Horses; The Athletes Within

Part 1

Herd Dynamic Rhythm

Position Paper

By;

Kerry M Thomas

Introduction

Nothing inhibits physical talent more than the lack of psychological ability; function and execution, when measured through the lens of competitive stress, can become two different things. Horses are themselves athletic, but it is the athlete within, that divides them.

Early on in my research efforts to identify the “ideal personality type” that was the equine athlete, I mistakenly tried to match peculiar types with particular styles and distances; what I dubbed psychological spin-cycles I tried to translate to output. However, this was not the full story as I began to realize when we continued to compile and track data. It became quite evident that athleticism is not found in a “type” of psychology but rather it is found within the manner of its expression. This fits the natural herd dynamic inasmuch as any group of physical horses are separated in hierarchy by their psychologies; for example, their innate ability to manage stress is an expression of “who” they are and where they rank regardless of their personality typing or physical abilities.

Horses are anything but a one-size-fits-all species when it comes to their varied “personality types” expressed through what I categorize as three main psychological spin-cycles; fast, moderate, methodical. The cycle assigned to a particular horse is based upon a study of their naturally occurring psychological rhythms but does not itself ascribe to them an assumed performance style, distance aptitude nor competitive nature; the manner of expression of the three elements that matter most is where the evaluation of ability takes place and is what brings latent physical talent to life. It must be remembered that any horse that has to “outrun” or “outperform” themselves first are only achieving as far as their physical talent will take them.

Style of performance is housed within natural tendencies under stress, the characteristics of this expression are found in what we identify as natural patterns of motion in the herd environment. Left to his or her own devices, it answers the question of what the horse is inclined to do in the chaos of natural herd motion and common stresses; not to be confused with competitive nature. Closely related cousins if you will, competitive nature is revealed during times of elevated stress and situational chaos in rapidly moving/changing environments. The ability for a horse not only to react appropriately during these moments but also to control themselves and influence others within it, is what defines “competitive edge”. The ability for any horse’s competitive nature to transcend into a useful competitive edge is reliant on its being sustainable. We at THT Bloodstock often talk about Time-In-Motion or T.I.M.; Time-In-Motion is the duration that the psychology is able to maintain competitive edge i.e., “mental stamina”. (To be optimized this must be at minimal, correlated with the horses’ physical stamina/distance ability). Each cycles relationship to distance is both separated by and merged through physical and mental stamina capacities to determine “competitive distance” but is not predicated upon the speed of cycle. Each necessarily being measured differently as fatigue brings the risk of both physical injury as well as a gnawing away of competitive edge.

There are many other factors at play in these equations, such as “equine erudition”.

The manner in which an individual horse expresses themselves plays an essential role in their ability to learn, while the “speed” of their mental rhythm determines the best manner by which they should be taught. Coaching and training and overall preparedness, in order to be affective “when it counts”, must adhere to and align with the individuals’ natural herd dynamic. (More about this subject in Part 2).

Where the rate of spin itself is not solely responsible for the athletic expression, the physical construct of the horse must match the intensity level inherent in it for expression to be athletic; in short, the pieces must fit. Body type has to be complimentary to rate of spin in order for athletic expression to manifest in its full capacity.

There are a great many moving parts that all need to work together in order for the horse to sustain their performance, their stamina and manifest their competitive edge; the complex nature of the herd dynamics can give the impression of confusion and chaos, but when separated into their individual roles we find there is enough complexity in the herd dynamic to explain the diversity of its expression.

Category 1

Fast psychological rhythms in a race horse may at face value seem to be the perfect fit for the tasks at hand, but that of an itself is not indicative of true athletic output. The wrong thing to assume is that a fast mental rhythm will translate to a fast, efficient, physical turn of foot. When putting together the entire athletic puzzle and to help ascertain the risk/reward potential you have to look at the pieces, mentally and physically, and determine what is complimentary and what is not. Yet this relationship only actually matters after you have found the requisite athletic characteristics in the expressions of the herd dynamic rhythm. The building blocks matter; you probably wouldn’t shop for a Ferrari in a tractor shop.

The faster the psychological rhythm, the more elevated the intensity, the greater the pressure on the accuracy of interpretations of environmental stimulus, which translates to expression. When we’re evaluating horses, I always make a note that indicates whether the mind is ahead of the body, or the body ahead of the mind leaving the horse needing to catch up with his/herself. The road between psychological rhythm and subsequent expression runs through the sensory system where the complex nature of interpretation births the characteristics of its expressed diversity.

It may appear at face-value that rapid mental cycles translate to rapid sensory system transitions and response times, and ultimately rapid physical reaction. But the athletic value is found not in the rapidity of response/reaction, but in the efficiency of it; if there is a disconnect anywhere along the line you have gaps gnawing away at athletic output. Horses with naturally brisk mental rhythms are an investment in a volatile market inasmuch as yes, you can realize great gains if everything aligns just right, but you also can find yourself at the bottom of the market looking up. If you’re investing in an athlete with identified fast herd dynamic rhythms, you have to weigh heavily the pros & cons of what these horses represent in your portfolio. They can most certainly be extremely affective athletes but their margin of error is razor thin.

Of the many things to consider, you have to start with the understanding that these “hi-rev” spin cycles are inherently harder on their bodies than otherwise. A byproduct of these cycles is very often added quick and reactive physical movement; emotional stresses have less time to filter and subsequently are exhausted through the body gaining the THT Bloodstock sobriquet “physical filter”. This doesn’t itself pull us off a prospect but it does lend itself to consider the physical athlete from a different viewpoint. There are often correlating emotional to physical stress points that need to be looked at making wear and tear, always part of the equation, even more so. You’d do well to be mindful of this if you’re considering buying at a two-year old sale, for example, where the hi-rev mentality can look impressive for that one breeze; evaluating the manner in which they’re filtering stress should never be overlooked. Afterall, you’re paying for that moment but investing in the future.

Fast cycled herd dynamics need the physical construct to support any added emotional stresses along with the body type that lends itself to true talent. It’s fairly straight forward this spin-cycle to body equation, but the way this herd dynamic rhythm translates to expression of athletic output, (ability), can be as impressive as it is uncertain. The reason for this is that these horses place almost all of their emotional energy into singular focus points or actions often bypassing or leapfrogging the buffer of interpretation. The efficacy of interpretation of stimulus is an essential part of the herd dynamic picture, it is the fabric that binds and blends the external environment with the internal horse, managing stress and action both mentally and physically. Hi-rev psychologies have a habit of going from A to C with little attention to B, and the process of reading the emotional terrain before reacting to it or acting within it is minimal. Their natural pattern of motion, performance style, adheres to and relies heavily upon one dimensional, singular focus points, going through the environment point to point, target to target, often with an all or nothing gusto. Try as you might, you will not nor should not try to “train it out of them”, doing so will not assuage but only deepen their stress levels.

The fine line between great athletic expression and chaotic disappointment is highly dependent upon the environment for fast cycling mentalities. When things line up just right hi-rev horses can offer impressive performances, emit powerful competitive nature and effective competitive edge, and appear to have endless mental and physical stamina. At the same time, they can be hard to manage, overreactive and seemingly “temperamental” and difficult to coach and train because they’re so “head-strong”. But there is a difference between headstrong/gritty and headstrong/reactive and if you’re considering one of these psychologies to become part of your team, you need to take the temperature of their expressions. Headstrong and gritty is the fast-cycling herd dynamic that, despite their inherent cycles, is able to maintain an athletic expression through all of their tendencies. What they lack in mental versatility they can make up for in having the determination to stay the course, power through, stay focused regardless of the changes in the environment around them where the reactive version (more common), has the tendency to bounce mentally from stimulus to stimulus and get “bumpy” when trying to transition competitive nature to competitive edge. Because of this their movement can become a little reckless, reactions that leave them open to injury at a higher probability than others.

Fast cycling herd dynamics run the risk of being the kind of athletes that run hard in spots but are always on the precipice of burn-out; the ability to maintain their level of intensity over protracted Time-In-Motion is always a point of question. In order for any horse to fully maximize both talent and ability there has to be a compatible merger between who they are and what they’re capable of doing. The alignment of these two determine competitive distance. There are fast rhythmed horses that can run competitively for 10F and there are those that are pure sprinters, but because these types of psychologies run through and over their interpretative aspect, they are much more dependent upon the environment they’re in.

