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 Member
Posts: 25
Location: TN | How many of you breeze your horses?
I have been long trotting my main horse about 2.5-3 miles at least once a week (most of the time twice) to keep him legged up but i have not breezed him yet.
Ive noticed recently that when we finish a turn and are ready to come out of a barrel he gets hung up. Its not that he isn't trying to move, it just seems like hes not getting anywhere. Sometimes I think it looks like hes not entirely sure where to put his back legs.
A few people have told me to start breezing him a couple of times a week to let him learn how to move out quicker. Is this something I should try? I have heard horror stories about horses being injured while being breezed so I have yet to do so with him. If its something that he has to do a time or two so he can learn how to use himself coming out of his barrels then I guess I'll have to do it. I was just hoping that maybe there were some other ideas? |
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 Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Alberta | I breeze my guys. The main thing is make sure you have a safe place to breeze them. I have a little strip that I use for my horses. It only takes them about 13 seconds to run the distance, I usually do it twice because in the summer I run at a few arenas that have standard patterns. I think that if you have them legged up well before you start breezing them it can reduce the chance of an injury. I usually throw on a pair of bell boots, and cool them out for quite a while. I find that breezing them really helps to teach them to really run. I have found that especially with colts you can feel when they aren't confident running while carrying a rider, even when making a run at home. I've breezed them a few times then took them to a barrel race and it would be like riding a different horse. You can feel them be more confident in the way they move.
I am getting a 5 year old ready for a futurity in the middle of October and I am currently breezing him once a week. Then in a week or two I'll up it to twice a week when he is in better shape. You don't want their legs run off and you also don't want them running out of steam when you are making a run. It can be a balancing act, you know your horse best. Do what you think will benefit him the most. |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
  
Location: Jersey Girl | I do. I have access to a race track where I board so I also do sprints with him. |
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 Experienced Mouse Trapper
Posts: 3106
Location: North Dakota | As long as its a safe place-yes-in fact for the fun of it, I "raced" my son last night on his little four wheeler-plus many won't admit how FUN it is! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Yup - just make sure you have a safe spot. We use a hay pasture (no holes) after it is mowed in the spring/early summer. Usually by then, my horses have been brought back into condition from long trotting the roads and I can allow them to open up and RUN! |
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  JMHO
Posts: 1869
Location: Oklahoma | I have a big gelding that once let out to "run" won't quiet down and walk or trot. Doesn't matter how hot it is outside, how deap the sand is or how far. I'm afraid at times he's going to have a heart attack. I can ride him hard for an hour or two and then let him breeze and still have a horse without an "off switch". So frustrating!! |
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| I never knew how much fun this was until after I bought my DTF colt off the track! LOL Holy moly its like driving a sports car! LOL |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| i always breezed mine on thurs about 300 yards pumps air in to them yes some were silly but i expected that their adreine is pumping the walk trot to the barn
hose off put up
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 Namesless in BHW
Posts: 10368
Location: At the race track with Ah Dee Ohs | FLITASTIC - 2015-09-02 9:43 AM I never knew how much fun this was until after I bought my DTF colt off the track! LOL Holy moly its like driving a sports car! LOL
Fun aint' it!!! |
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Expert
Posts: 2531
Location: WI | I do when I'm legging one up, once I start running most weekends I consider that my breezing. I do it in our arena, it's a pretty good size. I don't like to breeze them for a long distance. I breeze on the long side, bring it back down on the short side, then breeze again on the long side. I'll do this 2-3 times each direction. |
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 A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
Location: Southern Oregon | We do, but the area we breeze them at actually has a slight incline. Talk about bulk up and condition. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1525
| I breeze my really setty/ratey horse once a week...he is also a bad bleeder. I just let him pick a speed as not to hurt himself...if I think that I really need to ask him then I give him a little lasix. I have noticed that he doesnt bleed as badly with the breezing in his weekly schedule...hes just in better "wind" shape. He is off the track so i dont worry much about him tripping, or not running straight...but there is always a chance of somethng happening no matter how careful you are. I always say a prayer to keep us upright and on level ground. I breeze along a county road, on a friends cotton field that stays pretty nice. I would be careful at first on anything that might not be seasoned in breezing yet. I used to lope and breeze horses out for a race horse farm...teaching those babies to run straigh, not "run scared" can be a challenge. Just let them pick a speed at first, guide them, make sure you have walked the path you are going to breeze before hand and have fun:) I breeze mine about 350 yards...once after a decent warm up...sometimes I will break it up into two breezes...but 350 is just perfect for mine.
My other horse is much too hot, way to naturally fast, and i would prefer that he not know that he can run as free and fast as he already does haha, he will never be breezed again. It definitely translates over to the pattern!
Edited by MOTIVATED 2015-09-02 10:57 AM
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | If I've got somewhere safe to do it....absolutely! I'm a huge fan of lots of long trotting, with them framed up, but you can't beat breezing for getting some air in one. |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Absolutely. My horses love it and so do I.
I expect them to have fast bursts of energy on the barrel pattern. Makes sense that fast bursts of energy should be part of their conditioning program. So usually when I breeze them, rather than gradually building speed, I have them "burst" from the take off, as if you were leaving a barrel turn.
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Veteran
Posts: 296
| Best thing I ever did for my horse - taught him to open up in the pattern, made a huge difference in his times! |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | Sprints are the best for barrel horses as it teaches them to have quick speed as that is what they do in a barrel pattern. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1131
| The old barn my mare was at had a small 'track' that was a harder material, but it was flat and straight. Not huge, but I would open my mare up on the straights and let her loose rein hand gallop (not RUN, but it was more forward than I let her any other time), then rate on the short turn, and open again. We would do this about 3x both directions. She loved it, let her actually move, and we usually would have better runs afterwards, not as strung up on the finish, since we worked the run and rate at the same time. |
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 Professional Amateur
Posts: 6750
Location: Oklahoma | We breeze our horses. It serves the purpose of freeing some horses up, teaching others to run, and getting the Child Gone Wild over her fear of speed. Now it's all I hear from her . .when do we breeze? She prefers to "race" me. The coolest place I ever breezed my horses was on an Air Force Base next to the runway when the jets did touch and goes! Now those were the days!!  I feel the need. . the need for speed! HA!
I have a "track" that is tilled up in one of the pastures along the fence line. There are hills in it too, so it can be quite the "roller coaster" ride. We will also breeze around the perimeter of the arena, especially on some of the young horses or new horses - until I trust them to stop in an open field after "drag racing". |
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