Crosshill Pacers
Well-Known Member
Hey guys,
Firstly I must apologise for not posting for a fortnight and shoving the last two weeks in one post - preparations for the big move to Scotland are gearing up and everything's gone a bit mental! Somewhere in the madness of it all I managed to fly up to Scotland for five days, two of which I was able to actually jog Missile (and Stevie) myself
Week 7
The revised schedule for week 7 was as follows:
Jog 30 minutes, 7 days in open bridle, no hopples, no overcheck with a boring pole on the inside. The boring pole is a pole that attaches to the inner bridle near the bit (on the actual bridle) and also to the harness (back band) to ensure that a horse runs with his/her head straight. The reason J started jogging Missile in one was due to him turning his head to the left, which resulted in J having to hang on the right rein to straighten him.
I arrived at the yard on Friday morning full of nerves and anticipation, as driving for me is a relatively new concept and I have always felt that in the saddle I am able to communicate with a horse more - through my hands, legs, seat and voice. I wrongly assumed that whilst driving I would only have my hands as an aid. To settle me, J let me jog Stevie first (after he'd jogged him for 10 minutes to settle him). It was amazing! I sat too upright, as if I was in the saddle, and I don't think I kept enough contact with the reins but Stevie just went round at a steady speed until I asked him to slow to a walk and then halt for me to 'dismount'. The exercise allowed me to get to know the layout of the track and also build up some confidence in the cart. It was also the beginning of the realisation that the voice can be utilised as a very effective aid (steady and woah have an immediate effect with Stevie).
Next up was my chance to see Missile working and also drive him myself. J jogged him for ten minutes and Missile immediately struck me as a horse who enjoys his work - if anything he wants to go faster and do more than we're letting him. He also holds himself very well, he's a very showy horse and he's really beginning to look the part of a racehorse. J has worked hard, and continues to work hard, to get him to trot around the track; someone asked me on an earlier thread why we favoured trotting at home over pacing, considering he'll need to pace at the races - having seen the horse first hand I can now answer that question fully. When J allows Missile to pace free-legged, he simply gets faster and faster and faster until he's going too fast for the track. The more J tries to slow him, the faster he goes. When he's trotting, he's not associating it with speed and he keeps a relatively gentle speed around the track. However, there are a few 'hot spots' where he throws his legs around a bit and comes out the other side pacing. All we can do is bring him back to walk and start trotting again. When I jumped on, everything kind of went to pieces. He was jumping around and pacing more than he had with J, and I felt as though I spent more time slowing him to a walk than actually jogging. J could see I was getting frustrated but I was more worried that I was undoing all of his hard work. He reassured me that he went through the same frustrations over the last six weeks, and that in time I would get him to trot more than pace. Once I knew I wasn't messing the training up, I relaxed a bit and really enjoyed the last few laps, before walking him half a lap and hopping off by the track exit.
Week 8
The training for week 8 began on Tuesday, as Monday was Missile's day off (we were working at three points over the weekend but J jogged him both weekend mornings). The revised schedule for this week was as follows:
Jogging 30 minutes (same as week 7), five days; one day jogging 30 minutes but with loose overcheck, hopples and tongue tie and to include two laps of 'fast work'. The purpose of putting the tongue tie on at this stage is to get the horse used to it, as he will always race with one. Tongue ties are compulsory in all harness racing in the USA and Canada, as a safety measure for the horse. The use of tongue ties is not compulsory here in the UK, but J feels that if the leading organisations on the global scene feel that they are a necessity, then so do we.
