Thought we'd be sending 2yr old to be broke. Well xray came back and knees not closed yet. So I guess well be looking forward to the 2010 CA Fair Circuit, as a 3 yr old.
Anyone else on here bummed by the fact knees not closed up?
Darn carpus.....
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Re: Darn carpus.....
ireneinwa wrote:Thought we'd be sending 2yr old to be broke. Well xray came back and knees not closed yet. So I guess well be looking forward to the 2010 CA Fair Circuit, as a 3 yr old.
Anyone else on here bummed by the fact knees not closed up?
If everyone waited until their knees were closed to break them, there would hardly be a 2 yo race. It's ok to break them before they are closed - just don't turn the crank up on them.
I break my babies in the fall of their yearling year. 30-45 days of hacking around the farm. Bring them back up in the spring of their two year old year. Hack them for 30 days at farm and then off to the racetrack. Gallop until ready to breeze then x ray. If closed I go on. If not I kick them out. Studies show conclusive evidence that stressing a young horse after their last major growth spurt (usually from 18-24 months) develops a sounder racehorse at maturity.
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doublete
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I've tried the whole wait and wait game. I don't think it worked to my advantage.
I agree with the above poster (after waiting on several and now realizing I made mistakes). Breaking them and putting the weight on their backs, teaching them to go forward and gallop (NO SPEED), is best for them in the long run. It is when you put speed into a horse whose knees aren't closed that you run into problems. Stifles close after knees, so you still need to be careful on a young horse.
But it is much better for the animal I think to break them and get them going, then xray. If they aren't closed then you turn them out until they are and they're all ready to go on. And have already proven they can do the long slow stuff.
I agree with the above poster (after waiting on several and now realizing I made mistakes). Breaking them and putting the weight on their backs, teaching them to go forward and gallop (NO SPEED), is best for them in the long run. It is when you put speed into a horse whose knees aren't closed that you run into problems. Stifles close after knees, so you still need to be careful on a young horse.
But it is much better for the animal I think to break them and get them going, then xray. If they aren't closed then you turn them out until they are and they're all ready to go on. And have already proven they can do the long slow stuff.
Racing and retraining.
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Laurierace
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zinn21 wrote:I break my babies in the fall of their yearling year. 30-45 days of hacking around the farm. Bring them back up in the spring of their two year old year. Hack them for 30 days at farm and then off to the racetrack. Gallop until ready to breeze then x ray. If closed I go on. If not I kick them out. Studies show conclusive evidence that stressing a young horse after their last major growth spurt (usually from 18-24 months) develops a sounder racehorse at maturity.
I generally do a version of this by sending my two year olds to be broke in February and then come to the track in May. I xray before they work but believe its very important to stress those bones to get them to lay down calcium while they are still young.
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karenkarenn
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