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A cross-sectional survey of training practices of 2-year-old racehorses in the North Island of New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2010

CF Bolwell ,
LJ Russell  and
CW Rogers
CF Bolwell*
Affiliation:
Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
LJ Russell
Affiliation:
Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
CW Rogers
Affiliation:
Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

To examine the management and training practices of 2-year-old racehorses, cross-sectional survey data were collected from 55 racehorse trainers in the Central Districts (n = 15) and the Northern Districts (n = 40) of New Zealand during summer 2007–08. Trainers in the Northern Districts had a higher proportion of 2-year-olds in work at one time (0.31 vs. 0.22, P = 0.001) than trainers in the Central Districts. Group S (trainers with 10–19 horses in work) had a higher proportion of 2-year-olds in work than both groups M (20–30 horses in work) and L ( ≥ 40 horses in work) (0.38 vs. 0.24 vs. 0.29, respectively, P = 0.001). Most horses were broken prior to the start of the official 2-year-old racing year. Most trainers had a standard pattern of training, and they cited early education as the primary reason for training 2-year-olds; the primary training milestones used to evaluate the horses' training were the first training gallop and the entry in a race trial. Training programmes were geared towards 2-year-olds being ready for trialling and racing earlier in the Northern Districts than in the Central Districts. Training practices were affected more by the trainer's location than by the number of horses trained.

Keywords

horseThoroughbredrace trainingmanagement
Type
Research Paper
Information
Comparative Exercise Physiology , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 37 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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