Training the way nature intended
By Marcus Hersh
http://www.drf.com/news/article/110095.html
WEST GROVE, Pa. - It was cold on an early January day in rural southeastern Pennsylvania. But not that cold. Time-and-temp signs along US Highway 1 heading west from Philadelphia read 37 degrees. Jonathan Sheppard, guiding two visitors around the property where he trains, foals, raises, and breaks racehorses, steered a comfortably worn farm truck off a paved lane and set out across wintry turf. Not many yards into a field, a snow and ice covered creek blocked his path.
"I wonder if we can make it," Sheppard mused. "Let's give it a try." And with that, he threw the truck into gear and made for the creek's far bank. The ice broke into five-inch-thick chunks as soon as it bore the truck's load, and now the wheels were churning in winter mud. Unable to gain traction, Sheppard backed up onto the creek bank, made another run, and this time, with minor whining protest, the truck scrambled up into another field.