Dressed for Success
A heavy snowstorm that blanketed much of the Northeast recently made us all remember that it is still february. After a month of springtime temperatures the weather haas been confusing the horses with fillies thinking about coming into season and several starting to shed their winter coats.
Horses that have thicker winter coats often need to be clipped which makes it easier on horses that sweat alot. By clipping away the body hair a horse's coat coat dries more quickly after exercise and helps prevent them from catching a chill.
Once a horse has been clipped it is necessary to provide stable blankets to compensate for the loss of hair during the colder winter months.
With turn out blankets for use when a horse is loose in a field and quarter sheets which go under the saddle and cover the horse's loins during exercise. A sweat sheet (cooler) is then needed after exercise to absorb the excess sweat and some thoroughbreds end up having more of a wardrobe than an actress on Oscar night!
Keeping racehorses warm this time of year with blankets helps their muscles to remain supple, some people believe. But a flat, sleek, look is cosmetically more appealing to their trainer when looking over the physique of the horses in his care.
Tim dont know if you remembe me [was rding in england same time as you, at the mment im training a few horses over here we ill b pcking it n very soon and will blooking to move to the us i spen afew months in Belmontwith Leo O,brien in the 90,s but would,not want to work in the city tracks i did have ajob lined upwith Michael ckson a few months back but was not in a position to takeit because of my situation over here.I would,nt mind if it was trackwork or breaking/pretraining Ifyou have any ideas or advice i would appreciate it Thanks ShaunKeightley
Posted by: shaun keightley at March 12, 2006 10:46 PM