Training Question
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Bulletwork
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Training Question
Can you get a horse ready to breeze or run by galloping on turf gallops?
You'd be able to get a horse up to a breeze (1/4 or easy 3/8ths) from training on a turf gallop. Of course you'd want to be sure the horse had a solid enough foundation to move up to a breeze.
If you're asking can you maintain a fitness level good enough to compete in a race, the answer is maybe. That would depend on the level of fitness to begin with and the length of time since the last race.
If you're asking can you maintain a fitness level good enough to compete in a race, the answer is maybe. That would depend on the level of fitness to begin with and the length of time since the last race.
It all depends on what you mean by 'turf gallops'. In the hands of a knowledgeable horseman there is no limit to the fitness that a horse can be brought to on unconventional surfaces, whether it is out galloping on the prairie or swimming in a pool, the knowledge and experience of the person overseeing the training will determine whether the horse becomes fit enough to breeze or race.
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ratherrapid
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Winds,
Our horses race on the grass, so the best surface to train on, in our opinion, is the same one on which they'll compete. That said, there's no better fitness preparation for ours, even in the rare instances they might race on the dirt or synthetic, than a mile and a half gallop on a winding turf course where the last quarter is uphill and ideal for 'the breeze' portion of the work. It's difficult to put speed into a horse that trains off the farm, so the actual races tend to provide that component once the fitness level is there from the long turf gallops. Our trainer has always said that if a horse can't blow out a match at the end of the 4F uphill breeze, it's fit. Irrespective of the actual competitive surface, turf can put great 'bottom' on a horse in the hands of the right trainer, and is a very forgiving natural surface on which to run. As TBRace points out, the Euros have been prepping horses this way for centuries.
Our horses race on the grass, so the best surface to train on, in our opinion, is the same one on which they'll compete. That said, there's no better fitness preparation for ours, even in the rare instances they might race on the dirt or synthetic, than a mile and a half gallop on a winding turf course where the last quarter is uphill and ideal for 'the breeze' portion of the work. It's difficult to put speed into a horse that trains off the farm, so the actual races tend to provide that component once the fitness level is there from the long turf gallops. Our trainer has always said that if a horse can't blow out a match at the end of the 4F uphill breeze, it's fit. Irrespective of the actual competitive surface, turf can put great 'bottom' on a horse in the hands of the right trainer, and is a very forgiving natural surface on which to run. As TBRace points out, the Euros have been prepping horses this way for centuries.
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Bulletwork
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