Sportz, others,

I haven't seen a lot here on the forum about the paddock inspection of a horse before a race. What do you think of the following:

Looking at a horses physicality and attitude is the last thing you visibly can see before the horse actually runs the race. The form only gives you what the horse has done in the past, looking at the physicality and mentality today can give you tips on how he will run today. The day your actually wagering on the horse. Horses are not machines and their form can be good or bad at any given time.

How many of you have pets? Cats, Dogs or maybe some other animal. Can you tell by their actions when they are mad, happy, not feeling well or feeling great?


The Walk:
Horses that have good and proper extension will always have the rear hoof print exceed the front hoof print when they walk. Watch the front hoof print and see if the back hoof print exceeds (goes over) the print left by the front.

If it does not, the horse could have an extension problem or soreness. You find alot of these types in the lower level claiming races but I have seen this in grade 1's before to.

If they are walking properly they are said to be "walking well"
If they are not walking properly they are said to be "walking short"

This is best seen when they are walking the paddock before the race.

Walking the paddock:
When a horse walks in the paddock with the groom, the horse should walk with his head towards the groom. If the horse is walking looking around repeatedly and not paying attention to the grooms lead that is not a good sign of focusing on todays race.

Saddling:
Beware of horses that are getting saddled with an attitude. The horse should accept that the saddle is being put on and be still. Horses that try to refuse the saddle are not good bets as they are displaying the unwillingness to get ready to race. Lost In The Fog did this saturday when getting saddled at the breeders cup if any of you saw this.

Fractious Horses:
Horses that are just plain wild in the paddock or the post parade. They show no interest in racing today and burn a ton of energy while doing this. Fractious horses refuse any command by the jockey or the outrider and are trying to break away. Not a good sign of willingness to race today.

Coat of a horse:
The coat of a horse should radiate the sun. You can see the rich, deep color of the horse. This is a sign of healthiness. Horses with healthy coats will look as if they were sprayed with a clear coat. Horses with bad coats will soak the sun up.

Sweating:
Depending on the day watch for horses that are real wet. On hot days you would expect a horse to be a little sweaty but not washed out. Washed out is a term used when a horse is drenched in sweat. Watch for horses sweating on cold days. This is not a good sign at all. On the other side, watch for horses that are pretty dry on hot days. Kidney sweat is the white foamy substance between the horses hind quarters. Its not uncommon for horses to have kidney sweat but on occasion you will see them dripping the kidney sweat down their legs. Again not a good sign. In the paddock area watch for horses that have alot of sweat. The horse hasnt done anything yet so they should not be sweating in the paddock. If you ever see a horse sweating in the pits of the front legs, stay away from that horse like he has the plague. This area is the hardest for a horse to sweat in and you almost never see them sweat there.

Linaments:
Watch for sore horses. You will see horses on occasion with dark spots on the front chest area or the rump area. This is where the trainer has applied linament to a horse who is stiff in those areas or is just sore.

Dappling:
Dappling has to do with the coat. In the rump area generally you will see little circles as if they are coming up through the horses coat. This shows supreme healthiness. A word of caution is that grey horses almost always look like they are dappled. They are not always dappled I assure you, so look closely.


Tails:
The tail should be off the rump completely. It does not have to be sticking straight out from the horse but it does have to have separation. Horses that repeatedly swish their tails east and west show nervousness. Unless the paddock or track is infested with gnats they shouldnt be swatting at anything repeatedly. This shows nervousness in a horse. Arlington Park seems to be the only track where multiple horses every race swish their tails repeatedly. I have never been to Arlington but after seeing this for many years I may have to bring the raid when I do.

Ears:
Ears should be pricked forward. This shows interest. Horses that continually have their ears pricked forward without alot of movement will win majority of the races period. Horses that have their ears pricked forward with no movement do not happen often but I can show you 4 that I wagered on in the last 2 days with 3 winning and the other running second. Golden Rahy was one of them in race 7 at Santa Anita on sunday.

Ears that are pinned show unwillingness in a horse. The horse is mad, not feeling well but for sure has no interest in running today. Stay away from these animals.

Necks:
The neck should be bowed, almost as if he is holding an apple at his throat and holding it with his chin.

Horses that hold their head high, as if always trying to look over a fence, will most often start climbing at some point in the race.

You wont find all these positive or negative attributes in every horse race. Horses do win that are washy, just not very often. Horses do win when they are walking short, just not very often. You will be money ahead if you select on paper and play the horses that have good healthy attributes. Physicality and mentality go hand in hand. A horse that looks good with a bad attitude will not be a good choice. A horse with some of the bad physicality traits and a good attitude will run better than the latter. Be very wary of the horse that has good physicality and a good mental outlook today. Regardless if you liked the horse on paper he will run good today.

I'd appreciate your comments.

Regards,

Glenn

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