Cape Breton's Magazine

looked at a movie of the race, he wasn't lame in the race. And then he would go and he would lay down for two days after a race; he wouldn't stand up. That was a class horse. Donna: You really respect a horse that has that. Even if you don't win, you know that they've tried and that they've given it their best, and that they've done all that they can do. So you're not disappointed. I think those are the horses you end up real? ly liking and respecting. There would be other horses who might go faster, but that would be the horse that you'd really like. Darlene: Like Callie can improve a horse a lot--where he's a blacksmith. And not only that he's a blacksmith, but he can sit be? hind the horse and jog him and say, "Okay, this and this should be done." Donna: It's hard to explain. It depends on how their legs are situated on their body. If a horse is sort of standing toed out, they call it. The automatic thing is that (his hoof) is going to come in and inter? fere with the other leg. He might hit his knees. So Callie could maybe take that horse and trim the hooves or build up a shoe on the other side--and do all kinds of things like that, so that he wouldn't interfere. Like Darlene says, take him out and watch him jog and know what he could do to fix him, to help him. (You'd think you were buying cars. Making little repairs and little adjustments, and get a better horse out of it.) Darlene: Like I've seen Callie try--he shod the horse 3 times, went out and trained him, before he was satisfied. what you could do to help a horse. That's when you talk about a trainer that will help a horse. Maybe that horse is fast, but he's interfering. Well then if Joe Blow got that horse, he couldn't do any? thing about that. Or where again, like a colt could be very fast, and he would have problems--you know, he would make breaks or he would be sore in a particular place. Sonny or Donnie could take a colt like that and judge by watching them move, where this soreness is, and perhaps treat the soreness. And therefore, then get that horse to the races. Where a guy who didn't know the difference wouldn't be able to see where that colt was sore, and there? fore that colt might never make the races. That's where the training part comes in. Darlene: You're doing them every day. You know what every horse is going to do. Like some horses'11 pace when they're jogging, some'll trot. So if you've got a horse that always trots, and all of a sudden he's pacing. Well, he's hurting some place. That's the beauty, too. I think that's why I'd rather train them, too. 'Cause you watch them every day, you know exactly what they're like. You know what they can do or what to expect from them. There's a lot of things that you have to see to learn. You could never learn it in a book. Okay, if a horse started to get a little heat in the suspension--that's some? thing you have to feel. You have to run your hand down his leg and feel where the heat is. If there's a little thickness there, you have to be able to say, "Okay, that horse's leg isn't always that thick." So if there's heat in it, you know that it's sore, and it has to be done up. (Now that's all training. That's not going to change the breed.) Donna: No. That's I get a kickvOut of the Kentucky Derby-- "trained by," and it's a big deal who w OVERLOOKING SYDNEY HARBOUR mn Tel: (902) 539-6550 Toll Free: 1-800-565-9409 Vist'otel 59 Units * Open Year Round Licensed Dining Room open 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with Home-Styled Meals 140 Kings Road SYDNEY Nova Scotia B1P6J9 ' UL Scotiabank 3 THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA SYDNEY 258 Charlotte Street WELCOMES ALL TOURISTS! Serving All of Cape Breton, We Are Strategically Located throughout the Island to Assist You with Your Travel Needs. SYDNEY SHOPPING CENTRE Prince Street SYDNEY MINES 115 Main Street GLACE BAY 9 Commercial Street NEW WATERFORD 184 Plummer Avenue NORTH SYDNEY 302 Commercial Street INGONISH BEACH PORT HAWKESBURY Causeway Shopping Centre (84)