Fast rhythmed herd dynamics can become elite athletes and there have been several, however the rhythm inherently struggles against sustainability and consistency. Higher intensity, higher stress, the greater the demand for purity in their athletic expression lest you invest in an athlete with a shorter than desired career.

Category 2

Where fast rhythmed horses distribute their emotional energy like an arrow piercing through the environment, often skipping past anything that isn’t a designated target, the methodically rhythmed horses sweep through their environment with a wide net of environmental awareness, their designated target not always so clearly engaged. Fast rhythms are inclined to deflect, methodical rhythms are inclined to absorb.

Herd dynamics with an even hum about them are predisposed to process stress internally and go through their sensory sequences in entirety before response. Their interpretational process benefits them greatly in the herd environment, allowing them to operate consistently and evenly in the normal chaos of motion either alone or within the herd. Because of this they are at lower risk of emotional fatigue and burnout over protracted periods of time and by proxy put less stress upon themselves physically. Taking the time to assess and in essence, evaluate the emotional terrain around them prior to action, their performance patterns are subsequently based upon interpretation. This allows the horse to move within herd motion with accurate space awareness and to chew up a lot of physical ground with minimal emotional stress, ideal for energy conservation.

Methodically rhythmed herd dynamics, for all of their performance consistencies, can be rather tricky to train. They often take to the entire process with ease, never turn a hair and assimilate to their environments smoothly, doing “everything right” during this performance conditioning process. However, the great antagonist for these herd dynamic rhythms comes in the drag between transitions and in compromised competitive versatility. That even hum in the barn and in the mornings doesn’t always translate to a concise competitive nature, that all important predecessor to competitive edge. It is common in these psychologies for the competitive nature, where it exists, to never fully develop into an athletic expression on its own. Even further, if the horse is only conditioned physically but not coached in a competitive manner, they’re even less likely to find a sustainable “combat zone”. What you may well end up with is a horse that mentally can cruise along for any distance their bodies can take them, without ever really sustaining competitive distance.

Horses such as these who may not be tactical benefit greatly when the environment is used tactically. When there is less fire in competitive nature than you’d like, but the horse you’re investing in has the physicality to move freely and a body type lending itself to distance, their methodical rhythm can realize benefit over longer periods of Time-In-Motion. Your core advantages come in two forms; their emotional energy distribution is rarely wasted and mental fatigue is uncommon to happen before physical fatigue. These characteristics go a long way both literally and figuratively and inserted into the right competitive environment can allow the horse to methodically grind away at their competition.

It's important that every horse’s herd dynamic is aligned with and complimented by their physicals in order to realize true athleticism, and where the methodical cycles are not entirely devoid of mental agility, their processes can be expressed with greater efficiency through a lighter, agile body. The methodical emotional energy can be what we at THT Bloodstock term, “heavy”, and is more athletically expressed through a lithe body.

Category 3

Versatility is the name of the game. The ability to adapt to situational chaos as it manifests into the choreography of combat, is sourced through mental agility and its fluency of expression through the vessel. The moderately rhythmed herd dynamic psychology affords the greatest opportunity for this and is the apogee of athleticism.

In Mother Nature’s handbook, moderately rhythmed psychologies make up the lowest percentage of individuals and the highest percentage of natural herd leaders. The key to sustainable herds is that the leadership is concealed from the eyes of the predator, singularly adept at maneuvering through the often volatile and demanding changes in the environment; these horses protect themselves not by turn-of-foot, but by mental acumen. Where the fast rhythmed is prone to react before assessment, where the methodically rhythmed are prone to react after delayed assessment, the moderately rhythmed can evaluate the emotional terrain and react based upon circumstance; before, during, after, affording them optimum control of motion.

When it comes to being an athlete in the structured world of the human, optimum output on the track or in the show ring is hinged upon the ability to manage stress, adapt, anticipate and distribute emotional energy in properly placed proportions. None of which start in the physical horse; the road to success is a mind-to-body highway.

The first thing I think of when #Panning4Gold is “versatility of mind”, this is the key that unlocks athletic expression and is found at a higher rate in the moderately rhythmed herd dynamic. The key to versatility, (the predecessor to being tactical), is housed within the efficiency of interpretation of the world, inside and outside. Knowing how and when to react without having to outsource to other horses (or humans) both enhances the rate of efficient physical action and minimizes the waste of residual overreactions. Their tendencies translated to performance allows them to assimilate and adapt smoothly much like the methodical herd dynamic, while their individual recognition of situational chaos allows them to switch gears into a much higher rev commonly seen in fast rhythms. The difference being, moderate psychologies are far more adept at doing what is required without unnecessary overkill, picking their spots and duration; hovering in competitive nature and quickly transitioning into competitive edge at will. This elevated degree of athletic expression is made possible because moderate rhythms have greater efficiency in their anticipatory response’s; the psychological mechanism that allows elite herd dynamics the luxury of identifying the intent of lesser minded horses around them. From a herd dynamic standpoint in athletic terms, there is no higher compliment to physical talent than this.

Because moderate herd dynamic rhythms operate at a higher tone level, their existence in the natural herd environment is a notch or two above their peers. Their minimal herd dependencies elevate them and in the language of sport, this means these horses are more often looked upon by their peers to help guide them through uncertain environments. This may seem at first to be a small point but it has powerful implications on the racetrack. As horses begin competing, especially in larger fields, the aforementioned “choreography of combat” inevitably builds up stress in an environment open to sudden and unexpected changes. During these moments the individuals in the field who outsource will seek to do so with the closest peer “next up” whenever possible. This plays out visually in horses that “hang” or show “drag” between their transitions, making them reliant upon their physical ability and momentum to outrun themselves, in effect, to overcome this psychological impediment.

The bottom line is simple, horses with more herd dependencies realize their tendencies of performance through the leadership of horses with fewer, a co-dependent relationship which is the fabric by which the individual connects to his/her self and manifests as the very fiber of the herd whether through “buddying-up” with one or total herd dependency. By contrast, a singular horse with minimal dependencies can influence the environment of many.

Another inherent asset to moderate rhythms expressed athletically can be found in the fact that they swiftly and smoothly transition from their competitive nature into competitive edge on an as needed basis. Able to hit mental cruise control for protracted periods of Time-In-Motion, they easily drop the clutch when required. From a herd dynamic standpoint, elite athletic expression in these psychological athletes comes with a deep well of mental stamina; grit, heart, relentless tenacity. They have both the mental ability to achieve above physical talent, and the environmental awareness that enhances physical preservation.

Owing to their overall versatility of mind moderately rhythmed horses will have a variation to their cycles; some will lean toward a fast cycle and some will lean toward methodical, but all can tap into what they need when they need it. It becomes important to identify which lean there is if any when cross checking their herd dynamic with their body type to avoid a mismatch as best you can.

Closing Thoughts

Where a horse is athletic, only their mind can make them athletes; for what defines the nature of athleticism is the manner in which it is naturally expressed.

You cannot nor should not remove the intangible of emotion. I think too often analytics and the crunching of numbers is allowed to snuff out the intrinsic beauty and appeal of emotionally driven sports. The emotional aspect is not just “along for the ride” but is indeed a driving force behind the journey. I have always found the variations of expression in the herd dynamics a fascinating study and where nature has a common template, she allows for flexibility within it. This is where inner-species evolution occurs, and where we as horse lovers, handicappers, owners and fans etcetera, evolve our understanding of them.

All three herd dynamic rhythms have within them flexibility though the space between there variations differ, and subsequently so does their manner of expression. Fast cycles and methodical cycles each have within them disparity of rhythm, however they are more tightly cropped and knitted, where moderate cycles are less confined allowing for greater flexibility as they weave there way seamlessly through the environment.

The natural cycles of individual horses are the symphonic rhythm of herd life, the hierarchy both separated and connected by them, and must be a consideration when placed within our world of sport and structure. These rhythms are the story of “who” and is the avenue from which all must travel from determining their probability of success at a yearling sale to developing a training program that fits their physicals and a coaching program built around their inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Psychological rhythm, emotional expression and physical capacity all have to be contiguous and complimentary in order to realize potential; the athletes we see, are a product of the athlete, within.

