how do horses train?

Quoted message said:

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained? do the jockeys make them do intervals
and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

Remember, they race shorter distances than road racers do; 2 miles is considered a pretty long race
for thoroughbreds, and even "classic" distances top out at a mile and a quarter. They also run a
lot faster than people, so maybe this combination makes them more like human sprinters than
distance runners.

Maybe they train more like Lyndon than like you or I. I'm fairly sure they don't put in lots of long
(overdistance) training runs, but it would be cool to find out more.

Karen

Quoted message said:

hi

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained? do the jockeys make them do intervals
and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

Good question. My summer 100 mile race is with horses and I never asked. Some finish in front of me
and many finish after me. I was always amazed how well the horses did in the dark. Unlike us two
legged toads horses they don't need much or any light. The riders typically wore head lamps so they
could see the trail markers.

What I do know is how well they take care of the horses during the race. They have many mandatory
vet checks where pulse and temps are taken and the horses can not leave until pulse and temp
stabilize. On hot days a horse may have to stay a half hour.

I'm sure for the long stuff they have to do long rides but what proportion I haven't any idea. You
could probably look up ride and tie races and get some ideas. I'll try and ask this year if I'm
cognizant enough to ask.

--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector" [email hidden]

Horses do fartleks regardless of wether they're in training, or not. It's from all the
roughage they eat.

Good grief. Isn't this a little like a swimmer asking "how are dolphins trained"?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

hi

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained? do the jockeys make them do intervals
and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

thanks jobs

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

hi

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained? do the jockeys make them do intervals
and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

They train much like humans but with different terminology. The most difficult thing is that you
can't ask a horse how he feels at any given time so you have to be very good at recognizing when
he's going good or not so good and what might be causing either. Trainers are constantly monitoring
eating habits, body temperature, stall habits, etc. to get an idea of just how a horse is feeling.
Some have also started using HRM's and training in specified zones much like humans have been doing
for years.

Jim Johnson

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

hi

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained? do the jockeys make them do intervals
and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

thanks jobs

If you can find it (aren't you in Europe?) rent the movie "Seabiscuit". The story of a horse who won
big races in the US in 30's (or maybe 40's). I didn't find the movie to be all that great but there
were many scenes where the training was shown that I could identify with as a runner. In any case
both horse and jockey train together. The more the jockey knows about the horse the more the horse
trusts the jockey and the faster they both go.

Andy

Doug Freese said:

What I do know is how well they take care of the horses during the race. They have many mandatory
vet checks where pulse and temps are taken and the horses can not leave until pulse and temp
stabilize. On hot days a horse may have to stay a half hour.

This is typical of most races with animals, I think. It sure is for the sled dog races. If you want
to run long in your next life, be reincarnated as an Iditarod dog 😉 They even have booties to
protect their feet in rough conditions (frequently sewn by volunteers, not running shoe companies),
get paw massages, etc. There's mandatory vet checks and at least a 24-hr layover anywhere, one 8-hr
along the Yukon and another 8-hr in White Mountain before the last push (=sprint from here) to Nome.
Race duration now is generally about 9 days for winner and add 5 or 6 for the red lantern.

The best mushers are known for their dog care, and the dogs respond accordingly. There's an award
(Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian award) for the musher that takes the best care of their dogs - as
voted by vets in Nome after examining dogs. iditarod.comveterinary corner.htmlOpen ↗

BTW, since mushers sometimes run behind the sled (not in light running gear or shoes), esp. on
uphills, some train as runners also - for their own good, but also to learn more about endurance
training so they can improve how they train their dogs. So I would assume there's a lot of transfer
in training techniques. But I don't think I've seen any mention of hrm for dogs, like I've seen on
the Polar website for horses 😉

Dot that time of year up here 🙂 and the humans started Sat on their own adventure
alaskaultrasport.comRACE%20UPDATES.htmlOpen ↗

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

I ran into a gal who was an exercise jocky at Santa Anita in LA, and asked her the same question.

