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REFLECTIONS 1 By Nelson Dunstan Kentucky Breeders Now Preparing for Sales Inspecting Yearlings Interests Reporters Newcomers to Sales Should Consult Trainers Horses Head Often the Index to Quality QualityLEXINGTON LEXINGTON Ky May 7 7It It was hot in Louisville but more so here in Lexington where we are now looking over the yearlings to be sold at Keeneland this summer At Louisville we listened in a hotel room as Mel aien renearsea the radio color talk he would make at the Derby the following day At the finish of the rehearsal Allen grinned and said Ladies and gentlemen if I could tell you who is going to win tomorrow you would be sitting pretty for a long time to come It is exactly the same with selecting yearlings for if this writer or any other man for that matter could positively select for you the twoyearold champion of 1953 from this seasons yearling crop you would be sitting pretty for many a year to come But then if that could be done there would be no fun in it On the other hand it is not the outandout gamble it is so often called be seen in the sales catalogue and the size substance bone are obvious to the eye But like the automobile the engine and parts beneath the hood are what count the most Then again you can raise the hood of a car and see what is underneath The most important qualities in the horse who has never raced can only be appraised appraisedNo No newspapper man we ever knew was blessed with the knowledge of the horses that is possessed by trainer veterinarians and farm managers Those men are far better equipped by training and experience to advise pro ¬ spective buyers than this writer whose job is to tell the general public what the breeder has to offer in the colts and fillies that will be a part of next years twoyearold crop Buying a yearling is serious business and anyone contemplating purchase should get the advice of a horse ¬ man trainer or vet for while the greater number of babes are healthy and it takes a man thoroughly experi ¬ enced to pass on pigeon toes bog spavins parrot mouth ringbones and other such ailments We have seen ex ¬ perienced trainers go back three days in a row to further study a particular colt or filly For over 20 years this writer has keenly watched as veterans have searchingly examined prospective racing material But there are some points on which they generally agree and the foremost is the head and the clear fearless eye as opposed to the small mean In detail the head of a horse should be lean around the jaw yet with full development of the forehead which should be convex and wide so as to allow for the brain Some people con ¬ tend a horse is stupid and has no brains but again we disagree The ears should be pricked and fine but not too short nostrils large and capable of being welldilated when at full speed which is tested easily by the gallop after which they should stand out firmly so as to show the full internal lining The neck should be muscular yet light the windpipe loose and sep ¬ arate from the neck that is not bound down too tightly to the membrane of the neck The crest should be thin and wiry not thick and loaded as it often is seen in coarse stallions even in some mares Between the two extremes of the eweneck and its opposite are many degrees but for racing purposes the former should be preferred for few horses can go well with their necks bent so as to draw the chin to the bosom but here as in most other cases the happy medium is to be desired desiredIt It is impossible hi an article of this length to go be ¬ yond a few of the points by which yearlings or older horses are selected The body or middlepiece should be moderately long and not too much confined between the last rib and hipbone So long as the last or backribs are deep it is not of so much importance that they should be connected closely to the hipbone for such a shape of tens the strike and although it enables the horse to carry great weight it prevents him from maintaining a high rate of speed The back itself should be muscular and the hips so wide as to permit a good development of the muscles the withers may rise gently but not too high with that thin razorlike elevation which many persons call a good shoulder but which really has nothing to do with that part and which is only an annoyance to the saddler hi preventing its being pinched by the saddle The chest should be well developed the hind quarter is the chief agent of propulsion therefore of the utmost conse ¬ quence in attaining high speed It often is asserted that the oblique shoulder is the grand requisite in this object and that it is the part upon which speed mainly depends This is true to some extent because there can be no doubt that with a loaded shoulder high speed is impracticable for however powerfully the body may be propelled when the forequarter touches the ground it does not bound off again as smartly as it should and the pace conse ¬ quently is slow slowYearlings Yearlings are raised under a wide variety of conditions Some have run out of doors almost from birth while others have been raised in more confined quarters Feed is important and the majority get a balanced ration daily There is no truer expres ¬ sion in all racing than no foot no horse and the best time to start inspections is when they are babes How many times have you seen a veteran trainer pick up the feet of a yearling and carefully examine them Uncle Henry McDaniel never missed Inadequate care of yearlings feet has a definite link with the future unsoundness of a horse and many good ones have later been retired at an early age due to foot trouble The late Bob Smith used to say Take care of his feet and feed and the pedigree will take care of itself In the weeks to come we will be writing of the various yearling consignments but as said above limiting our comments to the pedigree conforma ¬ tion size and substance but leaving other matters to trainers and veterinarians
