Each winter, the arrival of 2-year-olds marks a strategic turning point. It is the stage at which young horses begin their transformation into high-level athletes.
At this early phase, the balance between precocity and long-term soundness is delicate. Data analysis with EQUIMETRE helps structure and secure every step of their preparation.
Here are the 7 main reasons to monitor your two-year-old from the moment they join the yard.
1. Establish an individual reference
2. Detecting precocity in a racehorse
3. Fine tuning race distance and running style
4. Analyse fitness levels and assess the impact of training
5. Knowing when to increase the workload
6. Reduce the risk of injury and detect abnormalities
7. Creating a data profile for a high-performance horse through longitudinal monitoring
1. Establish an individual physiological baseline
In sport science, every data point has value. However, isolated data without context or reference offers limited insight.
Performance monitoring is built on three pillars: the creation of a data foundation, its enrichment through repeated sessions, and its continuous update over time. By recording the first canters of your 2-year-olds, you establish an individual physiological baseline: maximum heart rate, recovery profile, initial stride length and symmetry.
This foundation evolves session after session, refining the horse’s profile up to its first races. At this stage, the goal is not to push the horse to its limits, but to validate each step of its progression. Later in its career, should performance decline, you will be able to identify precisely which physiological parameter has deviated from its original reference.
Analytics table of Arion’s trainings
2. Identify early precocity
Once the database includes multiple young horses, comparison becomes particularly valuable. Some horses distinguish themselves very early through cardiovascular efficiency or speed production. Data helps objectify these differences and adapt training to each horse’s true developmental level.
Analysis may include:
- Peak speed (best 200 m),
- Ability to sustain effort over 600 m,
- Consistency of sectional times.
These indicators provide insight into maturity:
- Was the acceleration progressive?
- Did the horse go too fast too early?
- Did speed deteriorate through the bend?
Recording the first sessions on turf is also an important milestone. It is often the first time the horse expresses speed on a more demanding surface.
EQUIMETRE reports provide a structured and visual overview of fitness level and the horse’s ability to tolerate intensity.
3. Define the locomotor profile and orient racing distance
Locomotion analysis complements the trainer’s expertise when planning race distances. The stride frequency–stride length combination, measured at constant speed (ideally around 60 km/h), allows identification of distinct locomotor tendencies.
Three general profiles can typically be observed:
Sprinter
– High stride frequency, shorter stride length.
– Efficient over shorter distances but energetically demanding.
Miler
– Balanced use of stride frequency and stride length.
– Often versatile in distance.
Stayer
– Longer stride length, lower frequency.
– Requires more distance to fully express speed.
Stride frequency at 60 km/h on grass, good land (distance/stride frequency)
At two years of age, profiles are often oriented toward shorter distances, as physical development is ongoing. However, some horses display distinct locomotor signatures from the very beginning.
The objective is not to fix a definitive profile at this stage, but to provide objective elements to support race planning decisions.
Although we do not establish “definitive” profiles at this age, the cadence and stride length data at 60 km/h already reveal distinct locomotor signatures:
Sprinter profiles (high frequency)
Arionea (2.62 str/s) and Arione (2.62 str/s) show the highest stride frequency in the group. They compensate for shorter stride length (6.35 m) with higher frequency. This mechanism is more energetically costly and more difficult to sustain over longer distances.
Arionea also recorded the fastest 600 m time (00:36.92) with satisfactory recovery for a first turf session (49% at 15 minutes).
Stayer profiles (long stride)
Arionette (2.36 str/s) and Arionum (2.34 str/s) display lower frequency but significant stride length (7.10 m). Their acceleration requires more distance to reach maximum speed. They may start over intermediate distances before progressing toward longer races.
Miler profile (balanced action)
Ariono (2.44 str/s) shows no clear dominance between frequency and stride length.
