As do people, horses need to be cared for. They have everyday needs. To be fed, bathed, exercised, and any other special care or attention. As I mentioned on the main page, there are people at the barns all day, every day, to care for the horses. Horses are usually fed hay and/or a grain mix called sweet feed, plus some additional treats of apples or carrots depending on the specific horses. Their legs must be wrapped in bandages and and a blanket placed on their back to keep their muscles from getting stiff and to keep warm.
Every morning they are jogged and trained. To train a horse is to race them counterclockwise around the track as if it were a real race. To jog a horse means to ride them clockwise around the track at a mediocre pace. Some times they choose to race them around the track clockwise to see how fast the horse can go also deciding which class it should race in.
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All horses legs need to be bandaged. Some need it just because their legs get sore, others jump around in the stalls and kick their legs up against the stalls. The bandages prevent the horses from hurting their legs and possibly ruining their careers. |
| This is how horses are trained. They trot or pace around the track counterclockwise at the normal speed of a race to practice. |  |
Horses must also be bathed to be kept clean as we do. They take showers with a hose while their bridle is attached to 2 walls so they cant move. Immediately afterwards they are towel dried off and wrapped in warm blankets especially in the cold weather.
Horses race in all kinds of weather, no matter what the condition they race. Before the start of a race night they rate the race track's condition.
The conditions are fair, good, poor, and sloppy. There is only one time when a race will be cancelled, if there is a natural disaster.