Trainer

The job of a coach is not learned only from books. It takes a spirit of observation and many hours of practice on the track to study, attack, change and try again. Training means strengthening the horse's natural endowment and consolidating its predisposition to exercise one discipline rather than another. For this reason, the first step for the trainer is to study the physical and psychological qualities of the horse in order to subsequently plan personalized training.

Whatever the sporting discipline in which the horse is engaged, the first phases of training aim to improve resistance and consolidation of tendons and joints; at a later stage, exercises will be carried out to enhance their speed and ability.

Calculate times, prepare routes, gradually increase loads. Each movement must be repeated infinite times. Being a trainer means always being present on the track with the horses to verify the correct execution of the exercises. But it also means knowing how to detect, with extreme attention, the horse's signs of discomfort or tiredness. A race lasting just a few minutes is prepared with months of training and must be followed by the right recovery times.

If in the trot, where there are no weight limits for those who ride the sulky, it is the trainer who usually also guides the racehorse, in the gallop this is not the case. It is the jockey who rides the horse. The coach will therefore have to define a training plan for the horse and rider and, before the races, discuss the race tactics with the jockey.

To work as a coach at a professional level it is necessary to obtain a license with the qualification of coach through a training course followed by an internship period.