Post by Cavallo on Jun 24, 2012 21:35:11 GMT -5
Kyle led the black colt over to the cross-ties and quickly set about to grooming the sleek colt's glossy hide. Sawdust and straw fell to the floor as Kyle went about his work. Jax tried to turn his head to see the goings on, but his head was retrained by the ties. Impatiently, he stomped a hoof.
Yeah...yeah yeah, I'm hurrying Jax. Kyle smiled at the colt's eagerness. He knew that whenever Kyle was around there was usually a trip to the tracks involved. That's my smart boy.
Kyle finished grooming the colt and grabbed his racing bit. Jax accepted the bit, easily enough, his ears flicking sideways as though bored with the whole ordeal and process.
Kyle quickly finished tacking the colt up and unclipped the colt from the cross-ties. He grabbed the reins and led the exhuberant colt out of the barn doors and they began their long walk to the track.
All the while Kyle talked to Jax, who fairly floated along beside him, but as soon as the track came into view...
Jax's ears shot forward and his stepping motion became more animated. He was clearly excited to be here and knew what happened here.
For months now, Kyle had been breaking and training Jax into the racing world and that meant getting him familiar with the track and it's day to day activities. Other horses were breezing in the middle. Jax watched with anticipation, his muscles almost quivering with the desire to bolt after the galloping thoroughbreds. He was born to run here and seemed to know it.
His competitive drive was starting to rear it's fierce head as he practically danced next to Kyle. Whoa boy...easy...easy.
Jax was soothed momentarily and followed Kyle onto the track.
The turf was fresh and springy beneath their feet as the duo made their way along the outside lane of the track. Horses continued to breeze by and Jax's eyes were fixated with desire after each horse that flew by on the inside. Kyle chuckled and rubbed the colt's neck. It was a good thing he had drive and desire....come race day it would serve him well.
They made their way over to the starting gate. Jax was a fairly new horse to Intrepid, but his lively energy allowed him to easily fit in with the yearling string. The yearling string had all been schooled together and that included starting gate training. With their two year old careers right around the corner, having this kind of training down was essential and they had been relentless in this.
Initially, Jax had been extremely impatient with the whole process...he wasn't afraid, but he just wanted to RUN...eventually he had learned that the sooner he settled in the gate....the sooner he got to bolt out of his slot.
The revelation had changed his entire outlook on the metal contraption..he saw it now and excitement began to quiver in his black lean body. Yeah..you know what that is boy...don'tcha.
Kyle jumped up, and Jax braced the extra weight as Kyle mounted into his seat. Kyle fiddled with his reins and Jax side-stepped slightly, eager to approach the gate if it meant a quick run.
Seriously...sometimes I think all you think about is RUNNING! He smiled it was a good problem for a racehorse to have.
