First Time at Retama

Aria is doing really well in training. She went to the real track this week to take a look, see around. She came in on Friday afternoon and was just scared. She’s never been shown so I’m sure she wondered where she was and what was going on? Had she been sold? Worry, worry. But by the next morning, she was her usual confident self. She was horrified to wait on breakfast, but they wanted her to go to the track on an empty stomach. She walked on the walker a while and then was tacked up for the track. A new rider was tossed up on her with instructions about her greenness. She walked through all the commotion that goes on the backside without anyone leading her with him on her. We raced up to the track in the truck to see her come out of the shed rows to walk onto the track. The rider said, he liked her which probably meant, I’m really glad she’s not an idiot and I’m still on top of her.


On to the track she went, with ears up and eyes sparkling. She was busy gawking. It was after the break on the track which is when the green horses go to work or gallop. She went the wrong direction on the track at a jog. Aria was being good, but really, really wanted to stare at everything so she did a real slow high trot which is hard to post. There was a lot of suspension in this trot. But there was no spooking. Soon she found a tb friend to go with and they jogged down the track the correct direction. He ran off and left her at one point and then they rejoined together. She just galloped a mile, came back happy and not tired.

At the Swimming Hole

Ha, she has made a liar out of me. Aria likes swimming, hates bathing. Who would have guessed??? Just check out the photos, they speak louder then words.



Look at her turn in the water to do another lap.

She's getting tired and her butt is floating upward

Very tired and coming out of her swimming hole.

My Big Girl

Aria is a big girl now. She has her new shoes on and can dig in better when she goes around the curves. She looks like she is enjoying them. She’s pulling on the bit and asking to go faster. I really enjoy just watching her gallop. It’s nice to see a horse enjoy its work. Lots of people are critical of racing and the training. I show up regularly to see my horses whether in show training or race training. They seem to really like galloping. I’ve never had a horse drag me to a halter class or any performance class at a show, but I have had them drag me to the track when they know it’s their time to run. I’m amazed at the difference between the two from the horse’s perspective.


Aria went swimming this week. To everyone’s surprise she just walked in like it was no big deal. She swam like a duck and had no problems. Amazing. Just amazing. I just knew some fits would be tossed over that pool of water. I’m hoping to get some photos of her swimming. She galloped on Friday and took Saturday off. She’s getting plenty of turn out and seems to be satisfied with life.


The racetrack at Sam Houston took a big hit from the hurricane. The track lost some railing, the grooms’ rooms are moldy, the grandstands had the roof popped off and plopped back down on it. The track was going to open up in Nov. Now, they are discussing whether or not it will open this season at all. I truly hope it does, but it does not sound like it will. It is so nice to be able to race there. It’s one of the best tracks in the country for the horses and the people like it too. If it does not open, I guess we will be hauling to San Antonio to run which is a pain because it is a three and a half hour drive and diesel is not cheap. It is just time and money that could be spent elsewhere.

The First Week at School

Aria like most school kids said, I’m having a good time here at home, don’t wanna go to school. She informed me she really didn’t want to get in the trailer. She did drama girl as we went toward the trailer. Shai2 was screaming take me, take me or probably bring her to me. It was hard to tell. He loves to go in the trailer. Aria was very reluctant to lead and I was thinking about locating a whip to encourage her. But as she lined up the back of the trailer, she suddenly got this funny look on her face. She looked at me and just walked right in the trailer. Woweee, Joe’s training has worked, not that she has ever been horrible to load. Joe spends time teaching them to load in the trailer and to be quiet in the trailer.

Off to school, she went. We arrived and she knew where she was even though Ike had rearranged the fences. She was happy to be back in her stall. Aria remembered all her training. No lapses of memories. I think she was happy to be doing interesting things again. She’s getting her first set of shoes this week.


I went over on Sat. to watch her gallop. The man who has done all her under saddle work was not there so a new man was going to gallop her. She felt good and was sassy, but not naughty. This was the first time, she had been ridden by someone new. They went out to the track and around they went. I’ve included a few photos of her at the beginning of her work. She was huffing and puffing by the end of her gallop. But she worked through tired and did it. She will be learning how to swim soon.

Back to School

Aria’s fall vacation or hurrication is over. She goes back to the training track tomorrow. My fat mares will be so happy to have her gone. No more having the 3 yr old ruling over the dinner buckets. I think Aria will be happy to go back to work. She’ll get more grain to eat that will definitely appeal to her.