With a stride length of 6.80 m, he recorded the fastest 200 m time (00:11.80). However, his recovery was the slowest in the group (56% at 15 minutes), suggesting that his current speed peak carries a higher physiological cost.
Access to these biometric indicators does not replace the trainer’s judgment. It provides additional insight to refine race programming based on intrinsic potential.
4. Analyse fitness levels and assess the impact of training
By building this database from the very beginning of training, it is then possible to evaluate its impact. Indeed, the evolution of data over time measures and quantifies the physiological changes in the horse.
Training a young racehorse involves finding the right balance between developing its cardiopulmonary function and aerobic capacity, and the pressure exerted on its musculoskeletal system, which can potentially cause structural damage and/or lameness. Heart rate indicators are a good way to gauge a young horse’s potential. Monitoring and analyzing a racehorse’s heart rate provides information about its level of fitness and how well it is adapting to training. The data can be used to gradually increase the training load by finding the crucial balance between cardiopulmonary development and preservation of the still fragile musculoskeletal system. This makes it possible to know when to stop at the first warning signs and avoid both under-training and over-training.
In addition, locomotion data, namely stride frequency, stride length, regularity and symmetry, are particularly useful for monitoring the development of muscle stiffness or lameness. These parameters will enable you to assess the impact of your training.
Example of a practical case:
The example above shows data for a young 3-year-old filly that began training in early 2024. A comparative analysis of two sessions, conducted one month apart at identical speeds, reveals a clear physiological improvement. At the same intensity, the filly shows much better control of her effort. In particular, there is a significant reduction in the time spent in the anaerobic zone, from 1 min 53 s to just 1 min 28 s, proving that the body is drawing less on its critical reserves to perform the same work.
The most notable gain is in the ‘Tempo’ zone: she initially spent nearly 4 minutes there, compared to just 1 min 28 s today. This time saved is directly transferred to the basic endurance zone (Zone 1), which increases by nearly one minute and thirty seconds. In summary, the filly is climbing less quickly and managing her effort much more economically, a sign of her rapidly developing recovery capacity and aerobic endurance?
5. Knowing when to increase the workload
Based on this assessment, you can validate or invalidate the fitness level before moving on to the next stage of training. EQUIMETRE data complements your expertise in assessing whether your two-year-olds have reached the ideal fitness level to increase their workload. In practical terms, all you need to do is analyse the recovery progress at two distinct points: immediately after exercise and then after a few minutes of recovery.
For a 2-year-old, reaching the red zone during intense exercise is normal. This results in a recovery after exercise that is above our reference values. A two-year-old with around 47% recovery after 15 minutes (~ 100 bpm) during its first gallops already shows strong signs of good recovery capacity, especially if its intermediate times are serious. The rest of its training and its first races will allow it to close the gap to 45% of its maximum heart rate.
Analysis of Arion’s data reveals optimal progress between April and September, marked by a significant increase in speed (from 38.95s to 37.80s over 600m) coupled with a clear improvement in his recovery capacity. A comparison of the sessions on 12/06 and 14/08, carried out at equivalent intensity (HR after exercise 53% HR max and 720m run at high speed), shows a recovery at 15 minutes from 50% to 44% HR max, reflecting a real gain in fitness. The improvement in recovery, while times are decreasing, confirms good assimilation of the workload and suggests that the horse is ready for an increase in intensity or a new stage in its training.
6. Reduce the risk of injury and detect abnormalities
Training a young horse can cause muscular and cardiac remodelling. This process can lead to structural damage or lameness. Monitoring with EQUIMETRE allows you to ‘see’ beyond the naked eye and detect weak signals before they become critical.
By monitoring the appearance of anomalies in the data collected, you can transform the data into a prevention tool:
- Cardiovascular health: A sudden and unexplained increase in heart rate (HR) may indicate pain, stress or a respiratory condition. For example, a horse reaching its maximum HR from the start of a gallop without being at full speed presents an abnormal situation. Analysis of the ECG recorded with EQUIMETRE allows further investigation to detect arrhythmias, thus preventing serious risks.
