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Is there a positive correlation between early foaling date and precocity?
After all there is a marked on-paper difference in true age between a January and June foal when racing at 2
Or does precocity due to breeding tend to override true age?
Anyone out there able to answer my questions?
A simple yes/no/you’re talking bollox will suffice
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First parts a kind of a weird question Drone. How can their DOB dictate how quickly they take things in? They are what they are.
On the second question I doubt if anyone including yourself is qualified to answer that. There is someone who studies these things though in all forms of life including horses. Forget the name but they are a group/ company of world famous scientists and researchers based in Holland.
I don’t see how it is of any great importance here though as horses tell trainers when they are ready to run not the other way round.
As far as extended distances of 6f and 7f are concerend someone hit the nail right on the head when they mentioned Henrythenavigator.
He was obviously ready to run and if AOB could have only run him in a 5f race the chances are he would have. That wouldn’t have stopped punters who didn’t know he was a miler punting him. Chances are over 5 furlong the horse would have been beaten.
Owners don’t pay millions or whatever for good horses to run them over unsuitble distances and get them beat.
These early 6 and 7f races are essential to racing even if only for educational purpases. A mile and a half horse of the future will learn nothing buy getting run off his feet by a load of sprinters.
If you delayed the introduction of these races by a few months and a horse needs say 3 races as a 2yo for educational purposes, you will cut down on the time he is off relaxing to allow him/her to develop bewteen 2 and 3.
I would imagine all these things have been considered by the racing authorities and that is why the races are there.
Irish Stamp – wrote…
"
"Tom – are you a member of Animal Aid and PETA by any chance?
No I am not but what if I was – that does not alter the facts of racing?
The two animal charities I have donated to over the years, without becoming a member, have been the Brooke Foundation and SCPCA. The later I have stopped giving to because I feel that they could be doing more for the race.horse
Rory then talks through a hole in his hat when he says
"You don’t seem to have any genuine interest in horse racing."
I have been interested in horseracing for 45-years. For the welfare of the horse as well as enjoyment and adding to my bank balance. I stopped betting in 1990 because I did not like the way racing was going as far as animal welfare is concerned but still kept tabs on the industry every since.
Thanks for that Fist
Suppose what I’m getting at is does the few months extra maturity of a January foal give it a quantifiable advantage when racing at 2 against say a May foal, particularly earlier in their 2yo season
Or perhaps that is far too simple an idea, as breeding and – as you hint – training methods are more important factors in determining precocity
Anyway if I specialised in 2yo racing I’d consider it an area worthy of investigation, if only to prove that no discernable trends can be found.
Off to Connemara for a week’s peace and quiet. Keep up the good work all.
So…. instead of giving a horse time to mature as mother nature intended, you prefer to manipulate the breeding process to get it ripe for the track quicker.
This seems to be leaning all to one side, and that is not to the side of the horse
Tom,
Could you please let me know where I should go in order to see racing thoroughbreds in ‘mother nature’?
Yes, you have a very good point and I am glad to see that at least some of you are taking notice.
Mother Nature, where all life on this planet has come from in one form or another.
But the Thoroughbred racehorse is a man made machine.
A lathe, as long as it has power (food) and is oiled and greased (water and nutrients) then it will perform the job that it was built for.
Do you see any difference from the machine mentioned above and a racehorse?
Both are man made.
Both are there to do man’s bidding.
But the one big difference is that an animal feels pain mentally and physically and needs time to grow to maturity
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But the Thoroughbred racehorse is a man made machine.
I’m glad that
you
seem to be listening! The English Thoroughbred is indeed a manufactured breed. What is more, a good number are bred specifically to be racing as early 2yo’s. You seem to have argued conclusively in favour of doing just that.
And, with due obeisance to your heartfelt effusion to Mother Nature, your feeling to the contrary still lacks reference to any evidential base. Why do you continue to peddle your mere feeling so strongly, against all the evidence?
To attempt an answer to my own question… One of the frustrating sentimentalities of the current age is that, although (fairly enough) we’re encouraged to question factual statements and statistics, we’re loathe to question an individual’s strong emotions: "feelings" are somehow sacroscanct, valid in themselves – no matter how dubious they might be.
The truth is that "feelings" can be every bit as bad as opinions. And that’s a fact!
Giving a young horse exercise is a good thing, racing them is not. give them a chance to grow.
Is it too much to ask that time be given to let their bones mature?
Maturity for the creature before excitement for the few
So…. instead of giving a horse time to mature as mother nature intended, you prefer to manipulate the breeding process to get it ripe for the track quicker.
Tom
This process has been happening in one fashion or another ever since the the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian appeared on the scene in 1600 and frozen to death. So it can hardly be said to be a ‘modern day thing’
Rob
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