karlskorner,
Thanks for the link! What an interesting article. I do believe for a horse to reach his best, he needs to switch leads, for the very reason Prado said. But I can also understand how a horse could be in such a concentration mode that he just doesn't make the change. Ultimately, though, failing to willingly change leads in the heat of battle is a detriment, particularly on a horse who shows the ability to make those changes on cue in the mornings.
And on a general race-by-race basis, I do like to try to keep notes in my trip notes of horses that failed to change leads. Some horses you see routinely failing to change, while others will fail turning in a sub-par effort or hinting at a future sub-par effort.
Last edited by Observer; 03-16-2002 at 05:59 PM.
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