Bode Miller approaches training with "a plan".

[Grits]

At Fair Hill Training Center with partners. What has worked with human athletes will be tried with equine athletes.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/93125/bode-miller-hopes-to-strike-gold-at-fair-hill

[SG4]

Thanks for posting that article! I've often wondered many of the same points brought up in this story regarding the training & activity (or lack thereof) of the equine athlete, especially compared with techniques people use to get fit.

Why don't horses jog longer distances during training, say 5 miles a day, which would still only be like 15 minutes of exercise? If you're trying to get in shape to run a fast mile, I'd think you'd want a better base then just jogging slightly over that distance every day.

Also why isn't interval training done? Say you breezed a horse a quarter in 25 seconds, let them jog a little bit, put them into another similar breeze & repeated this again, I would think fitness & muscle could be built up, but this would probably look crazy in today's training environment. However if you just breezed a horse 6f in 1:15 nobody would think anything of it, even though it'd probably produce the same stress levels.

Can any horsemen advise on these issues? Is it really just fear of doing something different, or does the equine skeletal structure just not lend itself to this type of training?

[cj]

Thanks for posting that article! I've often wondered many of the same points brought up in this story regarding the training & activity (or lack thereof) of the equine athlete, especially compared with techniques people use to get fit.

Why don't horses jog longer distances during training, say 5 miles a day, which would still only be like 15 minutes of exercise? If you're trying to get in shape to run a fast mile, I'd think you'd want a better base then just jogging slightly over that distance every day.

Also why isn't interval training done? Say you breezed a horse a quarter in 25 seconds, let them jog a little bit, put them into another similar breeze & repeated this again, I would think fitness & muscle could be built up, but this would probably look crazy in today's training environment. However if you just breezed a horse 6f in 1:15 nobody would think anything of it, even though it'd probably produce the same stress levels.

Can any horsemen advise on these issues? Is it really just fear of doing something different, or does the equine skeletal structure just not lend itself to this type of training?

I don't know about horses, but the way for humans to run longer distances faster isn't by running long distances. It is by running shorter distances faster than your pace will be at longer ones. Of course you still need some stamina workouts too, but those will not help you run faster.

But again, with horses, I don't know. It has always been said you can't train stamina into a horse. Maybe it is too hard on them to work them out very fast.

[Ruffian1]

Thanks for posting that article! I've often wondered many of the same points brought up in this story regarding the training & activity (or lack thereof) of the equine athlete, especially compared with techniques people use to get fit.

Why don't horses jog longer distances during training, say 5 miles a day, which would still only be like 15 minutes of exercise? If you're trying to get in shape to run a fast mile, I'd think you'd want a better base then just jogging slightly over that distance every day.

Also why isn't interval training done? Say you breezed a horse a quarter in 25 seconds, let them jog a little bit, put them into another similar breeze & repeated this again, I would think fitness & muscle could be built up, but this would probably look crazy in today's training environment. However if you just breezed a horse 6f in 1:15 nobody would think anything of it, even though it'd probably produce the same stress levels.

Can any horsemen advise on these issues? Is it really just fear of doing something different, or does the equine skeletal structure just not lend itself to this type of training?

I think that one of the biggest problems is the amount of time spent with one horse. Jogging the wrong way at the track one mile( I am not talking about on a farm ) will take every bit of 7-10 minutes. Times 5 equals 35-50 minutes. The track opens at 6 AM typically. It closes at 8AM to be watered and harrowed. Opens back up at 8:30 and remains open until 10AM. That is the typical daily routine for tracks. Track to track will vary somewhat but rarely by much.
Any outfit of any size just does not have time to do that. I think THAT is why a lot of trainers don't do it. Just not enough time.
Also, no exercise rider working for 15 dollars a head will do this. They are trying to get on as many as they can. You would have to pay them 60.00 bucks to do that or have them on salary. Salary is no problem but you would need a lot of riders if you trained 20 horses and trained like that.
So the short answer is time , money and the amount of horses you train.
Lastly, a lot of trainers train every horse the same way. Worst thing you can do IMO. Like people, every horse is different. What one likes, another might dislike. Finding each horses niche is better than any drug you can ever give. A happy horse is like a happy wife. It makes for a happy life. This doesn't fully explain but it might shed some light on it.

[Hoofless_Wonder]

I was always under the impression that the physiology of a horse was so different from a human's, its why the training of them is so different. But considering other aspects of the sport, I can believe the training methods are from the 1950s.

Based on the description of the training methods, it would seem only allowance and stakes horses could afford to foot the bill.

One thing not mentioned in the article is the effect of drugs on training. Using "traditional" horsemen, "sports science" and having them active 4-5 hours per day sounds like a more natural course to get the best out of the horse, but what about those vitamins and "elixirs" that are in fashion today? One of things I love about Hong Kong is the way horses round into and go out of form more slowly - not nearly as many miracle form reversals. And they do seem to be more active, in that they're galloping and/or swimming every day.

[dilanesp]

If it turns out like his skiing career, his horses will get a ton of publicity and go off favored, and then lose.

[cj]

If it turns out like his skiing career, his horses will get a ton of publicity and go off favored, and then lose.

