Optimising the profitability of the stable is one of the trainer’s major issues. Every year he has to find new young horses while following the horses he already has in training. The trainer has to find the right balance between the horses that are already racing and the yearlings and 2-year-olds who come to renew the yard. Optimising the performance of the horses in the stable and their well-being is paramount, as is the trainer’s time. Here are 5 ways in which a trainer can optimise the profitability of his stable:

1. Making choices by assessing the potential of horses

Assessing potential using longitudinal monitoring refines the strategic choices that the trainer must make during the horse’s career. The data analysed thanks to a service such as EQUIMETRE Analytics Premium helps to define goals appropriate to each individual’s potential.

Carrying out a standardised exercise provides the trainer with reference data enabling him to follow a horse’s progress during training. The data (collected in similar conditions) are then comparable and relevant. This monitoring of the horse’s progress also makes it possible to check that the programmed training is adapted and effective with this horse.

2. Save time by detecting future performers (2 years/yearling)

The dream of seeing a future group race winner in his stable is shared by many trainers. Training and building the confidence of a 2 year old is part of a long process and one must not skip steps. This is why young horses do a lot of hard work once the trainer know they are in excellent physical condition. A standardised test, as mentioned above, makes it possible to measure their physiological aptitudes and speed skills. The data collected during this test will be used to create a baseline data from the horses’ training sessions in order to monitor their progress. These data also make it possible to highlight extraordinary performances characterised by non-standard physical and physiological capacities. The earlier performance measurements and monitoring are carried out, the sooner the horse’s potential will be defined and appropriate training can be set up.

3. Win more races by lining up the right horse in the right race at the right time

When a trainer wishes to enter a horse in a race, there are two main indicators that allow him to be sure of his choice. These parameters ensure that the horse performs at his optimum level during the race on the d-day.

The first indicator is the horse’s current state of fitness. By choosing a reference training, which will be used as a comparison tool, the horse’s current state of fitness through recent training is compared to a reference training which precedes good race performance.

In this comparison, the first element that allows the fitness of a race horse to be assessed is the elasticity of his heart rate. A horse is “fit” when he is able to gradually increase his heart rate when the effort is intensified and to decrease it very quickly once the intensity of the effort decreases. Next, it is very interesting to analyse the horse’s reference times, particularly the best 200m and 600m. By comparing these split times with the split times of the reference training, it gives a very good indicator of the level of performance and the fitness of the horse at the given moment.

The second relevant indicator is the comparison of the split times monitored during the horse’s last training sessions with the reference times of the target race during the last editions. From one year to the next, however, some of the parameters of the race may vary, such as the level of the lot or the quality of the terrain. However, the topography and the course of the race do not change.

A comparison between the horse’s times and those of the race gives a clear idea of the horse’s level in comparison to the level required for the race in question, although the times used for the horse are training times and not racing times.

4. Using veterinary telemedicine: detecting emerging pathologies and preserving the horse

Successfully diagnosing pain before it turns into an injury is one of EQUIMETRE’s main objectives. Monitoring the values of symmetry, regularity, stride frequency and stride length allows for longitudinal monitoring and completes the heart rate analysis. Working with the advice of a veterinarian, even remotely using telemedicine, makes it possible to take problems and injuries upstream and deal with them before they affect the horse. This collaboration can result in improved health, performance, time and money savings.

« EQUIMETRE is a tool that allows the horse to speak at work. The physiological parameters will be measured and these will allow to know if the horse is working in comfort and safety or not. »

– Emmanuelle VAN ERCK, veterinarian and specialist in internal equine sports medicine

When monitoring the return to training, analysing the symmetry data allows the detection of future lameness, as the horse changes his gait and locomotion in order to relieve his injured limb. Monitoring the stride frequency data is also essential, as a consequent increase in stride frequency can be synonymous with pain. When a limb is painful, the horse do not put in all the power necessary to maintain a good range of motion; he has to increase his stride frequency to maintain the required speed. By monitoring the symmetry value of a young horse, it is possible to know his reference data. It is then possible to monitor and detect an abnormality in the horse.

5. Improve the attractiveness of the stable thanks to an innovative marketing strategy based on data communication to owners.

Trainers and owners are in contact through social networks and Whatsapp groups. Social networks are a platform to sell themselves but also to keep an informative link with fans and owners, who are always keen to follow the progress of their horses.

Training data, graphs and curves provide trainers with new content to share on their platforms. The introduction of technology and innovation into training techniques is a guarantee of open-mindedness and attention to detail. It proves the will to achieve excellence through precise modifications, a support of objectivity on the trainer’s feeling and a willingness to take the owners on board. Finally, it confers a top-of-the-range image.

Thanks to a system of mirror accounts, Equimetre gives trainers the opportunity to share training sessions with their owners, while retaining control over the information. For a passionate owner, having the opportunity to immerse himself in his horse’s data is a dream!