to train .. or not to train?

General Questions
1

I find the training system a BIT overwhelming at times…Well… I was just wondering, being a newbie and all. I decided to post just a few questions, and I would LOVE opinions from you seasoned members!

  1. do you use the training system, or do you just race?

  2. Do you prefer manually training, or automatically? which is more efficient for you?

  3. With horses that’ve never run before, how do you go about your first few training sessions, in an effort to find out how they would best run ?

  4. How do you prefer to train for things such as stamina, strength, speed, etc ?

  5. Do you ever look back ( if possible ) at your horse’s parents/grandparents, siblings, to get an idea on how they’ve run in certain equipment, track conditions, etc, to see if it would help your horse?

  6. do you take in consideration how your horse ran in his last race, when planning how to train for the week?

  7. how many times a week do you train?

8) do you use the same percent in each training session, or do you switch it depending on what you’re doing? in what situations do you use certain percents ?

  1. do you keep track of the times your horse runs, for each activity, or is that not as important as jockey comments ?

  2. do you use the same jock to both ride in races & day to day training ? do you switch jocks when breezing ?

sorry… tried to make it survey like. I’m just interested in how others go about things !

2

I’m also a newbie, so take my answers with the appropriate grain of salt!

But, here’s my answers:

  1. I have been using the training system.  But I try to mostly race.

  2. So far, I’ve manually trained.  I’ve found the automatic schedules a little intimidating…

  3. I trained my first horse (never ran before) like I would imagine a person would train… warm up, workout, cool down.  So… a Jog, a canter, a walk.  Or sometimes I switch up the canter with the breeze.

  4. I haven’t gotten that proficient yet, and my horse hasn’t run enough races for me to target strength, speed, stamina…  I’m also looking forward to experienced players answers to this!

  5. I think my starter horse came from non-existent parents… I can’t find any history records for them.  So no, I haven’t looked at relatives.

  6. Not yet.  My horse has done pretty good in the races that I’ve entered him in.  And as long as he’s fit, I don’t train him between races.

  7. I don’t have a set schedule.  IF they need fitness and won’t be racing soon, I try to work him out every 2-3 days… so about 3 times a week.  But I don’t like to lose the Energy too much.

8) I’ve switched up the percentage.  After one workout, he was injured with heat in his leg.  After a few days off, I did a light workout at 20% to make sure he didn’t get hurt worse.  Most of the time, I’ve worked out at 100%

  1. I’ve just been looking at the jockey comments. 

  2. I use the same jockey to workout the horse.  Since I have been relying on jockey comments, I want the jockey to get to know my horse.  I try to use the same jockey in the races, but you can’t guarantee to get them all the time… but I try.

Thanks for asking the questions!  I, too, am interested in the responses from others.

3

  1. I train my horses when they’re unfit, but otherwise just race

  2. Auto-training, 'cause I’m lazy, but I think manual’s more informative

  3. I set them all up on a low-impact, high frequency training schedule so that they and their jockeys learn each other quickly

  4. I don’t :wink:  I just do low-key stuff so they don’t get too tired

  5. I look for track condition (dirt/turf/SC performance), but that’s about it

  6. nope, see auto-training above

  7. 4-5

  8. All mine train at 100%

  9. Nope, but as I said, I’m lazy

  10. all my horses have default jockeys to train/race with

4

Heehee, cool. A form.  8)

  1. do you use the training system, or do you just race?
    I would never not use the training system. It is very useful for many reasons. One, you can get your horse to A fitness for maximum potential, along with high energy. Two, it gives time for your jockey and horse to get to know each other, so you can figure out what equipment is best for your horse.

  2. Do you prefer manually training, or automatically? which is more efficient for you?
    I’ve never used automatic training, because people seem to think that training the same way weekly doesn’t bring good results. I always train manually.

  3. With horses that’ve never run before, how do you go about your first few training sessions, in an effort to find out how they would best run?
    I try to slowly raise their fitness. The first workout, say walk a half mile then jog a half mile. I usually start the equipment trial and error with no equipment. I slowly build the workouts until they’re galloping and maybe breezing. I don’t tend to breeze much at all, though. I find it takes almost as much energy as racing, and you might as well just race.

  4. How do you prefer to train for things such as stamina, strength, speed, etc?
    I’ve really only trained for fitness.

  5. Do you ever look back ( if possible ) at your horse’s parents/grandparents, siblings, to get an idea on how they’ve run in certain equipment, track conditions, etc, to see if it would help your horse?
    I make mental notes for my babies, but not with the horses I started with. I just started from scratch. The horses I started with were FF bred anyway, so you couldn’t look at the family.