I had suspected they did intervals like human milers do (most horseraces at tracks are less than 1.5
miles). I was surprised when she said, no, that training horses in shorter distances would cause
them to let up in a race.

This contradicts what I learned in the book "Seabiscuit", about horses being quite competitive, and
not wanting to get beat. Seabiscuit also did lots of 100 yd quick starts in preparation for the
match race with triple-crown winner War Admiral.

The jockey said they did longer (1+ mile) workouts, and used such strange terminology, e.g.,
"breezing" that it was difficult to communicate with her.

As far as endurance horses go, I have a friend who owns a horse which has won the Tevis Cup (which
inspired the WS100). I've ridden it, and all I can say is that it's quite a ride to blast up a mile-
long uphill at a near gallop. He trains not so differently than many ultra runners do--just faster.
Horses can also keep their conditioning much longer than humans -- after a three weeks in the stall,
the owner said they don't lose much.

--Dan

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

hi

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained? do the jockeys make them do intervals
and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

thanks jobs

"Surf McBrowse" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Good grief. Isn't this a little like a swimmer asking "how are dolphins trained"?

I don't know Surf... how many dolphin races occur in your area each year? Ask one of those
thoroughbred dolphin trainers if their techniques are similar to those used for horse races... that
would probably be your best bet.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org "The most insecure people are the ones you see, putting
other people down constantly."

joe positive said:

Remember, they race shorter distances than road racers do; 2 miles is considered a pretty long
race for thoroughbreds, and even "classic" distances top out at a mile and a quarter.

actually, i didn't know that. when you watch clips on TV, it seems like the race goes on for a
long time.

i checked the web, and apparently, "secretariat" once did 1.5 miles in 2:24. incredible 🙂

jobs

p.s.: btw, karen, i read your marathon report. work had me drowned up to my widow's peak at the
time. great race, great time. more so, with all that ITB problems you've been having of late.
good luck in boston.

Doug Freese <[email hidden]> wrote: ...

Quoted message said:

Unlike us two legged toads horses they don't need much or any light. The riders typically wore
head lamps so they could see the trail markers.

i guess with those hooves/horseshoes they have, they probably don't get hurt even if they step on
little unopened pine cones.

Quoted message said:

What I do know is how well they take care of the horses during the race. They have many mandatory
vet checks where pulse and temps are taken and the horses can not leave until pulse and temp
stabilize. On hot days a horse may have to stay a half hour.

very interesting.

Quoted message said:

I'm sure for the long stuff they have to do long rides but what proportion I haven't any idea. You
could probably look up ride and tie races and get some ideas. I'll try and ask this year if I'm
cognizant enough to ask.

that would be nice.

jobs

maybe. if they had dolphin races. 🙂

jobs

Surf McBrowse said:

Good grief. Isn't this a little like a swimmer asking "how are dolphins trained"?

Jim Johnson said:

They train much like humans but with different terminology. The most difficult thing is that you
can't ask a horse how he feels at any given time so you have to be very good at recognizing when
he's going good or not so good and what might be causing either.

to some extent, that's probably why we humans have coaches ;-)

Quoted message said:

Trainers are constantly monitoring eating habits, body temperature, stall habits, etc. to get an
idea of just how a horse is feeling.

i found this fascinating bit of info on the web:

" A horse is a large animal and needs to drink a considerable amount of water. The Manual of
Horsemanship says: "The body of an adult horse is 60 to 70 per cent water and although a horse can
lose almost all his body fat and half the body protein and survive; a 20 per cent loss of water can
prove fatal. As a rough guide, horses drink 27 to 54 litres a day, but may need more in hot
weather." (19)"

the full text is at this URL: viva.org.ukhorsereport1.htmOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Some have also started using HRM's and training in specified zones much like humans have been
doing for years.

time for a thread : which is the best HRM for horses? ;-) or (this one for doug) : if i run with a
horse, will his HRM and my HRM interfere with each other?

regards jobs

amh said:

If you can find it (aren't you in Europe?) rent the movie "Seabiscuit". The story of a horse who
won big races in the US in 30's

actually, i'm in southern california. 🙂

coincidentally, i was reading some article about seabiscuit's oscar nomination and since yesterday
was the oscars ceremony, i was thinking about horses and running and then this thread bolted out of
my neural gates.

