Typical Day for a Race Horse

The typical day for a racehorse on a racing day would consist of a light exercise, an early feeding, being checked over by the groomers and trainers, and then being saddled and raced. After the race, horses are checked for any foreign substances, cooled down, grazed and put away. Find out more about racehorses with information from a former professional jockey in this free video on racehorses.

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Now if a horse is going to race that day, they might have a separate program than the rest of the stable would have, because they're likely going to go out and do their regular exercise regimen. They might do something very light, go out very early in the morning and do a little jog, something just to stretch their legs, or just walk in the morning getting them ready for their races in the afternoon. If they are racing that afternoon generally they have to, they'll be fed differently, they won't be thrown their grain and all their hay. You know, every trainer's different and the horse is different. But generally their hay is pulled by a certain time, so many hours before the race so that they don't eat and anything that could disturb them or slow them down with their racing. When they are set up for racing the grooms are with them, the trainer gets them prepared and meets them up at the saddling area which is the paddock. And there the horses will be saddled, once they run they, depending on if they finish first, second or third, they might be required to go through what we call a test barn where they're tested for any foreign substances. God forbid that they came up with some sort of medication that is not allowed in racing. There are tests for that. Then they get to come back to the barn, where they're cooled out and sometimes they get treated like kings, they grazed and they get their feed and a nice big pile of hay and are put away for the night. But that's generally a horses day in racing.