~Kerry

Horses; The Athletes Within

Part 1

Herd Dynamic Rhythm

Position Paper

By;

Kerry M Thomas

Introduction

Nothing inhibits physical talent more than the lack of psychological ability; function and execution, when measured through the lens of competitive stress, can become two different things. Horses are themselves athletic, but it is the athlete within, that divides them.

Early on in my research efforts to identify the “ideal personality type” that was the equine athlete, I mistakenly tried to match peculiar types with particular styles and distances; what I dubbed psychological spin-cycles I tried to translate to output. However, this was not the full story as I began to realize when we continued to compile and track data. It became quite evident that athleticism is not found in a “type” of psychology but rather it is found within the manner of its expression. This fits the natural herd dynamic inasmuch as any group of physical horses are separated in hierarchy by their psychologies; for example, their innate ability to manage stress is an expression of “who” they are and where they rank regardless of their personality typing or physical abilities.

Horses are anything but a one-size-fits-all species when it comes to their varied “personality types” expressed through what I categorize as three main psychological spin-cycles; fast, moderate, methodical. The cycle assigned to a particular horse is based upon a study of their naturally occurring psychological rhythms but does not itself ascribe to them an assumed performance style, distance aptitude nor competitive nature; the manner of expression of the three elements that matter most is where the evaluation of ability takes place and is what brings latent physical talent to life. It must be remembered that any horse that has to “outrun” or “outperform” themselves first are only achieving as far as their physical talent will take them.

Style of performance is housed within natural tendencies under stress, the characteristics of this expression are found in what we identify as natural patterns of motion in the herd environment. Left to his or her own devices, it answers the question of what the horse is inclined to do in the chaos of natural herd motion and common stresses; not to be confused with competitive nature. Closely related cousins if you will, competitive nature is revealed during times of elevated stress and situational chaos in rapidly moving/changing environments. The ability for a horse not only to react appropriately during these moments but also to control themselves and influence others within it, is what defines “competitive edge”. The ability for any horse’s competitive nature to transcend into a useful competitive edge is reliant on its being sustainable. We at THT Bloodstock often talk about Time-In-Motion or T.I.M.; Time-In-Motion is the duration that the psychology is able to maintain competitive edge i.e., “mental stamina”. (To be optimized this must be at minimal, correlated with the horses’ physical stamina/distance ability). Each cycles relationship to distance is both separated by and merged through physical and mental stamina capacities to determine “competitive distance” but is not predicated upon the speed of cycle. Each necessarily being measured differently as fatigue brings the risk of both physical injury as well as a gnawing away of competitive edge.

There are many other factors at play in these equations, such as “equine erudition”.

The manner in which an individual horse expresses themselves plays an essential role in their ability to learn, while the “speed” of their mental rhythm determines the best manner by which they should be taught. Coaching and training and overall preparedness, in order to be affective “when it counts”, must adhere to and align with the individuals’ natural herd dynamic. (More about this subject in Part 2).

Where the rate of spin itself is not solely responsible for the athletic expression, the physical construct of the horse must match the intensity level inherent in it for expression to be athletic; in short, the pieces must fit. Body type has to be complimentary to rate of spin in order for athletic expression to manifest in its full capacity.

There are a great many moving parts that all need to work together in order for the horse to sustain their performance, their stamina and manifest their competitive edge; the complex nature of the herd dynamics can give the impression of confusion and chaos, but when separated into their individual roles we find there is enough complexity in the herd dynamic to explain the diversity of its expression.

Category 1

Fast psychological rhythms in a race horse may at face value seem to be the perfect fit for the tasks at hand, but that of an itself is not indicative of true athletic output. The wrong thing to assume is that a fast mental rhythm will translate to a fast, efficient, physical turn of foot. When putting together the entire athletic puzzle and to help ascertain the risk/reward potential you have to look at the pieces, mentally and physically, and determine what is complimentary and what is not. Yet this relationship only actually matters after you have found the requisite athletic characteristics in the expressions of the herd dynamic rhythm. The building blocks matter; you probably wouldn’t shop for a Ferrari in a tractor shop.

The faster the psychological rhythm, the more elevated the intensity, the greater the pressure on the accuracy of interpretations of environmental stimulus, which translates to expression. When we’re evaluating horses, I always make a note that indicates whether the mind is ahead of the body, or the body ahead of the mind leaving the horse needing to catch up with his/herself. The road between psychological rhythm and subsequent expression runs through the sensory system where the complex nature of interpretation births the characteristics of its expressed diversity.

It may appear at face-value that rapid mental cycles translate to rapid sensory system transitions and response times, and ultimately rapid physical reaction. But the athletic value is found not in the rapidity of response/reaction, but in the efficiency of it; if there is a disconnect anywhere along the line you have gaps gnawing away at athletic output. Horses with naturally brisk mental rhythms are an investment in a volatile market inasmuch as yes, you can realize great gains if everything aligns just right, but you also can find yourself at the bottom of the market looking up. If you’re investing in an athlete with identified fast herd dynamic rhythms, you have to weigh heavily the pros & cons of what these horses represent in your portfolio. They can most certainly be extremely affective athletes but their margin of error is razor thin.

Of the many things to consider, you have to start with the understanding that these “hi-rev” spin cycles are inherently harder on their bodies than otherwise. A byproduct of these cycles is very often added quick and reactive physical movement; emotional stresses have less time to filter and subsequently are exhausted through the body gaining the THT Bloodstock sobriquet “physical filter”. This doesn’t itself pull us off a prospect but it does lend itself to consider the physical athlete from a different viewpoint. There are often correlating emotional to physical stress points that need to be looked at making wear and tear, always part of the equation, even more so. You’d do well to be mindful of this if you’re considering buying at a two-year old sale, for example, where the hi-rev mentality can look impressive for that one breeze; evaluating the manner in which they’re filtering stress should never be overlooked. Afterall, you’re paying for that moment but investing in the future.

Fast cycled herd dynamics need the physical construct to support any added emotional stresses along with the body type that lends itself to true talent. It’s fairly straight forward this spin-cycle to body equation, but the way this herd dynamic rhythm translates to expression of athletic output, (ability), can be as impressive as it is uncertain. The reason for this is that these horses place almost all of their emotional energy into singular focus points or actions often bypassing or leapfrogging the buffer of interpretation. The efficacy of interpretation of stimulus is an essential part of the herd dynamic picture, it is the fabric that binds and blends the external environment with the internal horse, managing stress and action both mentally and physically. Hi-rev psychologies have a habit of going from A to C with little attention to B, and the process of reading the emotional terrain before reacting to it or acting within it is minimal. Their natural pattern of motion, performance style, adheres to and relies heavily upon one dimensional, singular focus points, going through the environment point to point, target to target, often with an all or nothing gusto. Try as you might, you will not nor should not try to “train it out of them”, doing so will not assuage but only deepen their stress levels.

The fine line between great athletic expression and chaotic disappointment is highly dependent upon the environment for fast cycling mentalities. When things line up just right hi-rev horses can offer impressive performances, emit powerful competitive nature and effective competitive edge, and appear to have endless mental and physical stamina. At the same time, they can be hard to manage, overreactive and seemingly “temperamental” and difficult to coach and train because they’re so “head-strong”. But there is a difference between headstrong/gritty and headstrong/reactive and if you’re considering one of these psychologies to become part of your team, you need to take the temperature of their expressions. Headstrong and gritty is the fast-cycling herd dynamic that, despite their inherent cycles, is able to maintain an athletic expression through all of their tendencies. What they lack in mental versatility they can make up for in having the determination to stay the course, power through, stay focused regardless of the changes in the environment around them where the reactive version (more common), has the tendency to bounce mentally from stimulus to stimulus and get “bumpy” when trying to transition competitive nature to competitive edge. Because of this their movement can become a little reckless, reactions that leave them open to injury at a higher probability than others.

Fast cycling herd dynamics run the risk of being the kind of athletes that run hard in spots but are always on the precipice of burn-out; the ability to maintain their level of intensity over protracted Time-In-Motion is always a point of question. In order for any horse to fully maximize both talent and ability there has to be a compatible merger between who they are and what they’re capable of doing. The alignment of these two determine competitive distance. There are fast rhythmed horses that can run competitively for 10F and there are those that are pure sprinters, but because these types of psychologies run through and over their interpretative aspect, they are much more dependent upon the environment they’re in.

