Last Updated on 5 January 2023 by Colette
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Although we love a day at the races, as a family we actually know very little about horses. If I’m honest I’ve always been quite nervous around them.
As part of National Racehorse Week (Saturday 10th – Sunday 18th September 2022), over 150 venues including trainers, studs and aftercare centres will be opening their doors to the public for free will open their doors to the public to get a taste of what goes on behind the scenes.
This week we visited Greenall Guerriero Racing to meet training partnership Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero. Their racing yard has space for up to 70 racehorses, they are currently training around 60 – I don’t actually think I’ve ever seen so many horses in one place. Some of the racehorses were worth up to £200k which was a bit of an eye opener – understandably many of the horses are owned by syndicates rather than individuals but this didn’t stop Chloe asking me to buy her a racehorse as we were leaving the yard at the end of our visit!
We started our visit with a tour of the stables before heading out into the yard to experience the daily training routine. I was surprised at how big the stables were – both the buildings themselves and the amount of space each racehorse had. As someone who is typically quite nervous around horses, I was really conscious of just how calm and settled all the horses were which in turn made me feel much more confident and able to stroke their noses! Ben said he was also surprised by how calm they were and that he had thought they would be more flighty – he explained that this was because his main experience of horses is of us driving very slowly past them so as not to upset them.
Josh talked us through some of the racehorses in their care, explaining that the horses all have different needs and personalities, and that they have to work with that when it comes to planning their training. There are some really talented racehorses with lots of potential who don’t want to be pushed (which reminded me somewhat of Ben!) and then other horses are that are really keen and want to work hard. He talked to us about a particularly stubborn filly who will pick and choose what she does – if she doesn’t want to perform, they can’t make her. She would be the horse that refused to get into the stalls at the start of a race. You can’t make the horse work if it doesn’t want to. (It would seem training racehorses is quite similar to teaching primary school children!)
Because there are so many racehorses at Greenall Guerriero Racing, they are trained in groups through the course of the morning starting with warming up in the horse walker – this rather reminded me of the revolving doors in a department store but the idea is that the horses walk around in a steady pace to get their muscles warmed up ready to train – much like us, if the racehorses aren’t properly prepared for exercise then they will be prone to injury. The use of a horse walker means that the horses can get warmed up in a controlled and steady fashion – without the need for individual stable staff to have to walk each racehorse ahead of riding them. The walker can also be used for cool downs or for snowy, icy days where training needs to take a different tack. Josh explained that not all the horses will use the walker – some of them don’t like it, some want to walk too fast which would damage the motors and some just chew the flaps separating each of the horses. This is a perfect example of how each racehorse’s training routine is tailored to its individual personality and needs – if the walker isn’t right for them, then it isn’t used.
The racehorses are taken from the walker to be tacked up ready for riding. As they wait for everyone to be ready, they start a steady walk around the yard together before walking out down the lane to the main training field. Walking down the drive from the training yard and out onto the road means the racehorses are used to traffic and distractions – which in turn helps them to remain focussed in a race situation.
The ‘gallops’ at Greenall Guerriero Racing comprises of two all weather tracks – one big loop (two furlongs if we’re using the correct terminology!) which the horses currently canter around twice in each direction but as training is ramped up towards the start of the season this will be increased to four times. There is also a straight four furlong uphill track which the horses run down side by side once a week to try and mimic the feel of being in a race and to develop their stamina. We absolutely loved watching the horses canter around the gallops – being able to see, and hear, them up close was a really cool experience.
The horses at Greenall Guerriero Racing are jump horses so their race season runs from October to April. This means the racehorses are actually just starting to build up their training again after their summer break. Lots of the horses we saw were quite young and relatively new to the yard so were just starting to get used to their routines and training.
Once the horses have done their training in the gallops, they come back to the yard for a thorough shower to remove any sweat and dirt. Sweat from the exertion of training can be really irritating to their sensitive / thin skin so it’s important to take really good care of this.
The racehorses enjoy routine and like to know what’s going on (much like children and puppies!). Josh explained to us about how one of the horses was on rest after having an abscess in their hoof – and rather than enjoying the day off as you might expect, the horses are keen to be out – I likened it to giving the kids a day home in the school hols to rest and then regretting it when they are bored and bickering by lunch time.
Whilst we were in the yard, we were lucky enough to be able to meet the farrier and watch a horse be shod. He explained about the different parts of the horse’s hooves and showed us how the shoes are fitted. The horse was so calm whilst this was being done which of course demonstrated to us that he was in no discomfort. It took the farrier around ten minutes per shoe – removing the old shoe, a little bit of foot maintenance (like a horse pedicure) and fitting a new shoe. This is done around once a month to ensure the horses are comfortable – if their shoes are not right then it will make them more prone to injury. (The horses are shod with two different types of shoes – a heaver sturdier shoe for daily use and a much lighter shoe for racing – we couldn’t believe the difference in weight!) Chloe hadn’t realised that the shoes were nailed on and was fascinated by this and of course surprised that it didn’t hurt.
Racehorses are equine athletes – they are trained and treated as such with an extremely high standard of care to make sure they are able to perform at their best. Much as a human athlete would need to keep their diet strict, their training schedule tight and ensure injuries are appropriately treated and rested (or just avoided in the first place!), the racehorse needs all of the same care and attention to their needs and routines.
We chatted to Oliver about how long a racehorse’s carer as a jumper would last – he said they usually start at around age 3, peaking at about age 7 and are usually done by about age 10 leaving them with another 10 – 20 years of life ahead of them. He explained that the racehorses are often then sold into normal use and are usually popular with riders because they are so well trained and regularly handled.
During National Racehorse Week, you can visit Greenall Guerriero Racing and experience behind the scenes for yourselves. Oliver’s stables will be open for two hours on 10th September with farrier, vet and trainers giving demonstrations and answering questions much like we have experienced this week. The open day is for anyone – and free to attend though you must sign up for this as spaces are limited.
You can find your local National Racehorse Week open day via the postcode search on the website: nationalracehorseweek.uk
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