- Locomotor health: The data reveals deterioration in symmetry or regularity. These indicators often signal a growth disorder or pain before the onset of obvious lameness.
Systematic analysis of these parameters allows you to anticipate the need for veterinary intervention. You can safeguard the horse’s career by taking action at the right time.
L’analyse des courbes présentées ci-dessus met en évidence un schéma préoccupant. Dès le trot d’échauffement, la fréquence cardiaque s’élève à près de 180 bpm pour une vitesse de 17 km/h, niveau inhabituellement élevé. Lors du galop suivant (32 km/h de moyenne), le poulain atteint environ 203 bpm, soit déjà proche de sa zone d’effort maximale.
À la décélération, la fréquence cardiaque ne diminue pas de manière proportionnelle à la baisse de vitesse. Un plateau supérieur à 230 bpm est même observé sur une courte période.
Ce type de dissociation entre vitesse et fréquence cardiaque constitue un signal d’alerte. En l’absence de conditions d’entraînement volontairement plus exigeantes, une élévation anormale de la FC max peut nécessiter un examen vétérinaire afin d’écarter une arythmie ou une autre pathologie.
De même, une fréquence cardiaque excessivement élevée dès l’échauffement peut être le reflet d’une douleur locomotrice. Dans ce contexte, le monitoring offre à l’entraîneur la possibilité d’intervenir de manière préventive, avant que l’état de santé du cheval ne soit compromis.
7. Dresser le profil data d’un cheval performant grâce au suivi longitudinal
Lorsqu’un 2 ans suivi dès ses débuts réalise par la suite une carrière de haut niveau, ses données deviennent une référence précieuse. Elles constituent un profil objectif de performance observé dès les premières phases d’entraînement.
Le suivi longitudinal permet alors de comparer les générations. En mettant en perspective les données d’un cheval performant avec celles de jeunes poulains en préparation, il devient possible d’identifier des trajectoires similaires ou, au contraire, des écarts significatifs.
Il ne s’agit pas de prédire une carrière, mais d’affiner la lecture du potentiel en combinant l’expérience de l’entraîneur avec des éléments mesurables.
Mettre en place un suivi longitudinal efficace
La méthode la plus pertinente consiste à standardiser un exercice de référence dès l’arrivée du cheval à l’entraînement, puis à le reproduire régulièrement — par exemple un canter sur une piste connue et dans des conditions comparables. Cette standardisation permet de comparer les données de semaine en semaine et de mois en mois, en limitant les biais liés aux variations d’environnement.
L’évolution des paramètres physiologiques et locomoteurs met alors en évidence la progression réelle du cheval et l’efficacité du programme d’entraînement.
Une mémoire objective de la carrière
Au fil du temps, le cheval dispose d’un historique complet de ses données, véritable “mémoire physiologique” de sa carrière. Cet historique devient un outil d’aide à la décision, venant appuyer le ressenti de l’entraîneur sur l’état de forme du 2 ans.
À plus long terme, ces références peuvent être réutilisées pour analyser les générations suivantes, renforçant progressivement la cohérence et la précision du travail mené au sein de l’écurie.
Pour aller plus loin :
Vidéo : Comment comparer deux chevaux inédits avant leur première course 📊
Choisir la distance de votre cheval de course : le rôle des data
Le choix de la distance d’un cheval de course joue un rôle capital dans la performance de ce dernier.
La vitesse est l’élément incontournable à analyser pour suivre l’entraînement d’un cheval de course. Mais lorsque l’on pense à la vitesse, ce sont d’abord des temps de référence, des chronométrages et des réductions kilométriques qui viennent à l’esprit. Or la clé de la vitesse se joue à un autre niveau…
Mots-clés: jeunes chevaux, première course, deux ans, entraînement, monitoring, suivi longitudinal, santé