Fast rhythmed herd dynamics can become elite athletes and there have been several, however the rhythm inherently struggles against sustainability and consistency. Higher intensity, higher stress, the greater the demand for purity in their athletic expression lest you invest in an athlete with a shorter than desired career.

Category 2

Where fast rhythmed horses distribute their emotional energy like an arrow piercing through the environment, often skipping past anything that isn’t a designated target, the methodically rhythmed horses sweep through their environment with a wide net of environmental awareness, their designated target not always so clearly engaged. Fast rhythms are inclined to deflect, methodical rhythms are inclined to absorb.

Herd dynamics with an even hum about them are predisposed to process stress internally and go through their sensory sequences in entirety before response. Their interpretational process benefits them greatly in the herd environment, allowing them to operate consistently and evenly in the normal chaos of motion either alone or within the herd. Because of this they are at lower risk of emotional fatigue and burnout over protracted periods of time and by proxy put less stress upon themselves physically. Taking the time to assess and in essence, evaluate the emotional terrain around them prior to action, their performance patterns are subsequently based upon interpretation. This allows the horse to move within herd motion with accurate space awareness and to chew up a lot of physical ground with minimal emotional stress, ideal for energy conservation.

Methodically rhythmed herd dynamics, for all of their performance consistencies, can be rather tricky to train. They often take to the entire process with ease, never turn a hair and assimilate to their environments smoothly, doing “everything right” during this performance conditioning process. However, the great antagonist for these herd dynamic rhythms comes in the drag between transitions and in compromised competitive versatility. That even hum in the barn and in the mornings doesn’t always translate to a concise competitive nature, that all important predecessor to competitive edge. It is common in these psychologies for the competitive nature, where it exists, to never fully develop into an athletic expression on its own. Even further, if the horse is only conditioned physically but not coached in a competitive manner, they’re even less likely to find a sustainable “combat zone”. What you may well end up with is a horse that mentally can cruise along for any distance their bodies can take them, without ever really sustaining competitive distance.

Horses such as these who may not be tactical benefit greatly when the environment is used tactically. When there is less fire in competitive nature than you’d like, but the horse you’re investing in has the physicality to move freely and a body type lending itself to distance, their methodical rhythm can realize benefit over longer periods of Time-In-Motion. Your core advantages come in two forms; their emotional energy distribution is rarely wasted and mental fatigue is uncommon to happen before physical fatigue. These characteristics go a long way both literally and figuratively and inserted into the right competitive environment can allow the horse to methodically grind away at their competition.

It's important that every horse’s herd dynamic is aligned with and complimented by their physicals in order to realize true athleticism, and where the methodical cycles are not entirely devoid of mental agility, their processes can be expressed with greater efficiency through a lighter, agile body. The methodical emotional energy can be what we at THT Bloodstock term, “heavy”, and is more athletically expressed through a lithe body.

Category 3

Versatility is the name of the game. The ability to adapt to situational chaos as it manifests into the choreography of combat, is sourced through mental agility and its fluency of expression through the vessel. The moderately rhythmed herd dynamic psychology affords the greatest opportunity for this and is the apogee of athleticism.

In Mother Nature’s handbook, moderately rhythmed psychologies make up the lowest percentage of individuals and the highest percentage of natural herd leaders. The key to sustainable herds is that the leadership is concealed from the eyes of the predator, singularly adept at maneuvering through the often volatile and demanding changes in the environment; these horses protect themselves not by turn-of-foot, but by mental acumen. Where the fast rhythmed is prone to react before assessment, where the methodically rhythmed are prone to react after delayed assessment, the moderately rhythmed can evaluate the emotional terrain and react based upon circumstance; before, during, after, affording them optimum control of motion.

When it comes to being an athlete in the structured world of the human, optimum output on the track or in the show ring is hinged upon the ability to manage stress, adapt, anticipate and distribute emotional energy in properly placed proportions. None of which start in the physical horse; the road to success is a mind-to-body highway.

The first thing I think of when #Panning4Gold is “versatility of mind”, this is the key that unlocks athletic expression and is found at a higher rate in the moderately rhythmed herd dynamic. The key to versatility, (the predecessor to being tactical), is housed within the efficiency of interpretation of the world, inside and outside. Knowing how and when to react without having to outsource to other horses (or humans) both enhances the rate of efficient physical action and minimizes the waste of residual overreactions. Their tendencies translated to performance allows them to assimilate and adapt smoothly much like the methodical herd dynamic, while their individual recognition of situational chaos allows them to switch gears into a much higher rev commonly seen in fast rhythms. The difference being, moderate psychologies are far more adept at doing what is required without unnecessary overkill, picking their spots and duration; hovering in competitive nature and quickly transitioning into competitive edge at will. This elevated degree of athletic expression is made possible because moderate rhythms have greater efficiency in their anticipatory response’s; the psychological mechanism that allows elite herd dynamics the luxury of identifying the intent of lesser minded horses around them. From a herd dynamic standpoint in athletic terms, there is no higher compliment to physical talent than this.

Because moderate herd dynamic rhythms operate at a higher tone level, their existence in the natural herd environment is a notch or two above their peers. Their minimal herd dependencies elevate them and in the language of sport, this means these horses are more often looked upon by their peers to help guide them through uncertain environments. This may seem at first to be a small point but it has powerful implications on the racetrack. As horses begin competing, especially in larger fields, the aforementioned “choreography of combat” inevitably builds up stress in an environment open to sudden and unexpected changes. During these moments the individuals in the field who outsource will seek to do so with the closest peer “next up” whenever possible. This plays out visually in horses that “hang” or show “drag” between their transitions, making them reliant upon their physical ability and momentum to outrun themselves, in effect, to overcome this psychological impediment.

The bottom line is simple, horses with more herd dependencies realize their tendencies of performance through the leadership of horses with fewer, a co-dependent relationship which is the fabric by which the individual connects to his/her self and manifests as the very fiber of the herd whether through “buddying-up” with one or total herd dependency. By contrast, a singular horse with minimal dependencies can influence the environment of many.

Another inherent asset to moderate rhythms expressed athletically can be found in the fact that they swiftly and smoothly transition from their competitive nature into competitive edge on an as needed basis. Able to hit mental cruise control for protracted periods of Time-In-Motion, they easily drop the clutch when required. From a herd dynamic standpoint, elite athletic expression in these psychological athletes comes with a deep well of mental stamina; grit, heart, relentless tenacity. They have both the mental ability to achieve above physical talent, and the environmental awareness that enhances physical preservation.

Owing to their overall versatility of mind moderately rhythmed horses will have a variation to their cycles; some will lean toward a fast cycle and some will lean toward methodical, but all can tap into what they need when they need it. It becomes important to identify which lean there is if any when cross checking their herd dynamic with their body type to avoid a mismatch as best you can.

Closing Thoughts

Where a horse is athletic, only their mind can make them athletes; for what defines the nature of athleticism is the manner in which it is naturally expressed.

You cannot nor should not remove the intangible of emotion. I think too often analytics and the crunching of numbers is allowed to snuff out the intrinsic beauty and appeal of emotionally driven sports. The emotional aspect is not just “along for the ride” but is indeed a driving force behind the journey. I have always found the variations of expression in the herd dynamics a fascinating study and where nature has a common template, she allows for flexibility within it. This is where inner-species evolution occurs, and where we as horse lovers, handicappers, owners and fans etcetera, evolve our understanding of them.

All three herd dynamic rhythms have within them flexibility though the space between there variations differ, and subsequently so does their manner of expression. Fast cycles and methodical cycles each have within them disparity of rhythm, however they are more tightly cropped and knitted, where moderate cycles are less confined allowing for greater flexibility as they weave there way seamlessly through the environment.

The natural cycles of individual horses are the symphonic rhythm of herd life, the hierarchy both separated and connected by them, and must be a consideration when placed within our world of sport and structure. These rhythms are the story of “who” and is the avenue from which all must travel from determining their probability of success at a yearling sale to developing a training program that fits their physicals and a coaching program built around their inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Psychological rhythm, emotional expression and physical capacity all have to be contiguous and complimentary in order to realize potential; the athletes we see, are a product of the athlete, within.

