The Kentucky Derby is considered "The Greatest Two Minutes in Sport." This race is regarded as a Grade I stake horse race for thoroughbreds. These horses compete in this famous race at the age of three, and the horse who runs the 1 ¼ miles distance in the shortest time wins a great purse of $1.24 million. The average horse running the Kentucky Derby competes at an average of 37 miles per hour.
After creating a training regimen that provides support for the racehorse's cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, energetics, biomechanics, thermoregulation, and nutrition the speed and endurance required to compete in a racing can still result in unplanned and unforeseen injuries. Twelve hundred pounds of racehorse impacts the ground with tremendous concussive forces during the gallop where one leg at a time hits the ground. The joints of the lower limb, particularly the fetlock joints, hyperextend on impact to the point where the distal ankle can touch the ground (Berkland, 2020).
Scurry Driving is a fast-paced equestrian event where a pair of dual- harnessed ponies pull a pair of drivers around a course or track on a small buggy or carriage to compete for the fastest time. The general age of an animal to compete varies by how training progresses. Since it is a driving pair, they are usually around the same age. The average age of competing equines is around 10 years old, while some of the youngest pairs are 4 and 5 years old; the oldest pairs are still competing around 16 years of age. Younger horses tend to perform better in the sport.
Among the numerous events within the Equine Industry, a very popular one is Barrel Racing. Often seen in rodeos, it is a western style equine sport that is accompanied by other working horse events such as reining and cutting. The horses selected for the competitions are usually of Quarter Horse breed origin and are relied on for their bursts of speed and limber movements around the barrels. Training programs developed for this sport would involve high impact and macrocycle conditioning
Barrel racing is an equine competition that takes place all around the U.S and in different parts of the world. This event is based on how fast a horse can run around 3 barrels set in a clover leaf pattern and run back, past the finish line. This clover leaf pattern is represented in Figure 1. According to the National Barrel Horse Association “The first two barrels must be a minimum of 15 feet off the side of the fence. There needs to be a minimum of 30 feet between the third barrel and the fence. Lastly there needs to be a minimum of 3 feet between the timeline and the first barrel (NHAB,2020).” This event only lasts as long as the time it takes for the horse and rider to cross the start timeline, run the course, and cross the finish timeline.
Horses in training and competition take a daily load on their muscles, joints, and bones. Each competition is different on what area of the horse’s body takes the impact or largest workload. For Western Pleasure horses the impact and lameness are typically seen in their hind end, feet, and knees. Western Pleasure is a sport judged on a western horse’s ability to perform three gaits going to the left and right while looking pleasurable and moving elegantly. Horse and rider work together to perfect the horse’s gait at the walk, jog, and lope.