Aria will be learning new things. I suspect she will soon be learning to swim. This will be a complete shock to her that anyone would expect her to get her body completely wet! Aria does not really appreciate bathing so she I suspect she won’t be a duck taking to water. Her bridle path is growing out. Racehorse folks prefer a short bridle path . . . an ear length so her nice show one is growing out. She has a small Mohawk on her neck. I just want to cut it off, but I’m resisting. I don’t do long bridle paths, but it is longer then the racing one. Shoes, Aria will be getting her first set of shoes when she gets back. I bet she’ll like them. Mia loves shoes. She learned that shoes mean, she could grip the track and run faster. Once out of race training, I discovered that when newly shod, Mia rips around the pasture like a maniac trying out those new shoes, ducking around trees and other horses.

Well we all survived Ike. We lost a big tree at the farm in the gelding pasture. It must have scared my geldings. It’s taken them a week to go out in the pasture to graze. Poor guys, but other then that everyone was fine. I left the horses out in the storm. Aria ran around with the fat mares. They were shocked at her return, but quit following her around after a while. Nobody enjoyed the stinging rain or the ripping wind. None of the horses, but the stallions in stalls looked like they wanted breakfast. They ended up with a late lunch/early dinner. All the horses were fine.

Now, the training facility was closer to the eye of Ike and lost roofs, some buildings and run in sheds. The fences suffered from the wind and flying debris. But Aria’s barn held up without any damage. The facility has water and electricity but at the front of the property so the hot walkers will not working and long hoses will be used to get water to the stalls. There won’t be as much turn out for a while. The track didn’t suffer from the storm and so horses are already galloping on it. I hope to watch her gallop this weekend and get photos.

Natural Disasters and Training

Aria has been doing great in training. She walks through gates and is galloping nicely. The rider can stand up on her most of her gallops, which is fantastic. She is going 1.5 miles in her gallops. Everyone is very pleased with her and her behavior. She’s ready for shoes. I had planned on watching her gallop this week at Sam Houston Race Track, but, ol’ Hurricane Ike came to visit us. The training track Aria lives at is known to flood in heavy rains, much less in a hurricane. It can be serious flooding with horses having to swim out .We toughed it out and no one left when Gustof was due to hit us, but Ike looked much serious. I decided to pick her up and bring her home. Her trainer was packing and heading to San Antonio to ride out the storm there. I’m far enough from Houston that I thought we would be safe.

Aria came home and my fat mares were not happy. They were hoping I had sold her or something. She came back full of confidence,the 5 fatties following her around and acted tough, this did not impress her. By the next day, she had re-established herself as the alpha Hoover in this herd. She has a few hoof prints on her thigh; the head mare has a hoof print on her chest. I can guess who discussed herd ranking. But all is calm now.

The storm hit and no one enjoyed it. The horses thought they had found themselves in a watery hell with stinging rain and horrid wind. I left the pasture horses out because it seems to be 50/50 on what is the safest place for horses in a hurricane. Out loose they can run and avoid flying debris, hopefully escape flooding. Stall horses are protected from flying debris, but cannot escape rising water or collapsing buildings. I tagged all the horses with nametags that included phone numbers and email addresses. I peeked out at them in the morning. They all looked miserable, but okay. I did not feed them breakfast. It wasn’t safe out there. I doubt a bucket would have stayed on the ground with the wind. They had a very late breakfast/early dinner once the storm was gone. All seemed grateful to be alive and to have food show up. Several trees fell out in the pasture, but no damage to the buildings. The boys seem to be the only ones who are freaked out. They don’t want to go out in their pasture? The mares are acting normal. I may have to move them around.

Aria will return to training after this break once her trainer comes back to the area. I think it was good for her to have a break. She’s enjoyed the constant eating of hay, grass and getting to run around. Next week will be back to school for her and back to work for me.

Saturday’s lesson

I came back the next day because the track had dried out enough for Aria to be ridden out. They went through the same routine in the round pen only the rider had a surprise for her, he had his stick. So when she said, no thanks I don’t think I’ll canter she got a whop. Ooooo was that a surprised filly, she decided she would listen to him and went flying around the round pen. He just sat there like it was the easiest thing in the world while she wigged out. They did both directions and then rode her out of the round pen down the pathway to the track.

Aria is very brave and not very spooky. She has never been ridden out. For that matter, she’s only been ridden about 6 times at this point. But she steers and stops and with some encouragement moves forward snappily. So down the path, past all the paddocks, broodmares and babies. She got to the track and was confronted with the training gates at the track. He asked her nicely to go through them. She considered his request and with a bit of encouraging she went right through them and on to the track. She strode out confidently and he walked her a half mile around the training track. Then he asked her to trot or jog. Willingly, she jogged another half mile. He sat and posted the trot. To my amazement she never spooked or eyed anything in particular and went back through the gates to leave the track.

Her brain was very tired when she got back to the barn. She is going out now on a regular basis and is cantering on the track. The rider is able to stand up in the stirrups while she canters. All this learned in a week’s time, amazing. Everyone is very pleased with her and her good behavior. She’s been a star pupil so far.

