Ask PN - December 2011

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We're very civilised Cyc, we have a car each and I do all the weekend driving as he has to drive 200 miles to get home on a Friday night.

Being the female half of our partnership, I am naturally the better driver ;)
 
Of course Princess. And I like your parking.

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Take your time with this one Princess ................................ often when a horse changes trainers we see a dramatic upturn in its form, with the quote often being "the change of scenery has done him good". I was wondering whether there is any psychological or physiological evidence to back this up? Or is it maybe more that the new trainer is more adept with that particular horse than the old one? Reason I ask is the Graham Wylie horses in particular seem to be flourishing under Nicholls and Mullins, but I believe they are just better trainers than HoJo.
 
If I may chuck in my 2p worth Oddy. We had one horse brought to us that had been jumping well but had got to the stage where it would not jump a fence. When the owners came to see her a few weeks later, they couldn't believe the transformation; one very happy mare jumping for fun. This can only be attributed to the mare loving where she is.
A 3yo was taken from one yard (a very big yard) and brought to us and settled in very quickly. She had to go back to the other yard for a day as the previous trainer had a client to view her. When Amanda went to pick her up in the evening it was dark and the trainer wasn't around. She had no idea which stable she was in. She called her name and there was one response. Yep, it was her and was she happy to jump in the horse box and come back.

Horses love to be loved by humans and they also like to have horse friends. Empathy is a significant factor and they really appreciate being looked after (eg a heat massage on its back if you notice some discomfort there). There is no doubt that if a horse is happy it will perform and behave far better than an unhappy horse.

So, in answer to your question, there are 2 possibilities that I can think of.

1. The new yard is more professional in terms of care management and fitness preparation
2. The new yard, maybe smaller, where the horse gets more attention, probably with a stable lad/lass who loves the horse.

I suppose one other possibility is that the horse feels on holiday and the improvement, if any, will be relatively short-lived.

I would be pretty certain that the reverse situation could occur with a resulting deterioration in performance.
 
I was useless before my wife took me into her yard. She straightened me out nice and quick.

I think horses are in some ways, quite like us. Just got to find the a way in. Out here it's known as finding the key. As Ron said, it can be anything, but closeness helps heaps, so does variety in their daily life. They can go stale pretty fast if their routine is too rigid.
 
Nice analogy Cyc. Glad to hear your wife "straightened you out". It does help. She might not appreciate you referring to her yard though. Nest sounds much nicer.
 
Nice link Oddy. These hunt sires are a wonder in their own right. All too often we get caught up in the high profile sires that can maybe turn over 10,000,000 in fees per year. Oscar does seem like nice value at 5,000. His stock shows signs of staying all day, and he can also throw a bit of pace.
 
It is also good to note the grandparents, great grandparents (paternal and maternal) when checking on breeding, especially over long distance events in soft ground conditions. There are scores of good old sires in this respect, and it would be difficult to start a fair list without leaving out many. Some which spring immediately to mind are Ardross, Vimy, Levmoss, Bob Back, Top Ville, Mossborough, Gunner B, Bustino, Alleged, Reliance II.....................the list goes on and on, but all of these oldtimers have a huge influence on NH breeding and, likewise, on stamina indications. Quite important I would say, especially when the sire and damsire's average distance for progeny is at first sight not too revealing?
 
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