Tuesday was very much the same as Friday; I jogged Stevie for 15 minutes after J had got him to settle, and then the same with Missile. As he'd had a day off it was quite clear that he was even keener than Friday, with a lot of groaning and grunting when J tried to keep him trotting at a steady speed. Before I knew it he was calling me over to hop in the seat and we were away. J had told me to avoid using my voice as speaking to him seems to rev him up even more, so I tried to use my body to add to my hand aids. Every time Missile broke into a messy canter and then reverted to a pace, I increased the pressure on the reins and shifted my body weight back in the seat. When he slowed to a walk I released the pressure and allowed him to trot on. After plenty of stopping and starting he seemed to be getting more worked up, so J told me to walk a lap and try again. It was then that he trotted a perfect lap and I was over the moon! J told me to slow to a walk and call it a day at that, with the trotting fresh in his mind.
The weekend was the first real chance I'd had to spend time with the horse and if I have at any point suggested that he was becoming less grumpy, then I apologise but I was wrong! He is a really grumpy, narky old man. He's forever pulling faces, lifting feet, threatening to nip you, but having seen his eagerness to work, the way he eats every last bit of food, the noises he makes when he gets into a clean stable after a bath and has a good roll...well, I'll take the grumpy attitude. I don't need a 'my little pony', I need a racehorse who enjoys his work.
Yesterday was the 'fast day' which included all of the racing tack. Missile is still over a week away from his first workout at the race track, but it pays to be prepared in terms of fitting tack correctly. J reported that he jogged him for 20 minutes at a quiet speed, then clicked his tongue and got the horse on the bit before loosing him go. The result was described as 'the thrill of my life', and J claims he spent a good half hour after coming off the track just laughing (something I believe to be a release of nervous energy). By all accounts, when J let Missile go, he went. J managed two laps at the increased speed before having to slow him down because he knew they were going dangerously fast for such a small track. He now knows that the horse switches on when asked, so it's back to steady work at home from now on (and no more hopples on the track!).
I hope you like the photos (as promised!), and here's one of Missile and me cooling down on our final walking lap on Tuesday:
Moving day for me is now 9 days away, so I will be taking over full training duties from week 10 onwards. We are still on course to make our racing debut the first week in June. Thank you for getting this far with us, being able to write this all down has helped me keep focussed when the horse and I have been so far apart.
Over and out,
Sarah & the camel, Missile x
Firstly I must apologise for not posting for a fortnight and shoving the last two weeks in one post - preparations for the big move to Scotland are gearing up and everything's gone a bit mental! Somewhere in the madness of it all I managed to fly up to Scotland for five days, two of which I was able to actually jog Missile (and Stevie) myself
Week 7
The revised schedule for week 7 was as follows:
Jog 30 minutes, 7 days in open bridle, no hopples, no overcheck with a boring pole on the inside. The boring pole is a pole that attaches to the inner bridle near the bit (on the actual bridle) and also to the harness (back band) to ensure that a horse runs with his/her head straight. The reason J started jogging Missile in one was due to him turning his head to the left, which resulted in J having to hang on the right rein to straighten him.
I arrived at the yard on Friday morning full of nerves and anticipation, as driving for me is a relatively new concept and I have always felt that in the saddle I am able to communicate with a horse more - through my hands, legs, seat and voice. I wrongly assumed that whilst driving I would only have my hands as an aid. To settle me, J let me jog Stevie first (after he'd jogged him for 10 minutes to settle him). It was amazing! I sat too upright, as if I was in the saddle, and I don't think I kept enough contact with the reins but Stevie just went round at a steady speed until I asked him to slow to a walk and then halt for me to 'dismount'. The exercise allowed me to get to know the layout of the track and also build up some confidence in the cart. It was also the beginning of the realisation that the voice can be utilised as a very effective aid (steady and woah have an immediate effect with Stevie).