She’s going under saddle!

Aria is officially broke. She has been a good girl and learned how to wear a saddle and bridle. I went to watch her get ridden in the round pen on Friday. She had been ridden a few times. She was saddled and bridled in the stall and lead through the barn to the round pen. At the round pen, she was lunged. Aria looked like she was flying around to me, not near lunged down enough for the folks I know to get on a greenie, but they thought she was warmed up enough.

She stood for the adjusting of the girth, stirrups, etc. The rider was given a leg up and turned loose in the round pen. He rode with such ease, no stirrups and letting her walk around. He was in a little exercise saddle and was adjusting the girth some more as she walked. Aria kept up the walk as he picked up his stirrups. He asked for a trot and she said, she’d rather not. She was strongly encouraged to move forward with his legs. She relented, but really did not want to go forward, but kept up the trot. She was very reluctant to canter, but the swinging reins helped get her going. He rode her both directions and then rode her out of the round pen and down the barn asile to be unsaddled.

We discussed her dislike of being bathed. She has been giving Joe a hard time about being rinsed off. She just hates it. I don’t know if it was because she was tired or if it was because I was standing there, but she was good for her bath. So maybe she has gotten over it? If she hates bathing, wait until she learns about swimming! Oh boy, that could be interesting. So after her bath she went on the hot walker to dry off.

What is Aria learning at the moment?

Aria has been in school now for a few weeks. She came in to training fresh out of the pasture. She is learning to be stalled up which is a big change. She does get turned out in paddocks. I have her in training off the track so there are turn out areas. This helps her with the transition to race training. Aria likes to be pushy so they have worked on her attitude about not pushing to come out of the stall. Everyday she is tied in her stall and groomed. This is important for her to learn how to be tied for extended periods of time. In racing horses are tied or “nailed” to the wall for grooming or waiting their turn to go out to the track. She is learning to have her legs handled from all sides and angles. Racehorses must allow their legs to be handled to check for any problems such as heat, soreness. Its important that the trainer or groom know her legs and what they normally feel like before she starts any strenuous work.

Bathing, Aria prefers not to bathe. She feels Arabs should not have baths unless it rains. I know this about her. She has had bathes at my house, but not real often and not on a formal wash rack. To her surprise, racehorses are bathed on a regular basis . . . like everyday. So she is learning that she has to get on the wash rack even is she doesn’t think this is a good idea. To her horror her face has to be washed too.

Aria is learning to walk on the walker. She is also learning to lunge in the round pen. She is starting to wear a saddle and has accepted this new equipment without a fuss. I thought she would accept it because she is use to being blanketed in winter. She is about ready for a rider.

Now, what has Aria been teaching her new handlers? Oh she has been busy teaching them that she likes to be pulled first out of the pasture. She waits until they go to put a halter on the thoroughbred that is next door in his paddock, Aria then lets out a squeal and takes off bucking. The thoroughbred gelding can’t stand it. He ducks his head away from the halter and takes off. He tears around and can’t be caught. Aria then gets to go in first. She’s very pleased. She knows what she is doing and likes to be first.

Food its one her main thoughts in life. I had her out the other night hand grazing. She had had dinner and was eating grass. She's very friendly and was saying hello to everyone. But then she started pawing. We were right by the barn door, near her stall. She kept pawing and acting impatient so I let her walk into the barn. She wanted to go in her stall to check out her bucket. She just wanted to make sure it had been licked clean. She is a foodie. If the trainer, would stand at the finishline and shake a bucket, she would make sure she was there first.

Why did I choose racing?

I was asked why I chose racing for testing my breeding program. I've ridden/shown saddleseat and western. I never really learned hunt seat and don't jump unless forced to. I have driven my Arab in the past, my Arab gelding and I were in a driving event way back when. We had a great time. The Arabs are just now starting to use the big wood wheel carts for carriage driving. I don't like the little sulkies the use in the show arena. Driving is a blast, but traditionally the Arab is a saddle horse and not a driving horse. So I have thought about endurance. It takes a lot of dedication, time and butt calluses.

Racing and endurance I think use more of the original Arab characteristics then the show ring today. Racing around in a Native costume class is probably fun, but it's only for a few minutes and the judges want lots of knee action now a days. The standard I try to follow is the old paintings and literature written about them. Arabians were known for endurance and some sort of speed as well as being brave. They were raced in the middle east long before Judy Forbis showed up so if I'm going to preserve those characteristics then I need to do some sort of racing with them as well as regular riding.