~Kerry

Horses; The Athletes Within

Part 1

Herd Dynamic Rhythm

Position Paper

By;

Kerry M Thomas

Introduction

Nothing inhibits physical talent more than the lack of psychological ability; function and execution, when measured through the lens of competitive stress, can become two different things. Horses are themselves athletic, but it is the athlete within, that divides them.

Early on in my research efforts to identify the “ideal personality type” that was the equine athlete, I mistakenly tried to match peculiar types with particular styles and distances; what I dubbed psychological spin-cycles I tried to translate to output. However, this was not the full story as I began to realize when we continued to compile and track data. It became quite evident that athleticism is not found in a “type” of psychology but rather it is found within the manner of its expression. This fits the natural herd dynamic inasmuch as any group of physical horses are separated in hierarchy by their psychologies; for example, their innate ability to manage stress is an expression of “who” they are and where they rank regardless of their personality typing or physical abilities.

Horses are anything but a one-size-fits-all species when it comes to their varied “personality types” expressed through what I categorize as three main psychological spin-cycles; fast, moderate, methodical. The cycle assigned to a particular horse is based upon a study of their naturally occurring psychological rhythms but does not itself ascribe to them an assumed performance style, distance aptitude nor competitive nature; the manner of expression of the three elements that matter most is where the evaluation of ability takes place and is what brings latent physical talent to life. It must be remembered that any horse that has to “outrun” or “outperform” themselves first are only achieving as far as their physical talent will take them.

Style of performance is housed within natural tendencies under stress, the characteristics of this expression are found in what we identify as natural patterns of motion in the herd environment. Left to his or her own devices, it answers the question of what the horse is inclined to do in the chaos of natural herd motion and common stresses; not to be confused with competitive nature. Closely related cousins if you will, competitive nature is revealed during times of elevated stress and situational chaos in rapidly moving/changing environments. The ability for a horse not only to react appropriately during these moments but also to control themselves and influence others within it, is what defines “competitive edge”. The ability for any horse’s competitive nature to transcend into a useful competitive edge is reliant on its being sustainable. We at THT Bloodstock often talk about Time-In-Motion or T.I.M.; Time-In-Motion is the duration that the psychology is able to maintain competitive edge i.e., “mental stamina”. (To be optimized this must be at minimal, correlated with the horses’ physical stamina/distance ability). Each cycles relationship to distance is both separated by and merged through physical and mental stamina capacities to determine “competitive distance” but is not predicated upon the speed of cycle. Each necessarily being measured differently as fatigue brings the risk of both physical injury as well as a gnawing away of competitive edge.

There are many other factors at play in these equations, such as “equine erudition”.

The manner in which an individual horse expresses themselves plays an essential role in their ability to learn, while the “speed” of their mental rhythm determines the best manner by which they should be taught. Coaching and training and overall preparedness, in order to be affective “when it counts”, must adhere to and align with the individuals’ natural herd dynamic. (More about this subject in Part 2).

Where the rate of spin itself is not solely responsible for the athletic expression, the physical construct of the horse must match the intensity level inherent in it for expression to be athletic; in short, the pieces must fit. Body type has to be complimentary to rate of spin in order for athletic expression to manifest in its full capacity.

There are a great many moving parts that all need to work together in order for the horse to sustain their performance, their stamina and manifest their competitive edge; the complex nature of the herd dynamics can give the impression of confusion and chaos, but when separated into their individual roles we find there is enough complexity in the herd dynamic to explain the diversity of its expression.

Category 1

Fast psychological rhythms in a race horse may at face value seem to be the perfect fit for the tasks at hand, but that of an itself is not indicative of true athletic output. The wrong thing to assume is that a fast mental rhythm will translate to a fast, efficient, physical turn of foot. When putting together the entire athletic puzzle and to help ascertain the risk/reward potential you have to look at the pieces, mentally and physically, and determine what is complimentary and what is not. Yet this relationship only actually matters after you have found the requisite athletic characteristics in the expressions of the herd dynamic rhythm. The building blocks matter; you probably wouldn’t shop for a Ferrari in a tractor shop.

The faster the psychological rhythm, the more elevated the intensity, the greater the pressure on the accuracy of interpretations of environmental stimulus, which translates to expression. When we’re evaluating horses, I always make a note that indicates whether the mind is ahead of the body, or the body ahead of the mind leaving the horse needing to catch up with his/herself. The road between psychological rhythm and subsequent expression runs through the sensory system where the complex nature of interpretation births the characteristics of its expressed diversity.

It may appear at face-value that rapid mental cycles translate to rapid sensory system transitions and response times, and ultimately rapid physical reaction. But the athletic value is found not in the rapidity of response/reaction, but in the efficiency of it; if there is a disconnect anywhere along the line you have gaps gnawing away at athletic output. Horses with naturally brisk mental rhythms are an investment in a volatile market inasmuch as yes, you can realize great gains if everything aligns just right, but you also can find yourself at the bottom of the market looking up. If you’re investing in an athlete with identified fast herd dynamic rhythms, you have to weigh heavily the pros & cons of what these horses represent in your portfolio. They can most certainly be extremely affective athletes but their margin of error is razor thin.

Of the many things to consider, you have to start with the understanding that these “hi-rev” spin cycles are inherently harder on their bodies than otherwise. A byproduct of these cycles is very often added quick and reactive physical movement; emotional stresses have less time to filter and subsequently are exhausted through the body gaining the THT Bloodstock sobriquet “physical filter”. This doesn’t itself pull us off a prospect but it does lend itself to consider the physical athlete from a different viewpoint. There are often correlating emotional to physical stress points that need to be looked at making wear and tear, always part of the equation, even more so. You’d do well to be mindful of this if you’re considering buying at a two-year old sale, for example, where the hi-rev mentality can look impressive for that one breeze; evaluating the manner in which they’re filtering stress should never be overlooked. Afterall, you’re paying for that moment but investing in the future.

Fast cycled herd dynamics need the physical construct to support any added emotional stresses along with the body type that lends itself to true talent. It’s fairly straight forward this spin-cycle to body equation, but the way this herd dynamic rhythm translates to expression of athletic output, (ability), can be as impressive as it is uncertain. The reason for this is that these horses place almost all of their emotional energy into singular focus points or actions often bypassing or leapfrogging the buffer of interpretation. The efficacy of interpretation of stimulus is an essential part of the herd dynamic picture, it is the fabric that binds and blends the external environment with the internal horse, managing stress and action both mentally and physically. Hi-rev psychologies have a habit of going from A to C with little attention to B, and the process of reading the emotional terrain before reacting to it or acting within it is minimal. Their natural pattern of motion, performance style, adheres to and relies heavily upon one dimensional, singular focus points, going through the environment point to point, target to target, often with an all or nothing gusto. Try as you might, you will not nor should not try to “train it out of them”, doing so will not assuage but only deepen their stress levels.

The fine line between great athletic expression and chaotic disappointment is highly dependent upon the environment for fast cycling mentalities. When things line up just right hi-rev horses can offer impressive performances, emit powerful competitive nature and effective competitive edge, and appear to have endless mental and physical stamina. At the same time, they can be hard to manage, overreactive and seemingly “temperamental” and difficult to coach and train because they’re so “head-strong”. But there is a difference between headstrong/gritty and headstrong/reactive and if you’re considering one of these psychologies to become part of your team, you need to take the temperature of their expressions. Headstrong and gritty is the fast-cycling herd dynamic that, despite their inherent cycles, is able to maintain an athletic expression through all of their tendencies. What they lack in mental versatility they can make up for in having the determination to stay the course, power through, stay focused regardless of the changes in the environment around them where the reactive version (more common), has the tendency to bounce mentally from stimulus to stimulus and get “bumpy” when trying to transition competitive nature to competitive edge. Because of this their movement can become a little reckless, reactions that leave them open to injury at a higher probability than others.

Fast cycling herd dynamics run the risk of being the kind of athletes that run hard in spots but are always on the precipice of burn-out; the ability to maintain their level of intensity over protracted Time-In-Motion is always a point of question. In order for any horse to fully maximize both talent and ability there has to be a compatible merger between who they are and what they’re capable of doing. The alignment of these two determine competitive distance. There are fast rhythmed horses that can run competitively for 10F and there are those that are pure sprinters, but because these types of psychologies run through and over their interpretative aspect, they are much more dependent upon the environment they’re in.