Quoted message said:

(or maybe 40's). I didn't find the movie to be all that great but there were many scenes where the
training was shown that I could identify with as a runner. In any case both horse and jockey train
together. The more the jockey knows about the horse the more the horse trusts the jockey and the
faster they both go.

thanks for the tip. i guess i'll rent it sometime.

jobs

Dan Stumpus <[email hidden]> wrote: ....

Quoted message said:

This contradicts what I learned in the book "Seabiscuit", about horses being quite competitive,
and not wanting to get beat. Seabiscuit also did lots of 100 yd quick starts in preparation for
the match race with triple-crown winner War Admiral.

they look so peaceful when they are grazing. don't look like they would be that competitive. a
little chihuahua looks more competitive 🙂

Quoted message said:

The jockey said they did longer (1+ mile) workouts, and used such strange terminology, e.g.,
"breezing" that it was difficult to communicate with her.

heh heh 🙂

Quoted message said:

As far as endurance horses go, I have a friend who owns a horse which has won the Tevis Cup (which
inspired the WS100). I've ridden it, and all I can say is that it's quite a ride to blast up a mile-
long uphill at a near gallop.

for an increased adrenaline rush, try doing it downhill the next time. i once rode one downhill and
it was a thrill each time it would pick up some (very little) speed. and this was just barely
trotting speed. i can't imagine galloping down.

jobs

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Jim Johnson said:

Some have also started using HRM's and training in specified zones much like humans have been
doing for years.

Training horses involves all the same principles as training humans does: periodization,
specificity, recovery etc.

For trotters basic endurance could be long 10-12K jogs (or brisk walks) up to four per week,
strength work would be a few 1200m hill repeats no more then twice per week. Then you´d do heats,
1-2x 1600-3000m well below race pace, twice per week with maybe an hour of brisk walking or jogging
on other days. Finally inter- vals, 4-6x 500-700m below race pace, once a week.

(Race distances are 1600m, 2100m and (not often) 2600m. The 3100m is considered a specialty, an
event for "stayers".)

Quoted message said:

time for a thread : which is the best HRM for horses? ;-) or (this one for doug) : if i run with a
horse, will his HRM and my HRM interfere with each other?

horsehrm.comhorsehrm.comOpen ↗ - Polar is the pioneering marketleader here:-)

Anders

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

amh said:

If you can find it (aren't you in Europe?) rent the movie "Seabiscuit". The story of a horse who
won big races in the US in 30's

actually, i'm in southern california. 🙂

Hmmm, I remember someone with a name similar to yours from Sweden or something like that. He always
posted about races in KMs through towns with not enough vowels.

Quoted message said:

coincidentally, i was reading some article about seabiscuit's oscar nomination and since yesterday
was the oscars ceremony, i was thinking about horses and running and then this thread bolted out
of my neural gates.

Circular logic?

Andy

Quoted message said:

when you watch clips on TV, it seems like the race goes on for a long time.

Especially when you've bet the rent money, it can be the longest couple of minutes of your life. But
after you've watched a bunch of races you'll realize that they generally last long enough for the
race caller to give you the field order 2 or 3 times, then the "down the stretch they come!" part
lasts another 10 or 15 seconds and then it's all over.

Quoted message said:

p.s.: btw, karen, i read your marathon report. work had me drowned up to my widow's peak at the
time. great race, great time. more so, with all that ITB problems you've been having of late.
good luck in boston.

Thanks. I've got another marathon (Chicago) before Boston, so I'll have some more experience by this
time next year.

Karen

Quoted message said:

hi

just wondering if anyone knew how race horses are trained?

Sleep on sawdust and eat lots of oats (from Purina, not Quaker).

Quoted message said:

do the jockeys make them do intervals and fartleks? LSDs and tempos?

thanks jobs