Just like human athletes, thoroughbred racehorses can benefit significantly both physically and mentally from cross training activities to break up what can become a mundane training schedule.
Many human athletes who partake in running view cross training as an important aspect of injury prevention. Running is quite similar to training a racehorse, as it is a highly repetitive activity of lap after lap or kilometre after kilometre of the same type of movement and action over and over again. This can result in overuse injuries occurring for both human runners and thoroughbred racehorses.
Cross training for injury prevention
Overuse injuries can arise as a result of flaws in a horse’s conformation and movement. This is why buyers spend hours mulling over which yearlings to buy at thoroughbred sales such as the Magic Millions or Inglis here in Australia, in an attempt to find the perfect athlete. In theory, the more correct the horse’s conformation, the less likely injury will occur. In reality, the large majority of horses will have conformation flaws equaling bio-mechanical irregularities in the horses’s action.
Even with perfect conformation and movement, muscular imbalances can arise simply from everyday training. Most training tracks operate in one direction, either clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on which state of Australia the racecourse is located in, with perhaps one or two days of ‘reverse way’ on a slow track mixed in. Training mostly in one direction can lead to muscles developing unevenly on each side of the horse’s body. The repetitive nature of training a racehorse can also lead to dominant muscles becoming stronger while weaker muscles stay weak. The stronger muscles can become tight and sore due to such an imbalance in being overused.
The good news is, many overuse injuries can be prevented with management. If they do occur, they can be prevented from returning.
Cross training activities help to prevent injuries as they allow a horse to use its body in a way that promotes balance, strength and fitness whilst being lower impact than repetitive laps of a racecourse. Cross training can benefit any horse, from Group 1 winners to two-year-olds. The key is choosing the right type of cross training for the horse.
One example of cross training for a mature racehorse is cross country jumping. Cross country is vastly different to standard racehorse training, but when examined closely it is evident that many of the actions are useful in developing balance and strength. Jumping over a cross country fence such as a log requires the horse to lift its shoulders and propel itself up and over the fence. This develops the shoulders as well as the ever important hindquarters, which is the powerhouse for racehorses when they gallop.
Cross country courses are built on undulating ground, which also helps to develop the hind quarters. The ground on cross country courses tends to be uneven, which can teach the horse elements of coordination and balance.
For younger racehorses of two and three years old, jumping activities should be avoided as a young horse’s joints can be negatively affected by the impact of jumping. Young horses can be cross trained in other ways, including hill work and also flat work and dressage. These activities benefit balance, coordination, muscle development and fitness while being low impact and therefore injury preventing. See our previous blog for more information on the benefits of hill work.
Check back with the Hazelwood Stables blog for part 2 of the value of cross training for racehorses: mental stimulation.