Racing my mare Mia came about as a lark. I had Tom McNair out looking at my herd. I told him I was breeding for performance. He and I discussed Mia about going to Nationals in the Futurity. He was real excited about it at first and then said no. I'm guessing it was the changing standard so I was trying to decide what to do with her. I knew she liked to run. She has good action for saddle seat, but I really don't like the huge padded up feet and the mechanical action if I wanted Saddlebreds I'd own them. My friend Sandy bred and trains thoroughbreds and I knew her horses enjoyed it. So I thought what the heck maybe I'll try it with Mia if I can get it to work. Sandy found me someone who would work with me and Mia and that is how it got started. I also took note that if Mia did anything, she could earn money and maybe make a profit as opposed to the show ring. Mia had a good time. She broke her maiden against racebred horses. She even came in 3rd in a colt race. She is now going on to do dressage or whatever else so racing is just her first career. It’s nice to have a versatile horse.

Some of things I can learn racing include if the horse is trainable, will it hold up to the demanding work physically and mentally? Racing is challenging not only physically but they must be able to behave and listen to their handlers. There is a lot of excitement around and in the saddling paddock with the crowds watching, horses wigging out. From the horses’ point of view, a strange man shows up, helps saddle them and another possible stranger is tossed up on their backs to ride them while walking past the crowds. I’m sure this is all a big surprise at first. Then they go with a strange horse to the track out to the gates. There they must wait their turn to go in the gates even if really keyed up. The gates are narrow and a handler will be standing above them as they wait their turn to break from the gates. In the race, they need to be able to turn the speed on and off, not be afraid of dirt hitting them in the face, close quarters as well as screaming humans. Shying and spooking has no place on the track. The race horse has to learn to concentrate on the job at hand, not at the distractions.

Of course, they have to want to run to race. The hidden part of the horse is tested with racing as well as their body and brain. The question of whether they have heart or not comes into play as they battle for first place. It's an inner toughness, a desire to win. A horse that does not want to run can not be whipped into first place. A lot of Arabs won't run if whipped hard, they just quit and the let the jockey loose. They're smart enough to understand the goals racing if they've been a few races.

What she's like

I dropped Aria off for race training. She has not been started under saddle yet. She is a nice horse to handle. She leads, ties, stands for the farrier, wears a blanket in winter, etc. She’s not hard to clip. Aria is very bright and personable. She likes people, but she knows what she wants and has no fear of expressing her opinion. Attention is her big thing, but she’s also very competitive. She’s very dominate in the pasture which surprised me. Her mother is not and is fairly submissive. Aria’s only a 3 year old, but she was kicking her way through my mares so I moved her into the more aggressive crabby mare pasture out of the sweeter mares’ pasture. I figured they would keep her in line. I was wrong, very wrong. She quickly became number one. Her goal was to be first standing at the gate for feed and attention. Aria turned pea green jealous if another horse was chosen first to have it's feet trimmed or groomed. My fat now not so crabby mares were happy to see this young whippersnapper leave for school. But the experience of having a 3 yr old whup up on them has made them all get along better and nicer.

Aria should be nice to train, but I expect she will have a tantrum at some point when she expresses her opinion about doing something her way. She should enjoy work, but she will probably tell them how to do it once she figures out galloping is fun and is comfortable under saddle. I don’t consider this a weakness, although I know some folks would. She has an opinion about things and will learn sometimes it is not appropriate to express it. I consider this part of her personality as an inner strength which makes me think she'll have the heart to run. Some horses need to gain confidence and galloping helps them, but Aria is Miss confidence. Racehorses cannot be scared on the track or of other horses. She won’t be scared.

Why this blog?

I have just put my grey Arabian filly, Aria in race training this last week. The photo on the right is of her the morning of her new career. I thought it might be nice to follow her career as she goes from a fat 3 yr old to a very muscled trained horse. She is not race bred. She is straight Egyptian (SE) and nothing in her pedigree has raced since Egypt. I'm sure I'll hear she's too pretty to run. She's very typy and moves well so why would I take a show quality filly and put her in race training?

I decided to focus my breeding program on athletic horses. I grew up around Gleannloch and their horses. I would watch them show them in halter as a young horse, but then that same horse went on to win at Nationals under saddle. They also raced some of their horses and were successful. I also agree with the Poles on testing horses to see what is inside them. Most straight Egyptian breeders simply focus on the horse's face, if the horse is pretty and not much else. I want to do more then that. I like to ride and would like to know if the horse will hold up for under saddle work, but I also want them pretty. So how to test them under saddle?

I decided to try the Polish theory on another SE filly, Mia Bint Bayfire a few years ago. She was show quality and fancy. I put her in race training. She was successful and broke her maiden (won a race) which is a big deal. She has also won halter futurities and championships in hand. She is starting her career as a dressage horse now. Mia enjoyed the track more then the show ring. I had a great time doing it as well. So she has inspired me onward. I have people who ask me about racing and how to get started so I decided this blog on starting a horse in race training could be fun or at least amusing.