Sunsets and happy horses

by Ann

The horses don’t know the world is currently in turmoil, they are simply ‘delighted’ to be out and about and enjoying the sunshine. The weather has been glorious all week and the soggy paddocks are drying out in superfast time. The infamous ‘March Winds’ have swept in and done their job and while we wouldn’t normally be turning horses out yet because of ‘poaching’ the land and ruining grazing for later in the Summer, nevertheless for the past week we have turned a few out to get some ‘natural’ exercise alongside walking, trotting cantering on the lunge and water treadmill sessions.

At the moment we are simply wanting to maintain the level of fitness the horses had achieved ‘pre Covid’ while we take a breather, deal with the masses of extra work and stress this pandemic has created, while we learn more about what we are dealing with. Then our own plan of action will kick in, we want to be ready for a re-start so I am busy polishing my crystal ball.

There are many unanswered questions we all have, both for racing and for our business in general. I hope to write a more in-depth blog soon as more and more information appears and strategies unfold. One thing I can tell you after taking part in various conference calls and private calls including one with at the top of the BHA today is that racing ‘has it covered’ and their plan is an excellent, well thought out one. Make no mistake racing will suffer, as we all will pretty much but we will still have a sport that can be rebuilt with great people and that’s the main thing.