Horse Psychology

[dean smith]

How much is known about horse psychology?

I'm reading and hearing a lot of explanations how Mine That Bird could've won the Derby the past few days. Jockey, track conditions, bias...

As a relatively new horse racing junkie, this is what I saw Saturday: A horse with a career-best 81 Beyer who had previously been happy to hit the board on the New Mexico dog racing circuit fall back 15 lengths before blowing by 18 "superior" horses on the turn for home LIKE THEY WERE STANDING STILL and easily cross the wire 7 lengths ahead of the field while his jockey struck a series of guts poses.

The reason I ask about horse psychology is because I'm wondering if the Kentucky Derby is handicapable using normal handicapping methodology. How in the world can an easily-spooked animal like a horse be expected to behave and perform in front of 150,000 fans the same way he performs in front of a few thousand on an average 100K stakes Saturday? You've got the circus on the walk from the sheds and in the saddling area. You've got a marching band and "My Old Kentucky Home" during the parade to the gate. You've got the roar as the gate swings open and a calvary stampede of 20 horses (as opposed to the 6-12 he's used to) and the steady roar which continues through the first turn. Then, upon hitting the final turn for home heading toward the grandstand, you've got the "wall of sound" jockeys will admit shakes the hell out of them. And then you've got absolute pandamonium on both sides of you during the long stretch run.

Is it possible that Mine That Bird's win can simply be attributed to his being a "gamer" who feeds on such energy and becomes an adrenaline pumping machine in such circumstances, while others go A-Rod and wilt under the intense heat of the moment? Can horses be likened to humans in this way? Is Mine That Bird a Robert Horry-type who grinds it out through the regular season but becomes "Big Shot Bob" when the spotlight shines the brightest?

I'm not trying to sound corny or anything, but these are the things I wonder about as I get more and more into racing. In short, how much do we know about how the equine mind works? Can a horse choke under pressure? Can he rise to the occasion and perform in the clutch? Does he even know he's racing or does he think he's fleeing predators?

[Riot]

We know alot about horse psychology, dating back from when the first guy jumped on one, rather than ate him. They are pretty simple hardwired creatures. You can google horse behaviour and get some great hits. You can breed for personality traits, obviously. The TB has been bred to be competitive. Not all are. They can be extremely intelligent, in their own way.

[tiggerv]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

But how would this explain his dead last in the Breeders Cup Juvenile?

Watch the hilarious 5 wide trip that Chantal gives him in that race. He wasn't going to win even with a better trip but that ride was the exact opposite of what Borel did yesterday.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Mine That Valhol wouldn't have been much better off had he skimmed the rail in that race.

Virtually every BC winner both days made wide sweeping moves.

[Riot]

Borels' instructions were to go up and sit just off the pace. He got smashed five strides out of the gate, so that wrecked that plan, and he winged it from there.

Winged pretty good, he did

[dean smith]

He was also a little kid six months ago. I'm sure there were some guys who just ate up Michael Jordan in the eighth grade.

For what it's worth, Mike Watchmaker points out in Bet With the Best that, "Of the 12 Kentucky Derby winners from 1990 through 2001, only one even ran in the Juvenile," and "Otherwise, recent Derby winners have all, for one reason or another, missed the BC Juvenile."

[GenuineRisk]

It probably was a combination of factors, which might or might not include him hating New Mexico's climate, loving the mud, starting to figure it out again (he was a late foal and turns 3 for real in a week), clicking with a new jockey, several of the other horses stumbling or getting banged up or getting freaked by the crowd or hating the mud themselves. I do think there are horses that love attention (my uncle's old horse would stop in his tracks if he saw a camera and "pose" until the camera was put away), but I don't know that a horse would make the connection with the crowd and the race. In the end, they're still prey animals and a lot of noise usually means something bad to a prey animal.

In the stretch, he looked to be flying by the other horses because they were slowing down so noticeably.

For whatever combination of reasons- weather, racing luck, a good ride, feeling ready to race, etc., he put it all together on Saturday.