Not really going to get into much skiing, but dude is an Olympic gold medalist, at least a few World Championship gold medals, and a few World Cup titles for the entire season. I wish I could be such a flunky.

[thespaah]

I don't know about horses, but the way for humans to run longer distances faster isn't by running long distances. It is by running shorter distances faster than your pace will be at longer ones. Of course you still need some stamina workouts too, but those will not help you run faster.

But again, with horses, I don't know. It has always been said you can't train stamina into a horse. Maybe it is too hard on them to work them out very fast.
Sure you can....A horse is a mammal....Red blood cells collect and retain oxygen, proteins and sugars which are turned into energy.
Increasing cardio capacity enhances all of the above. The best way to increase cardio capacity is through exercise and proper diet.
If human beings can train for a marathon then horses can train for route races. And sprinters can be trained to run 6 1/2 furlongs when only 6 are needed.

[cj]

Sure you can....A horse is a mammal....Red blood cells collect and retain oxygen, proteins and sugars which are turned into energy.
Increasing cardio capacity enhances all of the above. The best way to increase cardio capacity is through exercise and proper diet.
If human beings can train for a marathon then horses can train for route races. And sprinters can be trained to run 6 1/2 furlongs when only 6 are needed.

I tend to agree, but horses are not built like humans. To increase stamina it would seem like a bunch of 22 second 2f works and 45 second four furlong would help more to get 7f than what we see now. (or however fast they can go, some can't go that fast obviously.)

But I really doubt horses could stand up to that kind of training. They can barely stand up to the schedules they are on now.

[dilanesp]

Not really going to get into much skiing, but dude is an Olympic gold medalist, at least a few World Championship gold medals, and a few World Cup titles for the entire season. I wish I could be such a flunky.

Nobody denies his accomplishments. But he did manage to lose some high profile events where he was favored. He was very good but also underachieved compared to his talent.

[cj]

Nobody denies his accomplishments. But he did manage to lose some high profile events where he was favored. He was very good but also underachieved compared to his talent.

I would guess skiing doesn't have a high percentage of winning favorites to be fair.

[thespaah]

I tend to agree, but horses are not built like humans. To increase stamina it would seem like a bunch of 22 second 2f works and 45 second four furlong would help more to get 7f than what we see now. (or however fast they can go, some can't go that fast obviously.)

But I really doubt horses could stand up to that kind of training. They can barely stand up to the schedules they are on now.
Perhaps...But the UK trainers have their horses running overland up and down hills for miles at a time. Granted all on turf and at a mild pace.
I guess they do sprint their shorter distance specialists, but they too are run cross country.

[cj]

Perhaps...But the UK trainers have their horses running overland up and down hills for miles at a time. Granted all on turf and at a mild pace.
I guess they do sprint their shorter distance specialists, but they too are run cross country.

Right, but that is exactly the kind of stuff I'm saying probably won't increase speed.

If a human trains and can run a mile in 4:00, he'll never beat that by running long distances and up and down hills. He has to put in speed work at shorter distances at a faster pace than a 4:00 mile, noticeably faster. That would probably help for horses if they can handle it, but like I said, I have my doubts. They are fragile and that kind of work will take its toll if done often enough to be effective.

[kinznk]

Old time training (www.racehorseherbal.com/Training/Davis/davis.html)

It sounds like the train schedule in this article from way back.

[outofthebox]

Right, but that is exactly the kind of stuff I'm saying probably won't increase speed.

If a human trains and can run a mile in 4:00, he'll never beat that by running long distances and up and down hills. He has to put in speed work at shorter distances at a faster pace than a 4:00 mile, noticeably faster. That would probably help for horses if they can handle it, but like I said, I have my doubts. They are fragile and that kind of work will take its toll if done often enough to be effective.This is true. And it depends on the quality of the horse your training. I deal with La Breds and they usually can take only so much training, especially in the summer months. Most of them only train five days a week, and like Ruffian said in an earlier post 15 minutes max of cardio activity. Whether it's jogging a mile or two, or galloping a mile or a bit longer, or swimming ten laps in the pool, time is very restricted. I'm sure what Miller is planning will fit into Fair Hills schedule. Just not the racetrack. . Best of luck to him...It will be interesting to follow his progress for sure..

[castaway01]

I was surprised that the Bloodhorse article (see link on front page of this site) has 159 comments...Bode's training methods certainly have people fired up.

Personally I think some new ideas could only help the sport and it should be an interesting experiment.

[raybo]

While I'm not a trainer, I was an athlete most of my life (track, baseball, basketball), and the way we trained was directly affected by the type of activity we were training for. In track the sprinters ran many repetitions of sprint distances with a little distance work in the mix. Long distance guys ran long distances, with some short sprints thrown in the mix.

What I'm getting at is, no matter what distance you will compete in, you must concentrate the majority of your training at those distances, but you must also run some distances that are shorter (or longer) than what you will be competing in. I see no reason, given the ability to do all that, that such a training regimen would not work in horses just as well.

[proximity]

"the sports science lessons we've learned in the last 50-60 years..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK3xuz66zTQ

above he was last seen training marinovich style (nervous system training) at sports science lab.

a lot of horses already swim, but wobble boards? inverted plyometric leg presses on swiss balls? slant boards and balance pipes? horses on rowing machines??? :cool: