The push to train younger and/or harder makes me sad. It’s bad enough now.
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It’s not necessarily a push to train horses younger and harder. It’s about trying to find the right balance.
Race horses have to train at two if they are going to develop the bone density to withstand racing. But it’s also a balancing act to know where they are in their maturation to take it to the next level.
Without reading the whole study, though, I’m a little bit baffled by their conclusion that lights might mean the ability to withstand additional HIT. It seems like they are assuming the horses under lights finish growing faster than those in normal winter light conditions. To me, a growth spurt doesn’t mean the horse is necessarily done growing- the light might just lead to a longer period of growth. Maybe this is addressed in the full study, though. 
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I appreciate your perspective but disagree with the theory that training at two makes them stronger to withstand the rigors of race training. Maybe it does in one small area of their bodies but not as a whole.
I know the western show crowd uses lights to try to block winter coat growth. Whether that works or not doesn’t really matter if the people believe it.
The crap we do to horses is sad.
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That “small area” is their bones. When those small things snap while racing, it’s a big problem.
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Yeah, exactly. Just like we’ve seen over and over again on the track we can only imagine what happens off track. Stressing bones does help with growth, abusing bones breaks them.
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Anecdotally, I find a noticeable difference between my weanlings/short yearlings who are raised in FL and the ones raised in KY. The FL youngsters are typically bigger and more mature looking (nicer musculature, proportionate growth). The KY youngsters do catch up eventually, but the FL horses don’t seem to go through that hideous “winter uglies” phase that the northern yearlings suffer in Dec-Jan-Feb. The FL yearlings keep growing at a steady rate all winter long and maintain good toplines.
I attributed it more to warm weather (not stealing “growth calories” to keep warm) but I could see our longer winter daylight causing this accelerated maturity as well.
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Do not be sad, become better informed.
All of us heard the same old ideas, they made sense, but we learned and we know better today:
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Because I call bs on that. The proof is in the horses. If the research was true we’d have iron horses coming off the track instead of cripples.
How many race horses have you trained?
There are plenty that race sound and go on afterwards to retrain for other disciplines and do well there the rest of their lives, or retire to the breeding shed sound.
Years ago most hunter/jumpers in the US came directly from the track, many ranch horses were OTTBs.
Practically every horse we trained and retrained, was not sold or claimed, went to do other, sound and in top physical condition, as fox hunters, as many as we would provide, those were in big demand.
Are there horses that are not trained well or are not suited for running and are not sound after running?
Certainly, many as are horses mismanaged in any other we may do with them.
That there are some doesn’t mean all are.
I wonder how much that thinking that all race horses are crippled is confirmation bias for some beliefs, not reality.
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It’s interesting to me when people think their own opinions carry more weight than verifiable science.
This is a compilation of the latest studies, explained in easy to understand words. It cites vets like Dr. Larry Bramlage, one of the top 5 equine surgeons in the country.
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Apologies if I’m missing it, where is it stated who funded these studies?
If we’re ok with this young of horse racing, are we equally ok with QH futurities for cutting and reining?
Cutting and reining don’t require increased bone density.
No one is saying “working babies is always good.” But for racing, it is necessary.
Every country in the world begins race training thoroughbreds at 2. Even places like Germany.
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If you’re calling bs, then where is YOUR scientific, peer reviewed, and published study that says differently?
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Look at the trail of broken ottb’s. You don’t need studies to see the obvious.
Don’t let old ideas keep you from learning what we know better today, with real facts.
Just think, a kid starts playing ball in grade school, then plays with more technique in high school and college and becomes a pro.
What are the chances that the most ball playing talented human will be a pro star if it only starts playing first time in a pro team, against those that grew up teaching their bodies muscle memory and their minds work ethic of playing?
Is no different for horses, young colts, as they grow into their mature bodies doing what they are bred to, run in races, cutting, reining, will just be better and sounder and more comfortable than those that play around maturing into a less prepared horse for the task at hand.
If you had backed and trained plenty of horses for a while you by now would realize that those started early and trained well just were better all around, stayed sound and contented thru their whole life, given that good steady appropriate management from young for that task at hand.
I came over from Europe 50+ years ago, was surprised so many horses in all disciplines were started before 4 years of age, that just was not right.
After having a chance to learn to start and train from two’s up, boy, what a difference, horses all along were so much easier, so much less resistances, all around everyone was better off, the horses especially.
As for injuries, well, plenty happen to horses in the pasture before they are even started, is the way life works.
Plenty of studies over the past years now have shown that is so.
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Racing is hard on a horse, period. It has always been hard on horses. At no point in history were there “unbreakable” racehorses.
Your assertion that this problem stems from starting them too early is not an uncommon claim, so it has been investigated thoroughly. Almost everyone has asked themselves if the age at which horses begin racing is the problem. It seems logical, especially when we know beginning work too early in careers like dressage and jumping can be problematic.
Time and time again, the data shows that horses who do not race at two are more likely to suffer a career-ending musculoskeletal injury. This fact has reigned true in multiple studies completed in multiple countries. That doesn’t mean horses don’t ever get injured- they do. But statistically, horses who begin racing at two have longer careers than those who begin racing at a later age.
I could link a bunch of these studies for you, but very good summaries have been posted above and I’m not sure it would make much of a difference to you.
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No the studies wouldn’t because I can see how they benefit owners and trainers rather than the horse.
And with this I say goodnight or good morning to horse users.
How many horses have you started, trained and followed thru their lives?
Do not look to confirm your bias, try to learn when what we used to know is shown to be not quite right, for the horse’s sake here.
All of us have been there, to keep learning is how we learn to do better.
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How does it benefit an owner or trainer to spend $$$$ on horses, only to have them break and be unusable?
Unsound horses benefit no one. It’s money down the drain in a very expensive sport.
I’m not saying racing is perfect. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And at one time, I saw two year old racing as a problem as well. I still think it can be a problem when you have big goals like the Breeders Cup Juvenile or the Magic Millions 2yo Classic. But boy, seeing the data in black and white changed my mind. Horses have to be exposed to racing speeds while their bodies are actively remodeling to withstand the rigors.
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It’s so frustrating to argue this point with people who have never started a young horse, much less one at 2, 3, 4 or older. I used to be the same as Bluey; breaking 2yos is cruel! Mean! Unsafe! Bad for them! Greedy! Impatient!
And then in 2007 my boss asked me to start some TB yearlings. I was morally uncomfortable with the idea of it, and I wanted to hate it.
Instead, I learned how wrong I was. How it was so easy! The horses enjoyed it! They were trained thoughtfully, progressively, with utmost concern for their development and well being. It was so much better for them to “work” for 10 minutes a day when their minds and bodies were prime for adapting to new workloads.
I start my own homebred sport horses around 20-24 months and enjoy their strong work ethics, sound minds and bodies.
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