Fast rhythmed herd dynamics can become elite athletes and there have been several, however the rhythm inherently struggles against sustainability and consistency. Higher intensity, higher stress, the greater the demand for purity in their athletic expression lest you invest in an athlete with a shorter than desired career.

Category 2

Where fast rhythmed horses distribute their emotional energy like an arrow piercing through the environment, often skipping past anything that isn’t a designated target, the methodically rhythmed horses sweep through their environment with a wide net of environmental awareness, their designated target not always so clearly engaged. Fast rhythms are inclined to deflect, methodical rhythms are inclined to absorb.

Herd dynamics with an even hum about them are predisposed to process stress internally and go through their sensory sequences in entirety before response. Their interpretational process benefits them greatly in the herd environment, allowing them to operate consistently and evenly in the normal chaos of motion either alone or within the herd. Because of this they are at lower risk of emotional fatigue and burnout over protracted periods of time and by proxy put less stress upon themselves physically. Taking the time to assess and in essence, evaluate the emotional terrain around them prior to action, their performance patterns are subsequently based upon interpretation. This allows the horse to move within herd motion with accurate space awareness and to chew up a lot of physical ground with minimal emotional stress, ideal for energy conservation.

Methodically rhythmed herd dynamics, for all of their performance consistencies, can be rather tricky to train. They often take to the entire process with ease, never turn a hair and assimilate to their environments smoothly, doing “everything right” during this performance conditioning process. However, the great antagonist for these herd dynamic rhythms comes in the drag between transitions and in compromised competitive versatility. That even hum in the barn and in the mornings doesn’t always translate to a concise competitive nature, that all important predecessor to competitive edge. It is common in these psychologies for the competitive nature, where it exists, to never fully develop into an athletic expression on its own. Even further, if the horse is only conditioned physically but not coached in a competitive manner, they’re even less likely to find a sustainable “combat zone”. What you may well end up with is a horse that mentally can cruise along for any distance their bodies can take them, without ever really sustaining competitive distance.

Horses such as these who may not be tactical benefit greatly when the environment is used tactically. When there is less fire in competitive nature than you’d like, but the horse you’re investing in has the physicality to move freely and a body type lending itself to distance, their methodical rhythm can realize benefit over longer periods of Time-In-Motion. Your core advantages come in two forms; their emotional energy distribution is rarely wasted and mental fatigue is uncommon to happen before physical fatigue. These characteristics go a long way both literally and figuratively and inserted into the right competitive environment can allow the horse to methodically grind away at their competition.

It's important that every horse’s herd dynamic is aligned with and complimented by their physicals in order to realize true athleticism, and where the methodical cycles are not entirely devoid of mental agility, their processes can be expressed with greater efficiency through a lighter, agile body. The methodical emotional energy can be what we at THT Bloodstock term, “heavy”, and is more athletically expressed through a lithe body.

Category 3

Versatility is the name of the game. The ability to adapt to situational chaos as it manifests into the choreography of combat, is sourced through mental agility and its fluency of expression through the vessel. The moderately rhythmed herd dynamic psychology affords the greatest opportunity for this and is the apogee of athleticism.

In Mother Nature’s handbook, moderately rhythmed psychologies make up the lowest percentage of individuals and the highest percentage of natural herd leaders. The key to sustainable herds is that the leadership is concealed from the eyes of the predator, singularly adept at maneuvering through the often volatile and demanding changes in the environment; these horses protect themselves not by turn-of-foot, but by mental acumen. Where the fast rhythmed is prone to react before assessment, where the methodically rhythmed are prone to react after delayed assessment, the moderately rhythmed can evaluate the emotional terrain and react based upon circumstance; before, during, after, affording them optimum control of motion.

When it comes to being an athlete in the structured world of the human, optimum output on the track or in the show ring is hinged upon the ability to manage stress, adapt, anticipate and distribute emotional energy in properly placed proportions. None of which start in the physical horse; the road to success is a mind-to-body highway.

The first thing I think of when #Panning4Gold is “versatility of mind”, this is the key that unlocks athletic expression and is found at a higher rate in the moderately rhythmed herd dynamic. The key to versatility, (the predecessor to being tactical), is housed within the efficiency of interpretation of the world, inside and outside. Knowing how and when to react without having to outsource to other horses (or humans) both enhances the rate of efficient physical action and minimizes the waste of residual overreactions. Their tendencies translated to performance allows them to assimilate and adapt smoothly much like the methodical herd dynamic, while their individual recognition of situational chaos allows them to switch gears into a much higher rev commonly seen in fast rhythms. The difference being, moderate psychologies are far more adept at doing what is required without unnecessary overkill, picking their spots and duration; hovering in competitive nature and quickly transitioning into competitive edge at will. This elevated degree of athletic expression is made possible because moderate rhythms have greater efficiency in their anticipatory response’s; the psychological mechanism that allows elite herd dynamics the luxury of identifying the intent of lesser minded horses around them. From a herd dynamic standpoint in athletic terms, there is no higher compliment to physical talent than this.

Because moderate herd dynamic rhythms operate at a higher tone level, their existence in the natural herd environment is a notch or two above their peers. Their minimal herd dependencies elevate them and in the language of sport, this means these horses are more often looked upon by their peers to help guide them through uncertain environments. This may seem at first to be a small point but it has powerful implications on the racetrack. As horses begin competing, especially in larger fields, the aforementioned “choreography of combat” inevitably builds up stress in an environment open to sudden and unexpected changes. During these moments the individuals in the field who outsource will seek to do so with the closest peer “next up” whenever possible. This plays out visually in horses that “hang” or show “drag” between their transitions, making them reliant upon their physical ability and momentum to outrun themselves, in effect, to overcome this psychological impediment.

The bottom line is simple, horses with more herd dependencies realize their tendencies of performance through the leadership of horses with fewer, a co-dependent relationship which is the fabric by which the individual connects to his/her self and manifests as the very fiber of the herd whether through “buddying-up” with one or total herd dependency. By contrast, a singular horse with minimal dependencies can influence the environment of many.

Another inherent asset to moderate rhythms expressed athletically can be found in the fact that they swiftly and smoothly transition from their competitive nature into competitive edge on an as needed basis. Able to hit mental cruise control for protracted periods of Time-In-Motion, they easily drop the clutch when required. From a herd dynamic standpoint, elite athletic expression in these psychological athletes comes with a deep well of mental stamina; grit, heart, relentless tenacity. They have both the mental ability to achieve above physical talent, and the environmental awareness that enhances physical preservation.

Owing to their overall versatility of mind moderately rhythmed horses will have a variation to their cycles; some will lean toward a fast cycle and some will lean toward methodical, but all can tap into what they need when they need it. It becomes important to identify which lean there is if any when cross checking their herd dynamic with their body type to avoid a mismatch as best you can.

Closing Thoughts

Where a horse is athletic, only their mind can make them athletes; for what defines the nature of athleticism is the manner in which it is naturally expressed.

You cannot nor should not remove the intangible of emotion. I think too often analytics and the crunching of numbers is allowed to snuff out the intrinsic beauty and appeal of emotionally driven sports. The emotional aspect is not just “along for the ride” but is indeed a driving force behind the journey. I have always found the variations of expression in the herd dynamics a fascinating study and where nature has a common template, she allows for flexibility within it. This is where inner-species evolution occurs, and where we as horse lovers, handicappers, owners and fans etcetera, evolve our understanding of them.

All three herd dynamic rhythms have within them flexibility though the space between there variations differ, and subsequently so does their manner of expression. Fast cycles and methodical cycles each have within them disparity of rhythm, however they are more tightly cropped and knitted, where moderate cycles are less confined allowing for greater flexibility as they weave there way seamlessly through the environment.

The natural cycles of individual horses are the symphonic rhythm of herd life, the hierarchy both separated and connected by them, and must be a consideration when placed within our world of sport and structure. These rhythms are the story of “who” and is the avenue from which all must travel from determining their probability of success at a yearling sale to developing a training program that fits their physicals and a coaching program built around their inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Psychological rhythm, emotional expression and physical capacity all have to be contiguous and complimentary in order to realize potential; the athletes we see, are a product of the athlete, within.