  6. do you take in consideration how your horse ran in his last race, when planning how to train for the week?
    Yes, if the horse did bad in the race. First, if they did badly, I take them home to rest, to raise some NE. Then, I train the horse for fitness and to test changes to see if the jockey says anything. Such as, if I suspect that it was the equipment that didn’t work, then I test equipment and pay attention to the jockey’s comments. Or, if the running line suggests that the length of the track what was wrong, I try running my horse at a changed difference to see if the horse is happier.

  7. how many times a week do you train?
    Depends on how much energy or fitness the horse has.

8) do you use the same percent in each training session, or do you switch it depending on what you’re doing? in what situations do you use certain percents ?
I normally keep it at 100%. I’m sort of scared to use 110%, and though I haven’t had an injured horse who had to rest for a long time yet, (knock on wood) I would use lower percents then to get the horse back on their feet.

  1. do you keep track of the times your horse runs, for each activity, or is that not as important as jockey comments ?
    I pay no attention to times whatsoever, and pay lots of attention to jockey comments, unless the jockey doesn’t know my horse.

  2. do you use the same jock to both ride in races & day to day training ? do you switch jocks when breezing ?
    No no no no.  :)  I always use the same jockey for everything they do for my horse, so they get to know each other. I think races would be the worst time to switch jocks.

sorry… tried to make it survey like. I’m just interested in how others go about things !

5
  1. Do you use the training system, or do you just race?

I actualy race alot less than I used to, I tend to use workouts more now.  It’s really help my two year olds, I think, and it’s been giving a bit of an edge to most of my older horses.

  1. Do you prefer manually training, or automatically? which is more efficient for you?

I manual train.  Alot of my horses like to  BS about their energy so I need to keep an eye on the buggers haha.
3) With horses that’ve never run before, how do you go about your first few training sessions, in an effort to find out how they would best run ?

  1. How do you prefer to train for things such as stamina, strength, speed, etc ?

I don’t.  I mostly jog, and everyone once in a while do some galloping.  I’m only looking to get them fit.

  1. Do you ever look back ( if possible ) at your horse’s parents/grandparents, siblings, to get an idea on how they’ve run in certain equipment, track conditions, etc, to see if it would help your horse?

Not really.  I mean, I use the pedigree page now, and at times I’ll check the siblings of a horse that I just can’t figure out.

  1. do you take in consideration how your horse ran in his last race, when planning how to train for the week?

Um… not really.  I mean, it depends on how bad he bombed.  Alot of the times though I look at it and think about trying new equip while training.

  1. how many times a week do you train?

It all depends on the horse.  I want to watch their energy.  I have one horse that recovers extremely quickly, and he works almost every day.  I have some horses that are slow to recover, so they don’t work that often.

8  do you use the same percent in each training session, or do you switch it depending on what you’re doing? in what situations do you use certain percents ?

Actualy yes haha.  I never pay attention to the percentages.  If I’ve got this super nice horse that hasnt raced, I’ll up the percentages to 110% and put them in a gallop/breeze combo of their liking but otherwise everyone goes 100%.

  1. do you keep track of the times your horse runs, for each activity, or is that not as important as jockey comments ?

I don’t keep track of it.  I should, but after working certain horses I know if they’ve done better/worse just from memory.

  1. do you use the same jock to both ride in races & day to day training ? do you switch jocks when breezing ?

I always always use the same jock.  I want the relationship between jock and horse to be as high as possible, to maximize my horse’s performance.

6

I put into practise some real life training as I do train my own racehorses and am an assistant trainer to a small stable. just so you know.

  1. do you use the training system, or do you just race?

I use a training system

  1. Do you prefer manually training, or automatically? which is more efficient for you?

I prefer training manually

  1. With horses that’ve never run before, how do you go about your first few training sessions, in an effort to find out how they would best run ?

um. I am not quite sure. I do a different technique with each horse. Usually I race them to see how they run in that race then I fiddle with track / gear / distance in training and sometimes races.

  1. How do you prefer to train for things such as stamina, strength, speed, etc ?

some horses I work with fitness only, others if they need more speed I keep short distance training on canter / gallop. for stamina I use just jog or canter low effort over longer distance.

  1. Do you ever look back ( if possible ) at your horse’s parents/grandparents, siblings, to get an idea on how they’ve run in certain equipment, track conditions, etc, to see if it would help your horse?

I have been known to do that.

  1. do you take in consideration how your horse ran in his last race, when planning how to train for the week?

yes I do

  1. how many times a week do you train?

I only train when I think the horse needs it and usually just leading up to the race.

8) do you use the same percent in each training session, or do you switch it depending on what you’re doing? in what situations do you use certain percents ?

I usually use low percentages and one 100% workout every now and then

  1. do you keep track of the times your horse runs, for each activity, or is that not as important as jockey comments ?

I keep track of times so I know if the horse is improving at all. Then I look at the jockey comments and place the Jockey top priority

  1. do you use the same jock to both ride in races & day to day training ? do you switch jocks when breezing ?

I use the same jockey (or try to) for races and training