The career of the racehorse starts well before it runs a race. Well before the horse sets foot on a racecourse, is handed over to a racehorse trainer, or even born, breeders and owners carefully consider which sire and dam will make the best pairing to throw the ideal racehorse. These horses are carefully bred in an effort to pass on select capabilities to their offspring. Ideally, the offspring will naturally possess enough pace, endurance, and ability to help to make it successful, and these characteristics can be perfected when the horse reaches the age when it can be sent to a racehorse trainer and prepared to race.
For most racehorses, life will begin in a breeding barn on a stud farm. Due to the fact all of these racehorses will be given an official birthday of January 1, breeders plan to have foals as near to January as they can so they’ll have more time to grow before beginning to race as 2 yr olds. During the first few days of a new foal’s life, it’ll remain close by its mother as it gets strength. The colt or filly will step by step grow to be more confident. To begin with, foals will need the mare’s milk, but eventually it will start to try to eat grass and later oats and grain. The colt and filly can be weaned from the mare when it’s approximately 6 months of age, and is then known as a weanling.
For a while after weaning, the young horses are allowed to grow in the paddocks. They’re often turned out along with other weanlings to play and grow. Weanlings become yearlings after the first January after they are born. At this stage, they’re technically recognized to be a year old. Although they are still a very long way from beginning schooling with a racehorse trainer, the horses will soon be more directly affected by the racing business.
A lot of yearlings that have potential future opportunities running on the flat will be geared up to be sold at yearling sales. In addition, towards the end of the year and just before their two-year-old birthdays, yearlings will be broken to the saddle. They will be taught to tolerate the saddle and even the extra weight of a rider, and possible an introduction to the gallops, though they won’t be asked to work.
Once the yearlings have been introduced to some of the elements of the life of a racehorse, the best horses will be sent to a racehorse trainer to join his or her stable of horses in training for races. Horses are suitable to race on the flat at two years of age, but jumps are reserved for 3 year olds and older horses.
Some racehorses can be hard to train. Racehorse trainers with practical experience as well as a good knowledge of how to get the best out of a horse will be a good option if your are thinking of buying a racehorse.