~Kerry

Racing to Breed

Position Paper

By:

Kerry M Thomas

Founder of THT Bloodstock

Introduction

Herd dynamics play a central role in everything horse, and among the most influential pieces of the puzzle is the significant influence they have in Mother Nature’s breeding program. Here at THT Bloodstock Pete and I have spent many years looking at the various considerations of breeding programs and ultimately, regardless of all the data points which can clutter and complicate, at the core is simplicity. Mother Nature has done the complicated equations of a successful breeding program over countless years of her evolution, and though we certainly have tinkered with that, whether to its benefit or not can be debated, deviating too far from home base can see us marooned.

You’re not breeding race horses; you’re breeding horses in the hopes their progeny will race. I personally feel that the wrong way to fulfill this hope is by focusing on an endgame that is racing itself. Naturally athletic can describe many horses, but not every horse can be ascribed as being naturally competitive. While we “breed to race”, Mother Nature “breeds to sustain”; where we tinker and attempt to add or detract certain characteristics to guide what the horse may do, the rules applied by nature determine who the horse is going to be. Regardless of the degree of physical talent available, it takes athletic ability to execute it. A breeding program focused on herd dynamic ability matters a great deal; if you want to breed a winner, you have to breed a competitor. Any particular horses’ racing results and career data isn’t necessarily reflective of who they were/are as athletes in the purest sense, there can be a wide divide between our perception and their reality.

There are more horses that can run in a race than there are those who can compete in it; breeding to run and breeding to compete can be very different things. Developing a breeding program that is corner stoned solely or primarily upon results based matings can be fraught with fools’ gold. That is not to say that results and pedigree do not matter, they most certainly do; though to get the full benefit of their offerings I feel, one must peer through them from different angles. An investigation of “how” will reveal more than a face value look at “what”.

Breed to Perform; Talent & Ability

Construct of talent, necessity of ability; the truly competitive race horse depends upon the merger of these two things. Any mating plans that do not incorporate them are, in my personal opinion, shortsighted.

The rendition of talent runs through the expression of ability, the efficacy of which governs output potential. While assembling the physical pieces of your preferred puzzle, pedigree in tow, your ultimate goal when breeding a herd animal is to breed out herd dependency, breed in independence. Answering the question of what it takes to be the physical athlete who can achieve at a high level, is only as relevant as the attention paid to what it takes to be an elite psychological athlete.

The mental capacity of the equine controls the physical output of the athlete; athletic intelligence matters.

In nature, sustainable herd structure is contingent upon co-dependent relationships; herd members with weaknesses depend upon those that counter with their strengths. This fabric that binds helps to sustain the herd unit, with far fewer high functioning herd dynamic individuals who bubble-up to become herd leaders than exist mid-level members. In nature, emotional intelligence is a collaborative reality, but in competition, this collaboration necessarily is called upon to become narcissistic. The question of mental aptitude is not asked through the horses’ physicality but rather through the lens of their psyche. The first question to answer in any breeding program is, what herd dynamic qualities are required in order to infuse ability through talent? Chief among those is the manifestation of individualism; Mother Nature by design breeds a finite number of true individuals, yet for sport we must endeavor to corrupt this natural process of dependency by filtering out those characteristics. In order to do this, we need to recognize that emotional stress is the basic root of dependency, and gain an understanding of how and why it manifests.

Few things suffocate physical talent more profoundly than emotional stress. Taking care and effort to avoid breeding into it is a vital piece of the athletic puzzle. Communal in nature, horses are less inclined to manage stress individually and thus outsourcing the filtering process is far more common. When the horse is seeking to outsource while being asked to operate without the comfort of other horses, many disruptions can take place impeding their athletic development. Things like “bad behavior”, stall vices, environmental attachments and even a high reliance on routine are all forms of stress management in one degree or another. These stress responses are not abnormal, they are an extension of common basic instinct shared by the majority of horses. Each horse has elements of basic instinct that are communal and that are singular in their expression and manifestations, varying degrees of these are at the core of the herd hierarchal structure. This is no accident, for this structure of “pecking” order serves a greater purpose than the survival of a horse, it is essential for the survival of the herd. Of equal importance and by design, upper-level herd dynamic horses, or what we denote as “leaders”, have less communally expressed instinct and by proxy are more singular among their peers because of their inherent ability to filter emotional stress; in sport this level of emotional intelligence is what we call the Athletic Instinct.

Athletic instinct is that part of the basic instinct which is defined in competitive nature, an enhanced, more individualized expression of basic herd instinct weakens the cord of dependency. This is an essential element of the emotionally driven athlete, for where efficiency of physical talent hinges upon structure and mechanics, the expression of emotional intelligence cannot be mechanized; an athlete’s psychological profile matters.

Breed in strength of individuality, breed out weakness of dependency. The first step in doing this is through an understanding of the horses’ characteristics of dependency, for this is the leading edge of emotional stress and among the determining factors of one’s ability to manage it. Considering the basics of what it takes for the horse to assimilate to the lifestyle of racing, which itself is foreign to the natural herd dynamic, and to maximize talent during competition in a sustainable manner, is the ground floor of aligning the pieces of the athletic puzzle. The ability to adapt and assimilate to changing environments and effectively manage emotional stresses is directly linked to the individuals’ capacity to interpret these changes. In its simplest explanation, the “speed of the game” cannot supersede an athlete’s speed of interpretation of it. Every level higher in competition requires another degree higher of interpretation; some athletes look quite promising until they move ahead and their heretofore hidden weaknesses become exposed. When under-equipped horses find themselves in tougher competition, the emotional stresses are harder to process and outsourcing begins. This is no fault of the horse, if he/she wasn’t bred to compete, they are left to having to physically outrun their psychological self.

Breeding in stress management ability and individualism does not have a formula that guarantees it, however focusing on the tools required to achieve it brings you quite a bit closer. Among the primary requirements is sensory soundness. A large portion of the horse’s singular world is funneled through their sensory system, and where it is true that a horse’s physical senses are common, each individual has unique degrees of interpretational efficiency within them. These often-subtle differences impact profoundly both herd placement and ultimately, athletic intelligence. Athletic intelligence revolves around two main aspects of sensory soundness; the swiftness with which stimuli, real or perceived, is processed and interpreted (thus prompting response) and the horse’s naturally occurring ability to sensory-lead-change relative to the speed of motion.

We all know what a physical “lead-change” is, and a sensory lead change is much the same in a manner of speaking. Stimuli that itself (as in a standing horse) moves through sensory aspect to sensory aspect, or a horse that is moving through herd/environmental stimuli; for example, if you don’t want your horse to be a hanger, you best be sure he or she can sensory lead change faster than they’re moving. If not, the drag between stimulus identification and interpretation delays response, delayed responses can cost you physical position and seed emotional stress from the anxiety of uncertainty the speed of the game demands. Leaving you with a horse who will need to outrun himself in order to move ahead of his peers. Physical talent not operated by athletic intelligence is often the very definition of the under-achiever and most certainly opens the door for outsourcing dependency under duress. Taking care to mate horses who have the tools to fill in any holes one to the other, and who psychologically complement each other, is every bit as important as hip and shoulder angle and so on.

The degree of sensory soundness is also expressed in another essential of athletic intelligence, versatility. The ability to adapt to environmental changes and assimilate to situational chaos is vital for many things from a horse’s early development and coaching to being fluent and competitive on the track. The less versatile the psyche, the more dependencies the horse will have, subsequently the more everything has to line up just right.

While sensory soundness itself goes a long way toward a horse’s individualism, the speed with which the process of identification – interpretation – response happens, is the key to how athletically intelligent the horse will be when in the heat of competition. You want to mate horses that are not only sensory sound, but are fast and efficient processors of information. By extension, these horses will have accelerated psychological growth patterns, they will impart less physical strain from emotional stress because they have the capacity to self soothe and properly respond. Horses with elevated degrees of mind to body continuity, what we call “fluency”, take better care of themselves and are better suited for the physical demands of life as an athlete.

Lineage; Essential Behavioral Genetics

Psychological pedigree, it may not be a concept that is commonly considered, but as far as I’m concerned, indeed it should be. I am not a fan of purely paper matings if it can be avoided, horses aren’t the assemblage of inanimate objects on an assembly line, they are a collaboration of physical and behavioral genetics; emotionally charged, emotionally driven, emotionally connected. Gathering as much information as you can in both families is a great asset, an understanding of historically prevailing herd dynamic traits will help guide the decision-making process whether you own a mare seeking a stallion, or you have a stallion you’re trying to get mares to. Know the ingredients as best you can before you attempt to amass them.

