Seriously you guys, TGIF. Photo from “A Pony Known As Satan” FB.
We did it, you guys. We have almost made it to the end of the first week of hell daylight savings time. I don’t know about the rest of you all, but this week has felt like death. The loss of sleep combined with the wacky light at the end of the day (what’s happening) and topped off by some bitter cold that seems like it’s a little misplaced seeing as it’s not “winter” anymore, I’m about toast. I’m like an iPhone running on 10% battery, you should stop asking me to do complicated things like answer questions coherently, and just place me somewhere dark and quiet until I can recharge.
U.S. Weekend Preview:
Pine Top Spring H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Exmoor H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Live Scores]
Stable View H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
MeadowCreek Park H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
Copper Meadows H.T. [Website] [Entry Status/RideTimes/Live Scores]
News From Around the Globe:
Join Retired Racehorse Project for a Hoedown at Hagyard! The party gets started after Rolex cross country with open bar, catering from Red State BBQ and the musical talents of Steve Norman and the Shades of Grass Band. Join in the Equicizer races, or just bet on them! April 29th, 6pm onwards, at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute across from the Kentucky Horse Park, tickets are $35 for RRP Members and $50 for non-members. Also, let me reiterate: open bar. [Buy Tickets Here]
One of the biggest training hurdles you can face with young 4-year-olds is correctly teaching them to move forward into your hand. Although it sounds quite simple, this fundamental skill must be developed at an early age. It is necessary for them to learn this if they’re going to successfully continue their training progress. International event rider Will Faudree, who has brought many horses up the ranks of eventing, likes to introduce this concept in a simple manner, and one that is easy for the horse to begin to understand. [Young Horse Training: ‘Closing Your Leg Doesn’t Mean Go Faster’]
Hot on Horse Nation: A Salute to the Women of Racing
Give me boots that are stylish enough to wear in town but also useful enough to wear in the barn, and I’m sold. An unabashed boot collector, it’s part of my self assigned job to snoop out great deals on cool boots. These Solstice Classic Tall Leather Boot by Smartpak are definitely on my list, and they just went on a crazy sale, from $189 to $75!! Get you some, girl, treat yo’self. [SmartPak Product of the Day]
KER ClockIt™ Sport – Session of the Week
In the ClockIt session below, the rider is taking their horse through its first conditioning sets day of the spring season. The field had some rolling hill and flat sections within it, as you can see from the blue line on the chart.
As you can see, the horse’s heart rate increases each time it goes up a hill, despite little change in speed. By using a hill, riders can easily raise their horse’s heart rate into a higher conditioning zone without the need for extreme speed.
Multiple KER treadmill studies have shown that exercising horses on an incline greatly increases work intensity as measured by oxygen consumption, heart rate, and lactate production. These studies have shown that at a canter speed, a 1% increase in grade increases a horse’s heart rate 6 bpm—the same effect on heart rate as increasing speed 35m/min on a level treadmill. Therefore, equal heart rates can be obtained by cantering horses on a 6% grade at 490 m/min as from galloping on the flat at 700 m/min.
To see a detailed report like the one above, go to the KER ClockIt website and log in to your account. Once you are signed in, you can view your detailed sessions under the “Sessions” tab.
