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5 Dec 2013

How To Prepare Your Horse For Racing


When training a horse to race you typically will start this at a young age, which is why it is essential that a lot of care and hard work is put in to safely and correctly prepare them for their time in racing. The following three top tips provide some excellent advice on why and how you can go about doing this, for effective training and a healthy, happy horse.  



Provide A Balanced Diet

It is extremely important for a young horse to be given the correct diet whilst training to be a racehorse. A balanced diet ensures that they will be receiving all of the nutrients and energy they need to keep them training hard and working to their true potential.

They tend to eat a lot of high quality grass and hay as well as other food such as oats, grain mixtures and protein to provide them with extra energy. Fibre is also needed for part of their balanced diet, so things such as bran, brown bread or sugar beet pulp are a great source of food for them. Racehorses are able to turn this fibre into energy and body fat which they use to spur them on to build up both muscle strength and stamina.

Feed Them Supplements

Energy supplements are great for horses when training as it can be used for those carrying out prolonged exercises. Glucose is essential for any horse during exercise; if their glucose levels are low it can cause fatigue and reduced performance. It is important to use a trusted supplier of all supplements, such as Science Supplements Ltd to ensure that they are safe to use.

Another supplement that can be given is a range of vitamins, as you need to ensure they are as healthy as can be. Due to the fact that racehorses tend to be trained so young, they can often get stressed out and it can cause a strain on their bodies due to their joints not being fully developed. This is why the correct vitamins are needed to keep them in good health and ensure they are getting all of the nutrients they need.

Ensure They Have Regular Exercise

It is important to build up your horse’s endurance and continue to carry out endurance training whilst they are growing such as gallops and interval training. Building up their stamina is essential which is why you could use a horse walker to allow them to walk or trot around. Taking them to a racetrack to prepare them for racing is also a good idea, and allows you to see them in action and monitor how fast they can actually run.

Riding your horse in a number of different surroundings is important to provide a bit of variety for them, improving fitness and building trust between you and your horse. It also prepares them for any competitions as the noise from the traffic, other animals and general street noise will help them become accustomed to the loudness and hectic environment of a race.

By following these simple tips and advice you will be well on your way to achieving the results you want, providing you with a fit and healthy horse, ready for competing.

This post was written by professional blogger Ekta Mair for Science Supplements Ltd who are specialists in supplying safe, high quality supplements for your horse.