and dealing with the surroundings and sounds of a mile track.
Best example I ever heard was like a minor league ballplayer doing great in the lower leagues, but when he gets to the bigs with the three deck stadiums and 40,000 people in the stands, they get overwhelmed.
Young horses need long gallops over large expansive racetracks in my opinion.