North Country Thoroughbreds provides therapeutic rehab & retraining to retired racehorses.
04/25/2025
"Race fit" condition to several months post track bod!!
(Behind the scenes education and tips😉)
In the Thoroughbred world we talk alot about horses being fit or properly conditioned, race fit is a term commonly used. What we really should be saying, thinking, and focused on as a goal is the horse being fit for the job they are intended to be used for as it's not just as simple as one would think. Take for example Babs pictured below... top two pics are from shortly after she arrived to NCT in "race fit" condition. Now this is very normal to see a horse at the track; in track training; or newly retired from the race world in this shape where they are lacking extra fat, dont yet have any jiggle to the b***y, some dont have much curve at all and appear narrow bodied when they really just need to fill out etc. Often looking ribby and some horses will just always look ribby no matter how much weight you put on its dependent solely on that individual horse. Ive had horses be 100lbs overweight and still look ribby because that was just that horses body type. At the track you dont fatten a horse up and get em chubbier to run. Nope. They are lean and muscled. Again due to that life, fit for that job! These horses have been in a very specific type of training for the job they had, their feed regimen and stable set up, turn out or lack their of also all tailored to the type of job they had.
After leaving that life and moving on they then abruptly have literally everything in their lives changed. Even if all changes are in positive ways the horse still feels stress and needs proper time to acclimate. Some do quickly and some take weeks, months etc. Every single horse is very different. When new horses arrive to NCT we spend significant time observing them eating, sleeping, pooping, socializing, moving, and handling them to create a custom feed regimen and training schedule. We set goals for each of them. We tweak things as needed and we document changes etc over the following days, weeks, months. Horses like Babs are then able to begin packing on weight and really filling out on a forage first based feed regimen including free choice forage hay fed year round consisting of a high percentage of alfalfa and grass. Horses do in addition have access to graze naturally on pasture grass if available dependent on what season we are currently in as we may have no grass. We carry three excellent grains that are low in sugars, high in protein, have a good percentage of fat, and balance of probios, vitamins and minerals. There is a large variety of supplements that we carry in house that are added into the horses feed regimen if needed based on dietary needs- weight, health needs, work load etc everything is looked at.
Proof is in the pudding folks...✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️
Bottom two pics are after Babs had been with NCT for several months. As you can see she has packed on a good amount of weight due to all that I mentioned all while in work and has utlized different muscle groups in her new training schedule that has contributed to her new GORGEOUS appearance!! These changes take real time so when you see an ugly duckling/skinny minnie etc think big picture 2/4/6 months out and it could really save you alot if you are willing to give the time and put in the work. Today Babs looks like a show horse! We are asked all the time about the big gorgeous flashy warm blood in the pasture and thats Babs! Big filled out flashy Thoroughbred beauty!😍
Happy Friday! ✌️
**Babs is currently looking for a family of her own❤️ link to her info⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BojvhpEao/