Lineage & nature; consistency v/s anomaly. Identify when possible in the closest family members their traits of communication within changing environments. The most important behavioral genetic in family lines is the inherent characteristics of assimilation to situational chaos; for this is a base element of competitive nature that is desirable in both the stallion and the mare. Horses need not have competed to have this characteristic, though it is easier to ascertain in those who have. Behavioral consistencies, regardless of what they may be, are key to identify whenever it is possible to do so; another term for this is “stamping”. Behavioral stamping, especially of primary traits such as sensory efficiency, assimilation and the efficacy between interpretation and response, are important parameters for the athletic mind. These do not have to be expressed in the same manner, in other words the stallion nor the mare had to necessarily be special athletes in order to house the ingredients that pay-it-forward, getting too caught up in results is overlooking the process. Grade 1 fillies and Grade 1 colts do not automatically produce Grade 1 progeny; wouldn’t it be easier if they did…? Mother Nature doesn’t work that way, thus ensuring a healthy compliment of mixture in the gene-pool.

There is no natural reason that an unraced mare and a pretty good colt can’t produce a damn good athlete, especially when there is historical consistency in athletically inclined behavior patterns. Neither horse need be a complete package of herd dynamic strengths, in fact this is extremely rare; both horses however should be historically compatible as well as behaviorally complementary if you hope to improve upon them. It is very important to be mindful that lineage reveals consistency of traits, but the individuals reveal their most recent expression of those and it is that most recent expression, which has the lion’s share of influence on the yet-to-be behavioral genetics. The concept of random within a proven structure is a reality of nature, it is what allows a species to sustain itself within ever changing environments. In order to give yourself the best chance to avoid this natural arbitration, matching herd dynamics that complement one another by having the capacity to fill-in psychological gaps while supporting strengths, is vital. Dismissing the process and getting too excited by perceived results can often lead you to disappointment.

Remember, it isn’t what was accomplished, but how; results don’t enter the breeding shed, but the stripped-down versions of the pure horses, do.

You should always be wary of the anomaly, that “one-off” out of nowhere elite athlete that seems to break the rule of consistency mold, for this can be a shining example of the random trickery of Mother Nature. A sudden rise in elite character traits blossoming in a way not common or congruent in a family line is great for the owners of said athlete, but do not by proxy automatically mean these will be transferred into his/her progeny. In fact, quite often any sudden bloom of athletic intelligence is more likely to default to whatever was a common thread before. Getting over excited especially by a new stallion who had awesome results on the track but who also was something of an historical aberration, is in my opinion even more of a roll of the dice. The wait and see stance may turn out to be a better investment strategy, allowing you opportunity to study the progeny for any signs of consistency in psychological stamping.

Consistency of traits is important, identifying components that are being stamped (this goes for physical stamping too) are an indication, be they good, bad or indifferent, certain characteristics are being carried forward and more importantly, expressed. When this is happening, you have a natural template from which to proceed, when it isn’t, you’re feeling your way blind. Dormant ingredients though still available, become prevailing with far less frequency than those actively expressed; the further removed from the present, the less likely (though certainly not impossible), a long-ago largely inert character trait will reappear. Physical traits carry forward much further than herd dynamic traits, the reason for this is that the basic horse physical template does not need to evolve at the same rate as the psyche needs to adapt in order for a species to survive.

Identifying behavioral stamping of prevailing traits from a new broodmare obviously takes more time, however the broodmares value measured in herd dynamics should never be underappreciated. You can study all the available family members for historical markers, but the buck stops at the mare’s doorstep. Once you evaluate her and cross-check whatever you can find in her lineage, you’re guessing forward. A solid broodmare is one with a well-balanced psychology, she does not need to have shown a high degree of competitive nature to have inherent athletic intelligence that is useful in breeding. In fact, by virtue of the female role in herd society, it is oft-times a safer bet to breed mares who are psychologically balanced and sensory sound; core, available ingredients of athletic intelligence, rather than to those who are excessively/emotionally, aggressive. The reason for this is two-fold; an aggressively expressed athletic intelligence can challenge the desired stamping in the stallion selected for her, and in the natural herd environment true leaders only selectively express aggression. It is rare for this pairing to produce measured athletic fluency. This is because Mother Nature must conceal her leadership in plain sight, camouflaging them from the prying eyes of predators. A good broodmare prospect has the herd dynamic characteristics that complements the stallion selected for her; there are no blanket matings, one size does not fit all. It is the horse-to-horse relationship that matters.

That is not to say that emotionally aggressive fillies can’t become quality broodmares, especially when it is their expressive traits you desire to see imparted in her mate. However, her particular character traits will be best utilized when paired with a stallion who is himself the sensory sound, evenly tempered and balanced psychology. A stallion who isn’t himself prone to behavioral stamping is a better herd dynamic fit for a mare who is likely to do so. Either way you slice it, from a herd dynamic point of reference, the pieces you have need to fit together complementary, not antagonistically; mind to body fluency is essential to optimize talent, breeding out mental disruptions, an important first step toward that fluency.

There are many variable ingredients locked away in so many rooms within the kaleidoscope of family lines and to attempt to open them all is next to impossible, focusing on the requisite fundamentals of athletic intelligence however, is your key to unlocking the largest one. Herd dynamics matter; if you’re not thinking forward, you’re already behind.

Closing Thoughts; Trusting Mother Nature

I have always believed that the best approach to the all-important decisions in a breeding program was to strip away the human clutter and see the horses for who they are. Racing to the breeding shed in a fast and furious, hold-your-breath, hope they can make it mindset, offers less to the stability of the breed than do sustainable, performance focused programs. Within the ever challenging world of the natural environment, where emotional intelligence is often the deciding factor between life and death, a flash-in-the-pan stallion would find himself hard pressed to mate with very many mares.

Working with the template provided by Mother Nature is always the best approach, and keeping in mind that in nature, profound changes that stick are made incrementally. It is always best to mate horses who are herd dynamically closer than they are apart in your effort to improve upon them through their progeny; nature allows subtle changes to slip through more often than she does drastic ones. Psychological overcorrection efforts are a slippery slope and should be avoided, too much space between strength and weakness rarely produces high levels of athletic intelligence. Breeding race horses and racing horses to breed are very different things. We must be vigilant in order to strengthen the breed, and I believe that one of the ways to help strengthen the horses being bred is to pay as much attention to their herd dynamic as we do their physicals; a capable operating system governing a well-made horse pays dividends that reach beyond the race track. Mentally sound athletes have greater longevity potential in whatever sport they’re in. The rigorous demands of becoming an athlete can chew away a great deal of a horse’s mental aptitude if they’re starting off less than proficient at handling the stress in the first place.

Breeding athletic minded horses alone doesn’t promise great achievement on the race track, talent also has to be available, but what it does gift you is the inherent probability that talent will have a chance to develop and emotional stress is less likely to shorten the horses career. Not applying herd dynamics is inviting the element of average. The herd dynamic is supplied by nature, it is counter-productive to ignore or try to circumvent it and when this happens, we often see strong physicals being operated by average, dependent riddled psychologies. These horses are far more challenging to coach-up in spite of their promise, many a great looking, well made horse find themselves underachievers on the racetrack. Dependency in the herd animal can become hard to manage when they’re asked to be individuals, here again we are reminded that racing and competing is not a team sport, trying to put a square peg into a round hole can bring about much emotional stress and even trauma. Not only is this counterproductive in the racing environment, it also can have lingering psychological affects, impacting the horse’s future.

Breeding sound herd dynamics is forward thinking, breeding for sustainability highly responsible. We have to face the reality that only a very small percentage of horses “make it”, and those that do themselves seem to have such brief careers, we really do not know how sustainable they actually are.

Because the vast majority of horses will necessarily be guided into a second career, giving them the best chance for that demands breeding beyond the race track. Anything less is shortsighted and threatens to weaken the breed over time. The very first step in providing for a horse’s “aftercare” is ensuring an effort is made in their having been capably bred; it is a far more viable option to rehome and repurpose the career of a horse who is mentally sound enough to do it.

Regardless of the discipline a horse is bred for or the career they may have, the greatest value that can be found in any of the horse industries, are the horses themselves.

Thank you~

Kerry