>>>>>Yes she competed at the Los Alamitos Race Track 1993
-1995 and continued in training until 1998. Thereafter, she kept herself
relatively fit running with my other mares up/down the hill overlooking
>>>my farm.
In reply to Angierides2far ……. I was
seriously interested in whether she had run...not just trying
to corner
someone. For
years I have read the bantering that goes back and forth on this board. >From the
question and answers that are posted I know many here are very
knowledgeable if not professional horsemen/women. Others come to this board
looking for answers and may be new to Endurance/Sporthorses and
or have little experience with horses at all. I did not feel cornered by
your question.
Keenly aware that anyone can look up the records of a given
horse/rider competing in Endurance and may try to emulate that same
program, I felt your question to be an honest one. With a different horse/rider
combination Mommesin’s Ride schedule over this past year could have been the
steps toward disaster. By that I mean; Mommesin had a solid base of athletic
training hardened by races/Alyx has ridden several thousand miles on many
different horses having the ability to decide whether or not she could safely
compete Mommesin in 100 Mile races within the given time frame. This same
program may/would not work for the average horse.
I would not have let many people take this mare to be pointed towards the
Pan Am with this given time frame. Before making my final decision, I spoke at
great length with Randy Eiland a trusted friend about Alyx’s ability. I knew her
strengths/weaknesses before sending Mommesin to her.
Having spoken with Alyx via phone/email numerous times over the past
year, I have seen her mature tremendously in these past six months. She is
becoming a very responsible young woman who I hope will one day become an
outstanding trainer. Alyx is now working with Stacctinacity who while trained
for the track, was not raced and therefore will need to have a more Classic
Endurance Training Schedule, slowly building her endurance/stamina. Sometime in
the distant future Mommesin will be retired and Stacctinacity is being groomed
to take her place. They have virtually the same pedigree but Stacctinacity is
15’3 + hands tall.
Now...another question. Do you find that
horses that *weren't* especially successful on the track (maybe not
competitive enough) cross over into endurance better? Absolutely! The
muscles of some Arabian horses cannot “fire” until they have been galloped out
for several miles. The longest Arabian race at the Track is about 1-½ miles / 12
Furlongs and usually the conditions on these races are for
older/more-experienced horses.
“weren't* especially successful” …That’s a different matter all
together. In Racing in particular there are essentially two ways to train a
horse; the Classic Method in which a horse is started from the ground and
developed as the individual is ready to move forward culminating in races ....
or .... the Cowboy’s Version in which a horse is bucked out, taken
to the track galloped/raced around daily for exercise in a make-it-or-break it
mentality culminating in races. Were the horses you speak ofnot successful because of their maturity
(mentally/physically) at the time of training/racing ? the distance they ran
? the trainer ? the expertise of the exercise rider ? the jockey that rode
them ? the track they raced at ? or the unseen problems they developed along the
way ????????
You have to be fairly astute to know which of the factor/factors came
into play. Caveat emptor applies. There are many wonderful ex-Arabian racehorses
out there, but if you’re going to purchase one I would spend $500-600 to have
the joints ex-rayed and the tendons ultra sounded. Preferably this work be done
by a Track Vet in a Clinic set up for racehorses. They have seen hundreds if not
thousands of racehorses and the problems that ensue. Their equipment/personnel
is usually state-of-the-art. I say that because I have received X-rays taken
with inferior equipment /and or diagnostic decisions made that were not correct.
If a Track Vet is not available then choose one whose clients have competed in
Endurance/Sporthorse Events “for many years”. The horse is free ? ... Then take
him/her and train it for a while, you'll know soon enough.
I've been a little leary of horses who
actually stayed on the track and raced several years. I've had very
few who didn't retire "sound". Most have gone on to become successful
in their chosen disciplines or are now ridden for pleasure. Caveat emptor
applies,but you could be passing
up a really terrific horse. Case in point: Bajamigo was an Arabian racehorse I
sold to Garret Ford; he went on to compete in Endurance for over 3000 miles. If
you really like an individual have them checked out as I mentioned above and
then proceed.
ran across one of my dad's App racer's
racing plates the other day and it
was *tiny*. That horse later had a size one
foot when it was my pleasure
horse. I wonder if the size of the
shoe was reflected by the age of the horse when it was trained/raced for the
track?
I'm leary of the way they shoe them there
(at the track) and its long term
effects. Any insight? I have seen
atrocious shoeing at both the Track as well as at the Showgrounds and am sure
you've seen it in Endurance. At the track some (not many) trainers prefer a long
toe/ short heal thinking that it lengthens the horses stride. I know one thing
for sure, if the horse is not made of steel it won’t be too long before this
individual is bowed. Long term effect … of improper shoeing is that the horses
damages his tendons, suspensories, ligaments, rips muscles, chips bones,
ect. ect. ect. I once
knew a Thoroughbred Owner/Farrier who purposely trimmed one hoof shorter
than the other thinking that the individual would navigate the turns better .
Needless to say he crippled many horses…Yikes ! Me ?..... I like toes
short and the angle of the heal in line with the angle of the shoulder .... now
how hard can than be .... don't ever take your eyes off the farrier. While
I had grooms at the Track I always held my own horses for the Farrier
.... This may be the single most important thing I did besides checking my
horses legs/hooves "each-and-every-day" in the morning before training and
once again after they came back to the barn.