Next up was my chance to see Missile working and also drive him myself. J jogged him for ten minutes and Missile immediately struck me as a horse who enjoys his work - if anything he wants to go faster and do more than we're letting him. He also holds himself very well, he's a very showy horse and he's really beginning to look the part of a racehorse. J has worked hard, and continues to work hard, to get him to trot around the track; someone asked me on an earlier thread why we favoured trotting at home over pacing, considering he'll need to pace at the races - having seen the horse first hand I can now answer that question fully. When J allows Missile to pace free-legged, he simply gets faster and faster and faster until he's going too fast for the track. The more J tries to slow him, the faster he goes. When he's trotting, he's not associating it with speed and he keeps a relatively gentle speed around the track. However, there are a few 'hot spots' where he throws his legs around a bit and comes out the other side pacing. All we can do is bring him back to walk and start trotting again. When I jumped on, everything kind of went to pieces. He was jumping around and pacing more than he had with J, and I felt as though I spent more time slowing him to a walk than actually jogging. J could see I was getting frustrated but I was more worried that I was undoing all of his hard work. He reassured me that he went through the same frustrations over the last six weeks, and that in time I would get him to trot more than pace. Once I knew I wasn't messing the training up, I relaxed a bit and really enjoyed the last few laps, before walking him half a lap and hopping off by the track exit.
Week 8
The training for week 8 began on Tuesday, as Monday was Missile's day off (we were working at three points over the weekend but J jogged him both weekend mornings). The revised schedule for this week was as follows:
Jogging 30 minutes (same as week 7), five days; one day jogging 30 minutes but with loose overcheck, hopples and tongue tie and to include two laps of 'fast work'. The purpose of putting the tongue tie on at this stage is to get the horse used to it, as he will always race with one. Tongue ties are compulsory in all harness racing in the USA and Canada, as a safety measure for the horse. The use of tongue ties is not compulsory here in the UK, but J feels that if the leading organisations on the global scene feel that they are a necessity, then so do we.
Tuesday was very much the same as Friday; I jogged Stevie for 15 minutes after J had got him to settle, and then the same with Missile. As he'd had a day off it was quite clear that he was even keener than Friday, with a lot of groaning and grunting when J tried to keep him trotting at a steady speed. Before I knew it he was calling me over to hop in the seat and we were away. J had told me to avoid using my voice as speaking to him seems to rev him up even more, so I tried to use my body to add to my hand aids. Every time Missile broke into a messy canter and then reverted to a pace, I increased the pressure on the reins and shifted my body weight back in the seat. When he slowed to a walk I released the pressure and allowed him to trot on. After plenty of stopping and starting he seemed to be getting more worked up, so J told me to walk a lap and try again. It was then that he trotted a perfect lap and I was over the moon! J told me to slow to a walk and call it a day at that, with the trotting fresh in his mind.
The weekend was the first real chance I'd had to spend time with the horse and if I have at any point suggested that he was becoming less grumpy, then I apologise but I was wrong! He is a really grumpy, narky old man. He's forever pulling faces, lifting feet, threatening to nip you, but having seen his eagerness to work, the way he eats every last bit of food, the noises he makes when he gets into a clean stable after a bath and has a good roll...well, I'll take the grumpy attitude. I don't need a 'my little pony', I need a racehorse who enjoys his work.
Yesterday was the 'fast day' which included all of the racing tack. Missile is still over a week away from his first workout at the race track, but it pays to be prepared in terms of fitting tack correctly. J reported that he jogged him for 20 minutes at a quiet speed, then clicked his tongue and got the horse on the bit before loosing him go. The result was described as 'the thrill of my life', and J claims he spent a good half hour after coming off the track just laughing (something I believe to be a release of nervous energy). By all accounts, when J let Missile go, he went. J managed two laps at the increased speed before having to slow him down because he knew they were going dangerously fast for such a small track. He now knows that the horse switches on when asked, so it's back to steady work at home from now on (and no more hopples on the track!).
I hope you like the photos (as promised!), and here's one of Missile and me cooling down on our final walking lap on Tuesday:
Moving day for me is now 9 days away, so I will be taking over full training duties from week 10 onwards. We are still on course to make our racing debut the first week in June. Thank you for getting this far with us, being able to write this all down has helped me keep focussed when the horse and I have been so far apart.
Over and out,
Sarah & the camel, Missile x
because I was too slow holding the bit out!), but they just want to do their job, so we always took it as a good sign.