I think you got it, Melissa! And I think even the more mature track
race horses still have some of this behavior as well, not just the 2 yr olds.
And. Bill, the picture you painted of the dressage horses
racing to the first letter is hilarious! I do think more secure saddles would
make a difference in the “fall off” rate (:>)
I wonder if the USA team doesn’t do as
well as some other countries because they don’t consistently race their
horses in that manner?
Kathy
Melissa wrote:
…My guess still is that it was a combo of a lot of these things
but that a great part falls on the tendency for the horses for this type of
event excel precisely because they were chosen because they HAVE a "race
brain". But along with that quality they are probably more apt than most to
just "loose it" than other breeds in other sports. It's also my guess
that a rider WANTS them to keep that "race brain" in order to be
competitive to win, and not train it OUT of them, but in turn, is challenged
with the continuing NEED to continually try
and train even more manners into them than other sports just so they can focus
that "race brain" on the task at hand.
